The first day of the informal meeting of EU Education Ministers, held in Nicosia under the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU, focused on the need to invest in teachers.
Addressing the meeting, Cyprus Minister of Education, Sports and Youth Athena Michaelidou said the presidency aims to align education priorities with the broader European agenda, stressing the importance of inclusive and future-oriented education systems.
She said the Cyprus Presidency will continue discussions on the new Erasmus+ regulation in the context of the EU’s 2028–2034 Multiannual Financial Framework, with a focus on making the programme more inclusive and accessible. Priorities will also include a learner-centred approach to skills, strengthening vocational education and training, integrating emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, and enhancing cooperation in higher education, including mobility and progress towards a possible common European degree.
Supportive working conditions
Michaelidou said the presidency will also place emphasis on improving the attractiveness and status of the teaching profession, including career development, continuous training and supportive working conditions, while ensuring teachers are equipped to use artificial intelligence as a pedagogical tool.
Director-General of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Education and Culture (DG EAC), Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen, said Europe faces growing challenges related to inequality, democracy and technological change, underlining the central role of education in building resilience and competitiveness. She highlighted teacher shortages across the EU, particularly in STEM subjects and vocational education, noting that one in four teachers is over the age of 55.
Artificial Intelligence
Hansen said the Commission is working to make teaching a more attractive profession and to ensure educators are prepared for the impact of artificial intelligence. She referred to EU initiatives including the Union of Skills, the European Education Area, the European Semester and upcoming education policy proposals expected later this year.
Professor Michalinos Zembylas of the Open University of Cyprus said teachers must be empowered and supported if education systems are to deliver critical skills, stressing that teaching should be recognised in policy and funding as complex and essential work.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Michaelidou presented EU counterparts with the desk calendar of the Cyprus Presidency 2026, created through a children’s logo competition, as well as the “Europe in Cyprus” art exhibition, featuring works by secondary school students.