Celebrating EU’s teachers: CESI calls for more investments in education

In the context of CESI’s EU-co-funded PillACT project, the event celebrated teachers while lucidly examining the challenges they face and proposing bold, sustainable solutions to raise the status and attractiveness of the profession – an attempt show the urgency to make necessary public investments in the teaching profession and ensure that the forthcoming EU Teachers Agenda, Quality Jobs Roadmap and the Pilot on European School Alliances provide solutions for a teaching profession that remains respected and future-proof in line with the European Pillar of Social Rights.

The event opened with a welcome by CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger who emphasised: "Teachers are the backbone of democratic societies. Europe must invest in them not only in words but in policy, support and recognition."

The host of the event, MEP Hristo Petrov, Vice-Chair of the European Parliament Committee on Culture and Education (CULT), sent a strong message in support of improving the working conditions of teachers and better and more concrete investments in quality education EU-wide.

Key themes for the day included teacher well-being, fair compensation, professional respect, working conditions, digital transformation, and social dialogue.

Luc Viehé from CESI’s French teacher union Spelc described teachers’ frustration with a lack of recognition and little to no valorisation and warned of a brain drain if working conditions are not improved.

Marcello Pacifico from CESI’s Italian teacher union CISAL/ANIEF) pointed to chronic underfunding of schools and the precarious employment conditions of many teachers in Italy: “We cannot expect excellence when teachers struggle with bad working conditions: Precarious employment rates are very high in Italy and salaries are miserable. Salaries of teachers at the end of their careers remains below the European average, half that of German teachers and a third that of French teachers. There is no career progression, with long-term seniority increases denied to precarious staff, and no recognition of teachers’ public service.”

Simone Fleischmann from the German Civil Service Federation dbb underlined shortages of staff in German education systems, and mental health pressures that educators face.

Laviniu Lacusta from the Romanian Free Trade Union in Pre-University Education (USLIP) referred to an existing educational crisis in Romania and disparities between urban and rural areas: “To ensure the right to education we cannot continue to underinvest. Too many budget cuts against teachers for less than 1% savings to the annual budget is a offence against citizens overall and it will be a cost to pay in the future.”

Closing the breakfast hearing, CESI Youth Representative Matthäus Fandrejewski called for renewed ambition: “Teachers are the architects of our future. If we neglect them, we neglect Europe’s youth. Push for concrete reforms in education and teacher training. Defend the role of student and youth unions as key democratic actors. Advocate for a holistic approach to skills that prepares young people both for work and for active citizenship. Trade unions must adapt to accompany workers throughout their life.”

Following the breakfast, discussions continued at CESI’s headquarters with the meeting of CESI’s Expert Commission on Education, Training and Research. The agenda included elections for new leadership – Luc Viehé (Spelc) as new President and Ettore Michelazzi (CISAL/ANIEF) as Vice-President. The agenda followed with exchanges on how national systems are implementing the European Pillar of Social Rights in the education sector. Nuria Diez Guardia from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, in charge of co-authoring the forthcoming EU Teachers’ and Trainers’ Agenda, presented policy tools to be used in advocating for teacher’s rights, such as the European Semester.

A position was adopted with key priorities for a new EU Teacher’s Agenda, calling to:

1. Raise the status and ensure a better social recognition of the teaching profession as a cornerstone of Europe’s social fabric, by strengthening public esteem and trust in teachers.

2. Guarantee decent remuneration and professional stability through competitive wages comparable to other tertiary-educated professionals, secure contracts, and career-long employment prospects.

3. Foster better working conditions across the EU, including manageable workloads, healthy psychosocial environments, and safe workplaces. S

4. Ensure adequate public investments in education, with earmarked support for digital infrastructure, connectivity, and equal access to IT tools and learning resources for all students and teachers.

5. Provide high-quality initial and continuous training for teachers, ensuring they acquire strong pedagogical, psychological, and digital competences, with training conducted within working hours.

6. Integrate in particular digital competences for teachers systematically into teacher education and professional development, equipping educators to use digital tools, AI, and hybrid learning models effectively.

7. Promote professional mobility by strengthening EU exchange programmes.

8. Guarantee teacher involvement in educational reforms, ensuring they are developed through genuine social dialogue with trade unions and professionals.

9. Ensure an effective protection of education professionals from cyberbullying and online harassment, with strong legal safeguards, awareness-raising and training for both staff and pupils.

10. Establish and enforce a European code of ethics and shared values in education, centred on respect, tolerance, equality, and the defence of human dignity.

The full position is available here.

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