On January 1st, 1995 Austria joined the European Union and became one of the then 15 EU member countries. Over a period of 25 years not only Austria but also the whole EU has developed considerably: it has grown to 27 member countries and is now politically and economically much more closely intertwined than in 1995.
From the OeAD's perspective two anniversaries are particularly important: The 25th year of Austria’s EU membership and the declaration by the French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman on May 9th, 1950, which laid the foundations for a united Europe.
Austria’s membership of the EU has given Austria considerable impetus, our country has developed very much in a number of areas – above all, education, science and research have experienced an unparalleled surge of internationalisation.
This surge of internationalisation over the last 25 years is also a success for the OeAD. With our activities and programmes we advise, support and cross-link people and institutions in education, science, research and culture. As a national education agency we promote the growing together of the education area and thus make a significant contribution to European integration as a whole.
The activities that the OeAD implements are diverse and cover many different areas: first and foremost, our successful flagship programme Erasmus+. With the Bologna Service Point, ECVET (the European Credit Transfer System for Vocational Education and Training), EURAXESS (for researchers), Euroguidance, Europass, eTwinning, EPALE and the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) the OeAD also supports recognition and comparability in Austria and Europe. Initiatives such as CEEPUS or the creative school competition projekteurope complement the OeAD‘s portfolio with a focus on Europe. The OeAD is also active in the enlargement process: The OeAD‘s field of educational cooperation with Eastern and South-Eastern Europe supports countries that are in the process of the EU enlargement in their rapprochement and integration into the common European educational area.
Even though the EU is currently under criticism for failures at the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis there is still no alternative to this project. On the contrary, for Austria the EU has brought increased prosperity and many great opportunities over the last 25 years.
With the EU Europe is – as the Stiftsgymnasium Melk said in its short film at the Danube Forum Wachau – "a platform of endless possibilities". We will present some exciting European OeAD projects on our Facebook page as of May 9th. Take a look and convince yourself of the European diversity.
Further Information
Online dossier of the Federal Chancellery
"Jetzt mehr Europa wagen." Interactive livestream debates and virtual events on the occasion of the Europe Day and the 25th anniversary of Austria’s EU membership of the EC Representation in Austria.
Representation of the EC in Austria
Europe Direct: Virtual exhibition "25 years of Austria in the EU