Brussels, 10/07/2012 (Agence Europe) -Cypriot Education and Culture minister George Demosthenous has presented his priorities for the next six months to MEPs from the European Parliament education and culture committee. In their questions, many MEPs expressed their wish for a sufficient budget to be earmarked for new education and culture programmes. Education and culture are essential in these times of crisis, to provide citizens, particularly the younger generation, with hope, replied Demosthenous. He promised that he was determined to convince ministers responsible for the economy that a sufficient budget should be earmarked for education and culture and will send an open letter to the respective ministers in all member states in an effort to promote this cause.
The main priorities of the Cypriot presidency in education, youth, culture and sport are:
Education: the Cypriot Presidency will focus on six priorities: 1) make progress in the work on new European Commission proposed programmes in education, training, youth and sport, in an effort to obtain an agreement on the contents of the proposal; 2) the fight against illiteracy through better quality education and training programmes; 3) fairness and excellence in education and professional training; 4) ensuring quality and modernisation of higher education; 5) the contribution made by education and training to the EUROPE 2020 strategy.
Youth: the second cycle of the structured dialogue with young people and youth organisation comes to an end with the Cypriot Presidency. A Council resolution is expected to be adopted in an effort to provide an insight into the second cycle of the structured dialogue. The Cypriots are also concerned about youth participation and social inclusion and will be highlighting the inclusion of young people from immigrant backgrounds. Following on from the EU's 2012 report on youth and data from member states, the Presidency will also promote the adoption of a Council resolution.
Sport: during the Cypriot presidency, both social and economic aspects of sport will be examined. The priority will be on the following aspects: 1) the sub-programme on sport in the “Erasmus for all” programme; 2) the relationship between sport and health; 3) the economic potential of sport for enhancing economic growth and job creation; 3) tackling match fixing (adoption of a statement); 4) tackling doping in sport.
Culture: the presidency will generally emphasise the social dimension of culture and access to it for all citizens. Priority will be given to the following points: 1) making progress on the new “Creative Europe” programme proposed by the Commission; 2) the importance of culture in the EUROPE 2020 strategy; 3) promoting strategic points in the European cultural agenda and research in the cultural domain; 4) promoting an holistic approach in the area of cultural governance. Conclusions are expected to be adopted by the Council on this last point. (IL/transl.fl)