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EU & international affairs

Across its entire area of responsibility, the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF) is active on both the European and the international stage and is committed to cooperation.

EU/international overview

The Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF) attaches great importance to European and international cooperation, mobility and networking in the fields of education, training, science and research. These areas open up new perspectives, result in the long-term strengthening of Austria as a location for education, training, science and research and contribute to the solving of global social challenges.

International cooperation in all areas of education and training

Education, training, university and research systems can only act successfully and develop their full potential in an environment of international cooperation. This applies to the entire education and training chain, from early childhood education through general, vocational and adult education to higher education and cutting-edge research. A wide range of mobility and cooperation programmes in the fields of education, training, science and research with partner countries that are important to Austria, as well as at EU level, provide a suitable framework here, as do the European Education Area together with its most important component, the EU Erasmus+ programme, the European Higher Education Area and the European Research Area. The Bologna Process and the EU research framework programmes Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe are of particular importance in this context. The Austrian education, training, science and research landscape is also supported by targeted investment from the European Structural and Investment Fund (ESIF). The aim is to create the best possible conditions to enable borderless learning, studying, teaching and research and to guarantee these for the future.

This aim is also supported through cooperation in European and international organisations and through the bilateral exchange of experience between experts (e.g. in the field of vocational education and training) as well as through intergovernmental agreements in education, training, science and research with countries and regions of strategic relevance to Austria and Europe. 

On national level the Federal Government´s RTI Strategy 2030 (available only in German) and the National Mobility and Internationalisation Strategy for Higher Education 2020-2030 show two ways of strengthening Austria as a successful player in higher education, science and technology.

International cooperation for social cohesion

International cooperation is a further essential prerequisite for developing a transnational policy of remembrance that promotes learning and teaching about National Socialism and the Holocaust as well as combating antisemitism and other instances of social exclusion.