What will the follow-up framework of ET2020 look like?
30.09.2019 advocacy, policy

ET2020: What will come after 2020?

Ten years have gone by since the strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training (ET2020) was adopted by the Member States of the European Union. The European Association for the Education of Adults (EAEA) has closely followed up its implementation. While ET2020 has brought some improvements for the field of education and training, progress in adult learning has been slow. The successor of ET2020 should be ambitious, but also ensure that its objectives can be reached by promoting national strategies for their implementation.

In a statement released in September 2019, EAEA demands setting more ambitious benchmarks for adult education, increasing the visibility of adult education within the field of education and training, making access to and participation in lifelong learning a human right and promoting life skills for a more social and sustainable European future.

Download the statement (pdf)

EAEA makes a number of recommendations for the follow-up framework of ET2020. We recommend to

  1. expand the target for adult learning and include a benchmark of 60% of the population participating in adult education, using the Adult Education Survey,
  2. extend the age groups considered in the Labour Force Survey and Adult Education Survey to the age of 80 years,
  3. set the share of the gross domestic product spent on adult learning at 1.5% of the GDP,
  4. avoid renaming “adult education” to “continuous learning” to ensure that adult education is considered in its diversity that takes into account different target groups and learning needs, 
  5. recognise adult education as a central education sector as well as to provide adequate financial instruments,
  6. promote life skills for the personal and professional development of individuals as well as the development of communities,
  7. build an inclusive and comprehensive strategy that includes all sectors of education within the lifelong learning continuum for tackling the Sustainable Development Goals and combating climate change and
  8. enable more and closer cooperation between the different education sectors, including through political and financial support.

More information

Gina Ebner
EAEA Secretary-General
tel: +32 2 893 25 24
gina.ebner(at)eaea.org

Photos: Malta Union of Teachers

News

More news >
01.07.2025 digitalisation

Building national ALE registries to support individual learning accounts

RALExILA is a strategic initiative to investigate and strengthen the structures that support adult learning (ALE), with a particular focus on the potential of Individual Learning Accounts (ILAs). New research report provides overview of how 10 European countries structure their ALE systems through financial incentives, management frameworks, quality standards and registries of learning opportunities.

27.06.2025 Gender Equality Task Force

Flexibility is key for the inclusion of women into the labour market

On 27 June 2025, EAEA, EARLALL and EfVET co-organised an online webinar called “Inclusion of unemployed women into the Labour Market”. The webinar  gathered 28 participants to hear about good practices and policies across Europe, which highlighted the role of flexible learning pathways for true inclusivity.

26.06.2025 active ageing

Active Ageing: European frameworks and progress

Europe is experiencing a demographic change without precedent, with a rapidly ageing population that presents both challenges and opportunities for European societies. Within this context, the concept of "active ageing" must be increasingly central to EU policy.