Brussels, 06/04/2011 (Agence Europe) - In a recent report, the UK House of Lords has explicitly acknowledged the importance of European funding for Community education, culture, media and sport programmes. “This is a comprehensive and timely report which analyses the EU's objectives and the resources it needs to meet those objectives. I'm pleased that UK parliamentarians share our assessment of the added value of EU funding in the areas of education, training, culture, cinema and sport”, said Education , Culture, Youth and Multilingualism Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou. “Coming from arguably the most Eurosceptic country, this support is welcomed by Commissioner Vassiliou and will bolster her arguments to strengthen these funds in line with the 2020 growth strategy”, added Dennis Abbot, the commissioner's spokesman.
The 10-chapter report underlines the need for solid support from the European Union as education, culture and audiovisual programmes are renewed and for funding to be made available for them in the Union's new financial framework from 2014. In particular, it calls for “continued provision” for the Commission's Lifelong Learning Programme, which includes the Erasmus student exchange scheme, as well as its Culture and MEDIA (cinema) funds, prospective future Sport programme and new 2020 strategy flagship Youth on the Move programme. To back up its arguments, the report also refers to the strategy's five headline goals which include reducing school drop-out rates to less than 10% and increasing the share of 30-34 years old having completed tertiary or equivalent education to at least 40%. The Lifelong Learning Programme, which supports mobility is seen as being particularly useful as it can enhance growth through the sharing of ideas and access to new or alternative opportunities, says the House of Lords. The report says the Culture programme adds value by promoting trans-national cultural awareness and co-operation among artists and the MEDIA programme by helping European cinema to flourish. Regarding sport, it notes that limited EU funding under a sport programme could add most value by bringing grassroots organisations of a similar nature together, to share experiences of how to boost participation in sport and how it can help to bind communities together. (I.L./transl.rt)