European Union (16)

work in the EU
language teaching / language knowledge / work opportunities in the EU
the role of the EU in world politics
common / national currency

What is your opinion about spending a school year

abroad?
I think it is very useful because you can practice the
language, get to know how people live in that country,
and what the educational system is like there. On the
other hand, because of the differences in the
educational systems, you can fall behind with your
studies in Hungary. You may be required to take
exams to be able to continue your studies with your class.

What do you know about the American education system?

In the United States children have to attend school between the ages of five and sixteen. These
years of school include the kindergarten, then schooling from first grade to twelfth grade often
referred to as K-12. It is the responsibility of the states to maintain schools and to set up the
requirements. In some areas, students go to elementary school, then to middle school followed
by high school. Other states have junior high school which includes grades seven and eight.
There are some prestigious schools in higher education such as Ivy League schools including
the respected north-eastern schools such as Harvard or Yale.

What is the relationship between the EU and the Bologna process?

One of the four principles of the European Union is the free flow of work-force, which
includes education too. The main idea of the Bologna process is to integrate the education
systems of the member countries into an easily comparable, compatible system and the
signatories agreed that by 2010 a common educational region would appear in the EU.
The goals of the Bologna process are the following: the establishment of a two-level system in
tertiary education, a shared credit system, the support of mobility and the compatibility of the
knowledge acquired.
How important is it for you to speak a language?
Speaking a language is inevitable in our modern world. Since Hungarian is not a widely
spoken language, you have to be familiar with at least one foreign language to be able to get
along in life. In all walks of life speaking a language at a high conversational level is required.
One cannot go to a job interview without being able to utter a word in some foreign language.
You have to express yourself clearly to get accepted and be given the job.
Nowadays the most advisable language to study is English. It is considered an international
language in a lot of areas, especially when using a computer. Together with French, it is the
language of diplomacy. For Hungarians it is also useful to have a good command of German.
Every summer we have thousands of students coming from Austria and Germany.

What opportunities do you have in the EU? Are you restricted?

As far as I know, for some years after the accession, free flow of work-force was restricted by
the previous fifteen members. People from the newly joining member states were required to
have a work permit in order to take up a job in other countries. However, there are some
countries, like the United Kingdom, which opened their labour market for employees coming
from the ten new states, and since then, the original restrictions have been removed. In brief,
there are limitations left based on considerations of public security, public policy, public
health grounds.

What do you know about the free flow / movement of workers?

https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=457&langId=en
Free movement of labour and capital have helped
create a more flexible economy. For example, UK
and Ireland have benefited from the immigration of
Eastern European workers to fill labour market
shortages in certain areas, such as plumbing,
nursing and cleaning. What’s more, the EU
institutions employ over 40 000 men and women
from the 27 EU member countries. The European
Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) organises 'open
competitions' to select personnel for permanent and non-permanent positions. Most of the
employees are administrators or assistants.

What do you know about the goals of the European Union?

The goals of the European Union are widespread. It is its aim to promote peace and the well-
being of its citizens. It offers freedom, security and justice without internal borders.
Furthermore, it also tries to promote scientific and technological progress and enhance
economic, social cohesion and solidarity among EU countries. Finally, the Union aims at
establishing an economic and monetary union whose currency is the euro.
 What do you know about the national currency?
The euro is the official currency for 19 of the 27 EU
member countries. The euro was introduced in 2002.
The European Central Bank and the European
Commission are in charge of maintaining its value and
stability. It has a lot of benefits, including price
stability, the comparison of prices, making trades
easier or creating greater influence in the global
economy.

What is the role of the EU in politics?

Being a European citizen also means enjoying political rights. Every adult EU citizen has the
right to stand as a candidate and to vote in elections to the European Parliament. EU citizens
have the right to stand as candidate and to vote in their country of residence, or in their
country of origin. The decisions of the European Parliament can influence the whole world;
therefore, we as citizens are responsible for our decisions.

Summary – the importance of language knowledge (ez a 15-ös tételben is benne van)

 to talk freely to each other about business, politics, culture, hobbies, sport
 to promote friendship and understanding among people
 to establish ties with other nations
 to make friends
 to correspond
 to learn about other people’s culture, way of life
 to read authors in the original
 to understand foreign TV channels
 to be better informed about the world
 to make oneself understood while travelling
 to have more chances to travel on business
 to get a scholarship
 to go abroad to study
 to read scientific articles
 to keep abreast of the latest discoveries and inventions
 to have an all around education

Kiegészítem még holnapra a British education system résszel.