Brussels, 13/07/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 13 July, the Polish ministers with responsibility for education, youth, culture and sport presented the committee on education and culture of the European Parliament with their priorities. These are marked by increased openness towards the countries of the Eastern Partnership. Although they welcomed the increase in the budget, the MEPs, like the chair of the parliamentary committee Doris Pack, expressed concern at the revision of the programmes to 2014-2020 planned by the European Commission and called for the support of the Polish Presidency in defending their viewpoint. In particular, the MEPs are worried about the disappearance of the names of certain well-known programmes (such as Comenius). Only Hannu Takkula (ALDE, Finland) was resolutely optimistic, stressing that the main thing is that there are programmes with such good content, irrespective of the label applied to it. “It doesn't matter about the bottle, just as long as it gets you drunk”, he said.
Youth. There must be a greater involvement of young people in the democratic process, particularly during these times of crisis and reduced confidence on the part of the younger generation in its institutions, stressed the national education minister, Katarzyna Hall. The Polish Presidency wants to promote solidarity and cooperation between the young people of the EU and those of Eastern Europe and the Caucasus. It will submit conclusions to be adopted on the eastern dimension of the youth policy in November. As part of the European Year of Volunteering, it will also lay emphasis on youth voluntary activities.
Education. Promoting mobility will be the main priority in terms of education and conclusions will be adopted on the subject of November - mobility not only within the EU, but also with its neighbour countries. The Polish Presidency, which is in favour of any initiative which aims to develop multilingualism, will support cooperation and partnership in all their forms between schools and training institutions. Poland will also focus on life-long learning and adult participation in training programmes, which are vital for employment and mobility. As regards education programmes, Poland would like to increase the number of countries taking part in Erasmus and Erasmus Mundus, stressed Barbara Kudrycka, Minister for Science and Higher Education. The second priority for the field of education will be bringing universities up to date, which will be the subject of Council conclusions in November, in the framework of the communication the Commission is getting ready to publish in September. The most important thing is to guarantee that these institutions are turning towards sources of funding other than public money, working with the world of business, but also other partners, such as NGOs.
Culture. If the EU wants to achieve the objectives of the EUROPE 2020 strategy, it must make the most of its cultural and creative potential, stressed the minister for culture and national heritage, Bogdan Zdrojewski. Conclusions will be adopted in November, to create a link between culture, education, young people, scientific research and innovation. The Polish Presidency will also work on various areas of action to reduce school drop-out rates by means of artistic education and making full use of the artistic aptitude of adults alike. Welcoming the conclusions on the European label achieved by the Hungarian Presidency, Poland will ensure that the site selection criteria are fully respected by the Council. Another area for action is making available statistics in the field of culture, of which there is a sad lack at the moment, making it impossible to put together reliable data, which will be vital in achieving the cultural priorities of the EUROPE 2020 strategy. In this context, Eurostat's ESNET Culture project will be the subject of particular attention.
Audiovisual. The modernisation and protection of the cultural heritage will be the number one priority of the Polish Presidency. The digital library, Europeana, and its future development create a European digital heritage will be central to the work of Poland, as will all issues concerning the directive on orphan works. Tightening up protection for minors on the internet and the preservation of the objectives of the MEDIA programme will also be on the agenda over the next six months.
Sport. The minister for sport and tourism, Adam Giersz, outlined three priorities: (1) the fight against fixing sports matches and doping, (2) the social dimension of sport, (3) the economic dimension of sport. On this first point, Poland will make a proposal in November to send out a political signal for the member states to agree that any manipulation of sport should be considered a crime punishable at a criminal level. On doping, cooperation is vital, as suggested by the Commission, which intends to speak with a single voice at the World Anti-Doping Agency. The social dimension of sport will be based mainly on the activities of the voluntary sector (including in the countries of the Eastern Partnership), and this aspect will be the subject of conclusions in November. Lastly, the economic dimension of sport, which is often forgotten, should get the attention it deserves, particularly as part of the new programme for sport for 2014-2020. (I.L./transl.fl)