Characteristics and problems of the education systems in the member states of the European Union

Introduction.

The education systems in the EU27 member states present different characteristics, these being both the result of specific national historical developments and subject to national laws that govern the field of education (but also other tangential ones: the labour market, youth, the business environment, etc.), but also of the implementation through open coordination mechanisms of the strategies and action programs of the European Union in the field.

Aim of the study.

In the case of the present paper, we have chosen a limited number of indicators that, in our opinion, highlight the most important aspects regarding education systems as the main trainers and providers of human capital capable of integrating into modern societies and economies, from the categories “entries into the education systems (pupils and students)”, “outputs of the education systems (graduates of secondary, post-secondary and tertiary education)” and “human resources (teachers, educators and trainers) and financial (expenses government) of education systems”. The analysis refers to the EU27 member states, in general and to the situation in Romania.