Brussels, 02/05/2006 (Agence Europe) - On 27 April, the European Parliament adopted the report by Christa Prets (PES, Austria) on the UNESCO Convention on the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions. On 23 October 2005, to fill the legal gap in world governance by establishing for states a series of rights and requirements in order to protect and promote cultural diversity, UNESCO adopted the Convention which is due to come into force three months after its ratification by at least 30 states. MEPs acknowledge the political importance of implementing the Convention. They therefore called on the Austrian Presidency and the Commission to encourage EU Member States to ratify the text through a scheduled decision on 18 May at the next meeting of the Education and Culture Council. According to the rapporteur, such a decision would not only practically guarantee the Convention's coming into effect, it would also send a political signal showing Europe's strong commitment to cultural diversity.