The European Commission published two reports on 22 September on how AI and digital technology are changing European schooling, and neither reads as a sales pitch.
The first, Friend or foe? Evidence from the use of generative artificial intelligence in learning and teaching, describes generative AI as moving slowly but steadily from novelty to mainstream tool across EU education. Whether it helps depends on how it is used, and the report says its overall effect on long-term skills remains unclear. Its recommendation is substantial initial and continuing professional development for teachers, backed by institutional guidance on responsible use.
The second, the Eurydice network’s Digital education at school in Europe 2026, finds digital competence written into lower-secondary curricula in almost all the systems analysed, while national or standardised assessment of it remains uncommon. Nearly two-thirds of education systems have strategies, guidance or other policy frameworks addressing AI. Access, technical support and digital environments still vary school by school.
Both feed the Commission’s Union of Skills work and the forthcoming Education Package on basic skills, teachers and trainers, and digital education infrastructure. Executive Vice-President Roxana Mînzatu framed the risks as bias, privacy and overreliance.