Regulatory legal provisions in the context of non-formal education in the european countries

Global changes that led to the acceleration of social development and increase in life expectancy, radically changed the requirements for education. The global crisis in the field of formal education has necessitated the improvement of educational policy in the context of continuity. The problem of adult development is identified as a priority issue in the international educational environment. The formation of the European educational policy was carried out within the framework of the Maastricht Agreement, signed on February 7, 1992 in the Netherlands, which came into force on November 1, 1993, when the European Union (EU, European Union, European Commonwealth) was created. The purpose of the article is to analyze the normative and legal framework for non-formal educational activities in the context of continuing education in European countries. Continuous education is a process of personal, social and professional development of a person during his/her life, which is being implemented in order to improve the quality of life of both an individual and society as a whole.The theoretical analysis of works by Ukrainian and foreign scientists has been carried out. Three types of educational activities have been identified. Legislative documents on formal and non-formal education of countries-members of European Union and documents of international organizations have been highlited. Progressive ideas of this social and cultural phenomenon of world-level have been reflected in the documents of international organizations The legislation on adult education is a set of laws that determine the procedure and conditions for the realization of the rights of adult members of society to education during life. The results of theoretical analysis of the legislative regulation of non-formal educational activities in the countries of the European Union has shown that in the vast majority of EU countries there is no clearly defined structure of non-formal education.