"Cutting back on education spending in general, and on teachers' salaries in particular, can hinder our objectives of providing efficient and high-quality education systems," Vassiliou said, commenting on an annual education report released Tuesday by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Brussels.

　　The report, which analyzes 34 OECD members that include 21 EU member states, shows that the salaries of European teachers decreased by four percent between 2009 and 2011, and that education expenditure per student is on a downward trend in most European countries, in spite of being slightly above the OECD average.

　　On average, 15 percent of young Europeans aged 15 to 29 were neither in employment nor in education and training (NEET) in 2011, slightly better than OCED average of 16 percent.

　　However in Greece, Ireland, Italy and Spain, the NEET ratio is more than 20 percent, according to the report.

　　Investment in education is at the heart of EU policy agenda, against the background of high youth unemployment in various crisis-hit member states. The EU summit later this week is set to focus on youth employment and economic revival.