Brussels, 22/11/2004 (Agence Europe) - EMO (European Music Office) has sent an open letter to Viviane Reding, the newly invested Commissioner for Information Society and Audiovisuals, Jan Figel, new Commissioner for Education and Culture, the Ministers for Culture of the Member States of the EU and Nikolaos Sifunakis, President of the Committee on Education and Culture of the EP, about the new Culture 2007 programme. The letters states that Culture 2007 does not take account of the reality of the music sector, which, according to EMO, fuelled the European economy (enlarged Europe) to the tune of 9.5 billion EUR in 2003, and which employs 650,000 people, directly and indirectly. In its letter, EMO calls upon the European Commission, Parliament and Council to "revise the Culture 2007 programme, to provide specific projects to promote cultural industries inside and outside the European Union, to help works of music to be created and distributed, and support professional training in the industry". EMO also stresses the importance of stepping up initiatives in favour of intellectual property rights, diversity and the fight against piracy. EMO is a non-profit-making organisation with 600,000 members from professional organisations, associations and federations active in the music sector throughout the EU.