Brussels, 10/05/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 10 May, the Council reached general partial guidelines on the “Europe for Citizens” programme for the period 2014-2020, presented by the European Commission in January 2012. The new programme aims to bring Europe closer to its citizens, by heightening citizen awareness of the European Union in order to bring about a better understanding of what the Union is. The debate will continue with an analysis of the best and worst practice, commented Uffe Elbaek, Denmark's Culture Minister. He went on to add that a knowledge of the past and of history is of primary importance when reflecting upon “where we are heading”. Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou had no doubt whatsoever that the discussion would continue without a hitch “as everyone wants the programme to be endorsed” as soon as possible. The budget earmarked for the “Europe for Citizens” will be discussed during talks on the multiannual financial framework already being examined. The Commission is proposing an allocation of €229 million.
“Europe for Citizens” can be broken down into two sections on specific themes. These are: (1) Memory and European citizenship, the aim being to strengthen the understanding of Europe's past and of European integration; and (2) Democratic commitment and civic participation, aimed at helping citizens to understand EU policies and decision-making processes and the impact that the EU has on their daily lives. As a result, citizen participation in the EU's political processes should be increased. These two sections must be completed by a cross-cutting section on the valorisation and dissemination of results, which can be defined as a process for contributing to the analysis, dissemination and optimisation of results of projects financed within the framework of the two thematic chapters. (IL/transl.jl)