The Commissioner for education and culture, the Luxembourger Vivian Reding, outlined to the European Parliament the priorities of his General Directorate for 2002. In the field of education, one objective is the bureaucratic simplification of the “Socrates” Programme, to facilitate and encourage exchanges of students and teachers. Reding announced that the millionth “Erasmus” study grant would be paid out in the course of the 2002/3 academic year. Cooperation with third countries in the field of secondary and higher teaching will also be reinforced, as also the possibility for universities to “present projects for developing and optimizing European skills”. Particular emphasis will be placed on the learning process throughout life, on the recognition of qualifications, on language study and on measures for raising the awareness of young people in the problems of racism and xenophobia. The “Media Plus” programme for the cinema will be supplemented with new pilot projects in the sectors of digital television, on-line distribution and archives. As regards culture, Viviane Reding confirmed the continuation of the “Culture 2000” programme and the opening of a reflection both on the mobility of artists and on the role of the “cultural patron”.
