At the beginning of 2025, Finland will have been a member of the European Union for three decades. Membership of the Union has become commonplace and, at the same time, revolutionised our lives. Borders have fallen and given way for the movement of goods, people and ideas. Finland has
adopted the euro, and our passport covers have changed to burgundy. However, the common European project is by no means complete.

OAJ wants to wake up the decision-makers representing Finland in the European Parliament, the
Commission and at summits to the importance and potential of education and research for the whole continent. They are areas of society where all parties can achieve more through cooperation. Education, knowledge and research are the cornerstones on which stability, international competitiveness and the future success of the whole of Europe can be built.

What would the promotion of education in the EU look like? In practice, for example, it is about
increasing the share of education and research in the EU budget and reducing the application bureaucracy of research funding. Freedom of research, art and education should become a clear part of the EU’s rule of law. Europe-wide education, mobility and educational cooperation should be strengthened and the teacher shortage affecting the whole of Europe should be addressed by improving the attractiveness of the teaching profession. Fair labour markets must also be created in the EU in cooperation with workers and employee organisations. At the same time, the skills shortage of an ageing continent must also be addressed through immigration and successful integration.

In concrete terms, Finnish MEPs must have seats in the EU’s committees on education, research and
working life, that is, on the tables where these issues are decided.

Europe is not just a continent or a political community. The EU is the sum of its citizens, and each of us can contribute to a brighter future for the continent.