Last week marked a busy period for the Council of Europe Education Department. On three consecutive days, meetings were held at the Council of Europe office in Paris.

On 2 July, the Bureau of the Steering Committee for Education (CDEDU) met to discuss key developments of the Council of Europe Education programme and prepare the next CDEDU Plenary Session.

 On 3 July, the Ad Hoc Working Group on Automatic Recognition of Qualifications continued its work on a proposal for a legal instrument on automatic recognition.

Finally, the Working Group on the Council of Europe Student Rights Charter held its inception meeting on 3-4 July.

All in all, the meetings reaffirmed the Council of Europe’s commitment to advancing education policies that support democratic values and that will help implement the  new Democratic Pact for Europe. The progress achieved in the meetings will be considered by the CDEDU at the Plenary session in September 2025.