The Steering Committee for Education (CDEDU) held its 8th plenary session in Strasbourg from 23 to 25 September 2025. Representatives of the Council of Europe’s 46 member states, international organisations and stakeholders reviewed progress and adopted a number of key decisions to strengthen the democratic mission of education in line with the Reykjavik Declaration and the Education Strategy 2024–2030 “Learners First”.

Key outcomes include:

• 27th Session of Ministers of Education Conference – Agreement to hold the Conference in March 2027 in the framework of Montenegro Presidency of the Committee of Ministers on the topic : “Empowering Educators for a democratic and digital Europe”.
   
• European Space for Citizenship Education (ESCE) – Endorsement of the draft codification of principles, further work on a framework for quality assurance, and launch of a new initiative on early childhood education. Preparations were also approved for a Committee of Ministers Recommendation on developing a culture of democracy in vocational education and training.
   
• Higher Education – Approval of the drafting of a new Council of Europe Convention on the Conditions of Transparency and Quality Assurance for Automatic Recognition of Higher Education Qualifications in Europe, and approval of terms of reference for a Committee of Experts on Automatic Recognition (CE-AR). The Committee also took note of progress on the Lisbon Recognition Convention, the European Qualifications Passport for Refugees (EQPR), and the development of a Student Rights Charter.
   
• Digital Transformation and AI – Review of progress in the European Year of Digital Citizenship Education 2025 and endorsement of a Road Map for 2027–2031. The Committee welcomed the piloting of the new Digital Citizenship Education Planner and the first draft of a Recommendation on AI Literacy, as well as the presentation of the Council of Europe Compass for AI and Education.
   
• Language and History Education – Endorsement of revised policy guidelines on the Romani language, review of the draft Recommendation on history education in the digital age, and discussion of the 2025 programme of the Observatory on History Teaching in Europe (OHTE).
   
• Gender Equality – Launch of a new Gender Equality in Education Scorecard, led by a dedicated working group.
   
• Cooperation and Outreach – Review of ongoing cooperation with other Council of Europe bodies, UNESCO and the UN SDG4 High-Level Steering Committee.

The next plenary session of the CDEDU will be held in Strasbourg from 18 to 20 March 2026.