Culture, Youth and Education Briefing - September 2007
Multilingualism
A new portfolio for multilingualism was created within the Commission in 2007. Multilingualism is a daily reality for the European Union. The large number of languages spoken within the EU presents practical challenges but also significant benefits.
I recently met with the Commissioner for Multilingualism to discuss how we can make the most of Europe's linguistic diversity. Multilingualism contributes greatly to the competitiveness of European business and enables firms to function better in a global environment. It is also an industry in its own right which creates many jobs.
Learning languages leads to more intercultural discussion and understanding and is an important means of increasing tolerance and cultural awareness. Translation and interpretation are essential for communication between citizens of Europe and to permit a European political dialogue.
Football
The European Parliament has adopted a resolution on the future of professional football in Europe. This aims to tackle concerns about financial transparency and to ensure football is not over commercialised and remains accessible to all.
This resolution promotes the European Football Model in which amateur clubs and grassroot support form the base for the top professional clubs. It supports the efforts of the governing bodies to introduce greater transparency in the ownership structures of clubs and to fight against criminal activities such as money laundering and illegal match fixing. Requirements for each squad to have a minimum number of home-gown players will prevent the richest clubs dominating the game. The resolution will also increase its efforts to fight human trafficking and take additional initiatives against racism and the use of doping.
Roaming
During the past few months I involved in the European Parliament's campaign to reduce mobile phone charges across the EU. I have met with Ofcom, the industry regulator, Government Ministers and various consumer groups.
A regulation recently agreed on by the European Union means that mobile phone users will see substantial benefits when they travel outside the UK. This Regulation introduces a common approach to ensuring that users of public mobile telephone networks when travelling within the Community do not pay excessive charges. It thereby contributes to the smooth functioning of the internal market while maintaining a high level of consumer protection.
The new regulation, which came into immediate effect in all EU countries, establishes a cap on all mobile phone roaming charges across the European Union.
I know from personal experience just how punishing mobile roaming charges can be. You may be interested to know of a journalist sent by his newspaper to cover the Tour de France who came home to find that his mobile operator had billed him €9000 in roaming charges. This new regulation will stop kind of abuse dead in its tracks.
Capital of culture
Preparations are well underway for Liverpool's year as European Capital of Culture in 2008. So far seventy major events have been planned to showcase Liverpool's arts, architecture, dance, film, literature, music, and theatre, including a concert broadcast from the city's waterfront and 'The People's Festival', a celebration of working class heroes and culture.
Liverpool 2008 is set to be an exciting time for Britain and will confirm Liverpool's place as an important centre of culture in Europe.
The Bologna Process
The Bologna Process is an intergovernmental initiative which aims to create a European Higher Education Area by 2010, in which students can choose from a wide and transparent range of courses and benefit from Europe-wide recognition of their qualifications through the use of the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). Making higher education systems comparable and compatible, while also maintaining their diversity and autonomy, benefits students by allowing greater student mobility and enabling recognition for time spent studying abroad.
Ministers from the participating states met in London in July to discuss the progress of the Bologna Process and what still is hoped to be achieved by 2010. The next three years will focus in particular on increasing the employability of students and thus making Europe more competitive in the global market.
Further information on any of these topics can be found on the European Parliament website. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions that you may have.
Mary Honeyball MEP
ASP 13G 258, European Parliament, 60 Rue Wiertz, 1047 Brussels
Tel 0032 2 284 7209 Fax 0032 2 284 9209
