Brussels, 02/07/2010 (Agence Europe) - The Belgian Presidency has unveiled its education, culture, youth, audiovisual and sports priorities, espousing the recommendations of the EU 2020 strategy in these various sectors.
Education: Under the Belgian Presidency, the Council will adopt guidelines with a view to setting up a new work programme on the education and training of professionals until 2020. The Council will also adopt conclusions on education in the field of sustainable development within the framework of the EUROPE 2020 strategy, and the need for a green, sustainable and skills-based economy. Particular attention will be paid to the problems associated with the failure to complete schooling, and to core skills, as well as to the role of education and training in social inclusion. The Council is also expected to adopt, under Belgian Presidency, the recommendation on the promotion of mobility for young people, based on the Commission “Youth on the move” initiative.
Culture: The Belgian Presidency undertakes to highlight the potential of cultural and creative industries and the contribution they make to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), growth and employment in Europe and will devote particular attention to policies and processes to be implemented to develop and support this potential. On the basis of communications by the Commission, the Belgian Presidency will ensure the successful completion of the evaluation of the Council's Work Plan for 2008-2010 in favour of culture and the adoption of a new post-2010 Work Plan. It will continue discussions with a view to the adoption, by the European Parliament and Council, of the proposal for a decision by the Commission to create a European Heritage Label. As part of the “European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion”, the Belgian Presidency will propose draft conclusions which seek to demonstrate that combating poverty and social exclusion are cross-disciplinary challenges which need favourable cultural policies.
Audiovisual: The Presidency will initiate a consultation process on mechanisms to support European cinema to cover the entire cinematographic creative process from screenwriting to the promotion and distribution of European productions. To rise to the challenges posed by the digital age, the Presidency will propose a draft conclusion to the Council on the protection and safeguarding of audiovisual heritage, and will focus on the resources to be provided at national and European levels to support cinemas wishing to invest in digital equipment. The prospects for development of public libraries in the digital age and of Europeana will also be examined by the Council as will, more generally, the challenges presented by the conservation of European digital cultural and audiovisual heritage in the long-term.
Sport: Building on the Commission communication presenting the guidelines for future European policy on sport, the Belgian Presidency will initiate work within the Council with a view to drawing up a resolution on future European sport policy. In this context, special attention will be paid to establishing closer dialogue with the world of sport. The Belgian Presidency will launch a debate within the Council on the role of sport in society, including Fair Play. This includes education and training in the sector, the fight against doping in sport, as well as the role of poverty and social exclusion.
Youth: The updated framework of European cooperation in the youth field (2010-2018) makes provision for a new role for youth workers. The Belgian Presidency will initiate work by the Council on a resolution on youth work. A paragraph of this resolution will be dedicated to the accessibility to this sector for children and young people who live in poverty. The structured dialogue on the subject of employment and youth (youth@work) is a project shared between the team presidency, the Commission and the European Youth Forum. Each presidency will organise a “European Youth Conference” to pool the results of national consultation processes and prepare for the next step in the process. The Belgian Presidency will submit the mid-term results of the structured dialogue to the Council in order to achieve a political result during the course of the Hungarian Presidency (May 2011). Under the Belgian Presidency; the Council will present its conclusions, based on the European Commission study of access to culture for young people. The Belgian Presidency will also present a memo on an inventory of the European and international policy agenda with regard to children, young people and children's rights. (I.L./transl.rt)