School Pupils could get EU Classes - from Teachers Trained by the EU

Wednesday, 1 February 2006

British youngsters could be given classes about the EU in school if plans put forward by the European Commission become reality, Timothy Kirkhope MEP, Conservative leader in Brussels, said today after the release of the Commission's 'White Paper on a European Communication Policy'.

The report also suggests a code of conduct setting out how journalists should "communicate Europe".

The paper argues that awareness of the EU could be promoted through lessons about EU history and institutions becoming part of the school curriculum in member states.

This could mean youngsters learning about famous figures in the EU's development - like Robert Schuman and Jacques Delors - and studying the intricacies of the Common Agricultural Policy.

The Commission says that a " European Teachers' College" could be established "so that teachers can learn from one another and develop common tools for teaching European studies".

The white paper suggests that the EU, its member states and journalists could agree on guidelines for reporting EU matters - an idea likely to be unpopular among the British press in particular.

It also puts forward the idea of a publicly-funded EU press agency - already dubbed the 'Brussels Broadcasting Corporation'.

The Commission has set up an online facility for public feedback.

Mr Kirkhope said:

"This plan is supposed to bring the EU closer to its citizens, which I would welcome, but I fear it will only end up making the current gap even wider.

"People across Europe are communicating their message to the EU and it is a message of dissatisfaction. The Commission should perhaps concentrate less on communicating and more on listening.

"The idea of journalists agreeing to a code of conduct for reporting about the EU will go down especially badly in Britain.

"It sounds a bit like brainwashing to me. Our children should be learning to read and write at school and lifting their horizons globally, not studying the ins and outs of the Common Agricultural Policy."

ENDS