Lyons, 25/09/2006 (Agence Europe) - The European Union's communication strategy is not getting across to the citizens of EU Member States, German Christian Democrat Doris Pack deplored on 23 September during a discussion on information and communication policy at the European Ideas Network organised in Lyons by the EPP-ED Group of the European Parliament. According to Ms Pack, instead of spending money on information campaigns and on “image”, more financial resources should be made available for education and exchange programmes such as Erasmus or Leonardo, which have a great deal of success and show in concrete terms how the people of Europe can be brought together in their daily lives. Children and young people are the “key to a positive attitude towards Europe” and European themes must be developed in teacher training, the MEP said. She went on to warn that citizens must know that the advantages of the European Union are not to be taken for granted but that they depend on the fact that their country belongs to the EU, and that this cannot be demonstrated without active collaboration on the part of political officials at both regional and national level.