Subtitling all public TV programmes to give deaf people equal access to TV programmes. This is the proposal that the European Parliament submits to all the governments of the EU member states, the EU Commission and the EU Council. The written statement submitted by the Polish MEP Lidia Joanna Geringer received 427 signatures; with the support of the majority of MEPs, the statement becomes the official position of the Assembly, to be certified during the plenary session of 9-10 April in Brussels. The report states that "the EU should guarantee that the citizens have equal access to information, education and culture"; then it highlights that "over 83 million people in the EU are affected by a partial or total loss of hearing and, because of the ageing of the population, this problem will keep increasing". Geringer insists on the fact today’s technology can be used to subtitle TV programmes, including live programmes, as the British BBC has been doing since early April. Finally, subtitling would somehow help "learn foreign languages". The EU Commission is asked "to submit a bill of law" to such effect.
