IP/07/61
Brussels, 18 January 2007
EU Commission staff visit their old schools On 22 January, German members of staff at the European Commission will visit their old schools and have discussions with the pupils about Europe. The aim of the "EU Project Day", which was initiated by the Federal Government, is to spark pupils' interest in the European Union and raise their awareness of European politics. The European Commission is taking part for the first time in this kind of initiative involving its own staff and hopes that this will also be done in other Member States. Margot Wallström, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for institutional relations and communications, says that the initiative shows how the EU should communicate: namely, in a direct dialogue with members of the public. She says that communication should take place in partnership between the Member States and the institutions, instead of by passing the buck between Brussels and the Member States. Direct talks are more interesting, in her view, than advertising campaigns.
Günter Verheugen, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for enterprise and industry, who will himself be visiting a school in Bremen, says that the initiative offers an excellent opportunity to pass on the European idea to a younger generation who take the European Union and its benefits for granted but are possibly not entirely aware of its historical significance. He is particularly pleased that so many German officials from the Commission are willing to return to their former schools. He says that, in 50 years, we have achieved a true "European way of life" characterised by unity in diversity. He sees the school project as an outstanding example of this, as it makes it possible to experience the European spirit in a national context.
More than 450 German members of staff from the European Commission will be arriving direct from Brussels. Together with the Members of the Federal Government, the German Bundestag and the European Parliament, they will visit German schools and have discussions with the pupils about Europe. More than 140 of the discussion seminars will take place in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria alone. The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, led the call for the school visits in the autumn of last year. The Chancellor will herself visit a school and talk to the pupils about European integration. Also participating will be Günter Verheugen, Vice-President of the European Commission, Dr Gerhard Sabathil, head of the European Commission Representation in Germany, Johannes Laitenberger, press spokesman of José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, and Walter Deffaa and Roland Schenkel, the heads of two Commission Directorates-General.
The EU Project Day is one of a large number of activities instigated by the Federal Government during Germany's Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers in the first half of 2007. The greater awareness brought about by Germany's Presidency of the Council is to be used to bring the European Union closer to its citizens. The younger generation is one of the main target groups for events such as the EU Project Day. The European Commission Representation in Germany supports these efforts and, alongside its own long-term initiatives, supports those of Germany's EU Council Presidency.
The EU Project Day will be held in Bavaria on 26 March.
Attached is a list of the schools and Commission staff involved. The list is not conclusive and changes are possible at short notice.
Further information on the EU Project Day in German schools can be found on the website of the Federal Agency for Political Education (Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung) http://www.bpb.de/themen/7WGKPC,0,0,EUProjekttag.html.
The members of staff are also available for interviews.
http://ec.europa.eu/deutschland/information/citizens_services/index_de.htm
