Education and finance meeting stresses need for efficiencies

First joint ministerial meeting proclaims importance of education, but shows little sign of funding largesse

A first-ever joint meeting of EU finance and education ministers held in Brussels on 8 November yielded little indication that the former group is about to radically loosen its purse strings for the latter. The focus was much more on making money go further by finding efficiencies.

Ministers discussed ways to “achieve effectiveness, efficiency and quality of education and training for a stronger European economy”. While many stressed the importance of investing in education, there was also heavy emphasis on the need for efficiencies in doing so.