Press Releases
Education
Extra funds for education, youth and creativity will boost jobs, says Commission
11/07/2011
As part of its strategy for boosting employment, the European Commission is aiming to nearly double the number of young people, teachers and researchers who get EU grants for study and training abroad, from 400 000 recipients per year now to almost 800 000 in future. This is one of the key objectives behind the significant increase in EU investment for education, youth and creativity proposed by the Commission in its budget plan for 2014-2020, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, Androulla Vassiliou, told a press conference today. Improving education and training and helping people acquire the right skills is crucial for meeting future job needs and fighting poverty. Investing more in the creative industries will also boost job opportunities in a sector which represents 4.5% of EU GDP and 3.8% of employment.
European countries need to step up efforts to boost reading skills, study says
11/07/2011
One in five 15 year olds and many adults in Europe cannot read properly. A new study published by the European Commission today shows what countries are doing to improve reading literacy – and where they are falling short. The study, which covers 31 countries (EU Member States, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Turkey), reveals that while most have made progress in developing literacy policies, they often lack focus on the groups most at risk, such as boys, children from disadvantaged households and migrant children. EU Education Ministers have set a target to reduce the share of poor readers from 20% to less than 15% by 2020. Only Belgium (Flemish Community), Denmark, Estonia, Finland and Poland have already achieved this target.
EU allocates new funding to boost higher education in European Neighbourhood and Russia.
06/07/2011
The Commission announced it would allocate €47 million to support higher education projects in the European Neighbourhood countries and Russia under the Tempus Programme. The new funding will improve teaching, learning methods and teaching material, as well as boost quality assurance and management of higher education institutions in the partner countries.
Culture
Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou pays tribute to "Zorba the Greek" film director
26/07/2011
Androulla Vassiliou pays tribute to Michael Cacoyiannis, Cypriot film director, who died in Athens. He was best known for his adaptation of Nikos Kazantzakis' book "Zorba the Greek".
European Commission and Council of Europe step up work for Roma with mediators' agreement
06/07/2011
Strasbourg, 06 July 2011 - The Council of Europe and the European Commission today intensified their efforts to improve the place of the Roma minority within European society by agreeing joint action for training Roma Mediators.
MEDIA
Commission consults on how best to seize the opportunities for TV and film in the online age
13/07/2011
Digital technology and the internet are rapidly changing the way in which audiovisual works are produced, marketed, and distributed. Consumers increasingly expect to be able to watch anything, anywhere, any time and via any one of a number of devices (TV, personal computer, games console, mobile media device). Business models have to evolve rapidly to keep pace with the ever faster pace of technological change which offers new opportunities for creators and distributors and also new consumer expectations and ultimately more growth and jobs.
