Subject: Closure of Gavdos primary school and lack of secondary education facilities
Gavdos, a small island with 151 inhabitants (80 permanent residents),1 is the southernmost point of Greece and Europe, situated 26 nautical miles (48 km) from Crete. A decision by the Greek Government, prompted by the Ministry of Education, to close down the primary school situated on Gavdos and not to provide secondary school facilities in 2022-20232 means that the three school-age children living on the island, together with their families or other family members, will be forced to change their place of residence.
This runs counter to the spirit and letter of primary (Articles 174 TFEU and 14 CFR)3 and secondary EU legislation (Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013). In particular, EU law defines island regions as requiring particular attention from the Union, which must seek to reduce regional development disparities in the Member States.
In the view of this:
1. Can the Commission say what action it is planning to take to ensure that the residents of Gavdos enjoy the same rights as other EU citizens, in particular the fundamental right to education, which is compulsory up to completion of secondary schooling?
2. What more general measures will it take in the near future to support peripheral and island regions in response to their population exodus, especially among young people?
1 https://elstat-outsourcers.statistics.gr/Census2022_GR.pdf
2 https://www.cnn.gr/ellada/story/324841/gaydos-kleinei-to-dimotiko-sxoleio-oyte-gymnasio-sto-nisi-logo-
elleipsis-mathiton
3 That is to say, ‘In order to promote its overall harmonious development, the Union shall develop and pursue
its actions leading to the strengthening of its economic, social and territorial cohesion. In particular, the Union shall aim at reducing disparities between the levels of development of the various regions and the backwardness of the least favoured regions. Among the regions concerned, particular attention shall be paid to rural areas, areas affected by industrial transition, and regions which suffer from severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps such as the northernmost regions with very low population density and island, cross-border and mountain regions.’
Answer given by Ms Gabriel on behalf of the European Commission
(8 November 2022)
According to Article 165 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) (4), the Member States remain responsible for the organisation and content of their education systems.
Within this framework, the EU contributes to the development of quality education by encouraging cooperation between Member States and, if necessary, by supporting and supplementing their action, while fully respecting their responsibility for the content of teaching and the organisation of education systems as well as their cultural and linguistic diversity.
The decisions on the minimum number of students to organise classes and the availability of teachers fall under the organisation of the education system and, as such, remain within the Member States’ domain.
The Charter of Fundamental Rights (5) of the European Union does not apply to every situation of an alleged violation of fundamental rights.
Its Article 14 recognises that everyone has the right to education and to have access to vocational and continuing training, which includes the possibility to receive free compulsory education. According to its Article 51(1), the Charter applies to Member States only when they are implementing European Union law.
Based on the information provided, it does not appear that the matter to which you refer is related to the implementation of European Union law.
In these cases, it is for Member States, including their judicial authorities, to ensure that fundamental rights are effectively respected and protected, in accordance with their national legislation and international human rights obligations, such as the UN Convention on the rights of the child. Redress should therefore be sought at the national level.
⋅1∙ https://elstat-outsourcers.statistics.gr/Census2022_GR.pdf
⋅2∙ https://www.cnn.gr/ellada/story/324841/gaydos-kleinei-to-dimotiko-sxoleio-oyte-gymnasio-sto-nisi-logo-elleipsis-mathiton
⋅3∙ That is to say, ‘In order to promote its overall harmonious development, the Union shall develop and pursue its actions leading to the strengthening of its economic,
social and territorial cohesion. In particular, the Union shall aim at reducing disparities between the levels of development of the various regions and the backwardness of the least favoured regions. Among the regions concerned, particular attention shall be paid to rural areas, areas affected by industrial transition, and regions which suffer from severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps such as the northernmost regions with very low population density and island, cross-border and mountain regions.’
⋅4∙ https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A12012E%2FTXT
⋅5∙ https://www.europarl.europa.eu/charter/pdf/text_en.pdf