Brussels, 06/09/2007 (Agence Europe) - The president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, and Commissioners Jan Figel (education, culture, youth) and Leonard Orban (multilingualism) travelled to Sibiu, in Romania, on Wednesday 5 September, where they were to attend the Third European Ecumenical Assembly and meet Romanian officials with whom they also have meetings scheduled for Friday 7 September. The Third European Ecumenical Assembly is organised by the CEC (Conference of European Churches) and the CCEE (Council of European Bishops' Conferences) and brings together over 2,500 delegates from the various Christian churches of Europe. In his speech, Mr Barroso spoke of the Christian churches' early commitment to the “great European adventure”. Europe will increasingly become a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious continent, and religion is a main source of values that may play a major role in promoting the understanding and appreciation of other cultures, religions and ways of life in order to contribute to harmony among them, said Mr Barroso. Christianity is a fundamental element of the European “common cultural identity” and European construction cannot be reduced to its geographic and economic dimensions alone. It should also integrate shared values including humanism and democracy, President Barroso went on to say. More generally, he spoke of the need to modernise the institutional way Europe works and its working methods, and, in this framework, welcomes the significant progress proposed by the future European treaty that will make Europe “more democratic, more transparent and more effective”, as well as more able to respond to the challenges relating to climate change and energy supply security. Mr Barroso is to meet the Romanian president, Traian Basescu, on Friday.
Commissioner Figel, for his part, met with the Romanian minister for education, research and youth, Cristian Adomnitei. According to the commissioner, Romania must draw the attention of foreign students and not just encourage Romanian students to take up their studies abroad. Mr Figel also considers it necessary for Romania to have a long term vision when it comes to education, saying: “Without a better education, we shall not be able to create more jobs and social cohesion. I have invited the schools and the universities in Romania to take a more active part in the development going on in the Union”. Mr Figel has still to meet several heads of Romanian universities and Klaus Johannis, the mayor of Sibiu, which is European Culture Capital 2007. Commissioner Orban, responsible for culture, met with Mr Van der Linden, the president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. He said that Romania needed more time to catch up and to become fully integrated in the European Union, but rejected the idea of his country joining the European process too swiftly. “We have joined a political and cultural family of which we are naturally a part. And in return our culture and our way of thinking bring a new and enriching element to Europe's unity in diversity”, he said. Taking the view that it is essential to develop intercultural and religious dialogue inside and outside Europe, he stressed the need to consolidate a multilingual policy, a “major factor for success”, and said he was willing to strengthen the EU's policy in this respect, a policy that should go beyond just learning foreign languages but also “encompass all aspects relating to languages in the daily lives of citizens”. (il)