The European Commission reported that since 2007, €4 billion has been invested on education and literacy in 48 partner countries, enabling more than 9 million pupils to enrol in school and more than 720,000 primary teachers to receive training.

The European Commission is at the forefront of taking action to improve levels of literacy in the world's developing countries. According to the European Commission, in 2012, 20% of EU aid was announce to go to Human development in the next EU budget, and education constitutes an important part of that. The European Commission also supports literacy through its support to the national education strategies – as sector budget support, pooled funding or project support. In July 2011, the European Commission published a study which showed that while most European countries have made progress in developing literacy policies, they often lack focus on the groups most at risk.

Moreover, the Agenda for Change (the Commission's blueprint for development policy, in which it prioritised its work to focus on the countries and sectors where it can make the most difference) recognises the EU's commitment to education and the need to enable young people everywhere to have access to quality education. Thanks to the joint effort and action done within the Global Education Partnership, which includes other donors, UN agencies, NGOs, private sector and partner countries, 19 million children have been put into school, 300,000 additional teachers were hired and 30,000 classrooms were built over the last 10 years.

Literacy empowers people. Also, a child born to a mother who can read is 50% more likely to survive past the age of five. Literacy also develops societies on political level. Literate people are found to be more civically engaged – whether in labour unions, community activities or politics. Furthermore, the Commission stressed that literacy is crucial for economic development and fighting poverty. Literacy has been found to have a positive effect on GDP per capita. If all children in low-income countries could read, it is estimated that poverty could drop by 12%.