As part of an education package announced on 5 November, the European Commission proposes to pilot an "AI literacy certificate" from the 2027–2028 school year. The certificate would confirm that pupils can use artificial intelligence responsibly and critically in learning, understand how the technology works and its limits, detect manipulation, and verify information provided by AI. The measure would be non-mandatory and initially targeted at 15-year-olds.
Roxana Mînzatu, Vice-President of the European Commission, said the aim is for young people to grasp the technology, recognise its limits and learn when it is better to switch it off. The precise criteria for obtaining the certificate have not yet been published; the Commission intends to develop age-appropriate requirements and assessment criteria building on joint EU–OECD AI literacy frameworks.
Why is this being proposed?
The initiative responds to a long-term decline in pupil performance across Europe. According to an analysis by the European Commission of PISA results from 2025, about one in three 15‑year‑olds in the EU fails to reach the expected minimum level in reading or mathematics. This trend was already visible in earlier OECD surveys: the 2022 PISA assessment found that 29.5% of EU students fell below the basic level in mathematics, 26.2% in reading, and 24.2% in science.
In Hungary, Eurostat data show that 29% of 15‑year‑olds scored below the minimum level in mathematics and 26% in reading. The Commission warns that lack of basic competences can depress worker productivity, company innovation and the competitiveness of the European economy in the longer term.
The educational dilemma of AI
AI in education presents both opportunities and risks. The OECD’s 2026 digital education report notes that students using generative AI often produce higher-quality task outputs, but this advantage can disappear — or even become a disadvantage — when they must demonstrate knowledge without technological assistance. Experts caution that students may outsource parts of the thinking process to AI, which could hamper skill development over time.
At the same time, the report points out that AI tools developed specifically for education and used with sound pedagogical methods can deliver lasting learning gains. Thus the key question is whether AI is doing the task for the student or enabling their understanding.
Teachers and complementary measures
OECD data from 2024 indicate that 37% of lower secondary teachers had already used AI in their work, while 72% feared that students might submit AI-generated work as their own. Against this backdrop, the Commission plans measures to improve teachers’ digital and AI skills.
The package also proposes creating European school networks where institutions from different countries collaborate on improving learning outcomes, and developing an EU-owned reliable digital education infrastructure to allow schools to use AI-based services more securely. The Commission argues these steps are important as digital skills and use of AI tools are becoming baseline requirements in many jobs.
Mînzatu stressed that efforts to tighten rules around young people’s social media use and to encourage broader use of digital technologies in education are not necessarily contradictory: personalised tutoring and learning supported by AI differ fundamentally from social platforms’ algorithms that tend to reinforce addictive behaviours.
Next steps
The Commission intends the pilot to start in 2027–2028. Detailed requirements, assessment methods and the certificate’s content will be developed later using EU and OECD frameworks. The initial phase will be experimental rather than a mandatory, union-wide exam, allowing policymakers to evaluate whether an AI literacy certificate can help improve learning outcomes and promote responsible AI use among students.
