Commission: Economic and monetary union "We must move forward decisively to strengthen the architecture in the financial, fiscal, economic and political domains. That is what the Blueprint on a Deep and Genuine EMU seeks to achieve". On November 28 EU Commission president José Manuel Barroso illustrated the contents of the project for an economic and monetary union, drawn up by the Executive in view of the forthcoming summit of mid-December. The purpose of the meeting of the Heads of Government and State is to further strengthen economic governance and political integration, but many "knots still need to be untangled". After the decisions on budgetary discipline, banking union and the Stability and Growth Pact – yet to be completed – the Commission proposed a set of short, medium and long term measures to "step up reforms for greater competitiveness", to underpin "the stability of the Euro", promote the "pooling of sovereignty, responsibility and solidarity", intervening at level of ordinary legislation where possible, or with amendments to the Treaties. "These are difficult times". Barroso said. "I am particularly concerned that not all Countries have the same perception of the problems that lie ahead. But it would be a mistake to give up. An agreement on the Single Supervisory Mechanism might be reached by the end of the year". Barroso announced a "very important decision of the Eurogroup regarding Greece", that gave the green light to financial aid. "It’s a strong sign to Greek citizens and to the markets. The process towards the EMU is irreversible and it ought to be completed". After twenty years since it was launched with the Treaty of Maastricht, "the time has come to rebuild the EMU", underlined EU Commissioner for Economic affairs Olli Rehn. Education, increasing student mobility When is it that EU and extra-EU students decide which studies they will undertake? What is the role of mobility for study reasons in the next generations’ academic formation? Over the past 25 years, since the Erasmus programme was launched, almost 3 million students have followed a study course abroad. The three most popular destinations are Spain, France and the United Kingdom. Spain, in particular, has sent the highest number of students abroad, followed by France and Germany. But what happens outside Europe? Over three million students in 2010 (latest available data) have registered in a higher education programme abroad, two million more compared to the year 2000. This is what emerged in the survey recently released by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), which analysed, in particular, the prevailing trends in Developing Countries. "The increase in the migration for study reasons – states the report – reflects the rapid increase in the number of students enrolled in higher education programs worldwide: 78% more in the past decade". Eastern Asia and the Pacific are the major source of international students, accounting for 28% of world students, followed by Chinese students, whose favourite studying destinations are the United States and Japan. As regards North America and Western Europe, those students who decide to undertake a study course abroad represent approximately 15%. According to UIS figures, "students from Central Asia and sub-Saharan Africa are the most mobile in the world". Interestingly, data on the Arab states show a steady increase of young people leaving the country over the last ten years, whose favorite destination is "France, the USA and the UK". European Union according to Eurostat The population of the European Union (500 million inhabitants), currently accounts for 7% of the world population (6.9 billion). But according to demographic forecasts it will drop to 5% in 2060 (520 million out of 9.6 billion). The figure is contained in the publication "The EU in the world 2013. A statistical portrait", released today by the press office of the EU Commission in Brussels. The publication compares figures across the continent, focusing on statistics regarding G20 Countries, i.e. the world’s major advanced and emerging economies. The survey highlights trends in various areas: the economy, demography, health, education, energy and technology (www.europa.eu/eurostat). In 50 years China (1 340 million inhabitants or 19% of the world population) will no longer be the most populous country. According to Eurostat it will drop to 1 210 million inhabitants, while India will grow from 1 220 million to 1 720 million. The average birth rate for the EU was 1.6 births per woman in fertile age, below the population replacement rate of 2.1. The world average is 2.5 births per woman, 3.0 in Saudi Arabia, 2.7 in India, 2.6 in South Africa. China is at 1.6.
