To mark the start of the German EU Presidency, the EU Commissioners and the members of the German Cabinet from the cultural, educational and scientific spheres met today in Berlin for talks. A joint meeting of the German Cabinet and the EU Commission had already taken place in the morning.
The cultural and media issues discussed were the importance of the cultural sector to the European Union, as well as the envisaged new EU Television without Frontiers Directive. Minister of State for Cultural Affairs Bernd Neumann said after the meeting: "Strengthening the cultural sector will be one of the key issues for Europe during the German EU Presidency. The cultural and creative industries are the branches of the economy with the highest growth rates in Europe and they can help to ensure that Europe remains one of the most competitive regions in the world." Bernd Neumann commented on the planned directive on audiovisual media services: "Commissioner Reding and I are very pleased that the European Parliament and Council support in principle the proposals put forward by the Commission. On many points there is either a high degree of consensus or the standpoints of the three institutions are converging. This applies, for example, to the extension of the scope of application to new services or the use of self-regulation instruments. We thus have a sound basis for the next phase of the consultations. My aim is to ensure that agreement is reached on the Directive during the Germany Presidency."
Present at the talks were Ján Figel, Janez Potocnik, Leonard Organ, Viviane Reding and Margot Wallström from the EU Commission, as well as – alongside Minister of State Bernd Neumann – the Federal Ministers Ursula von der Leyen and Annette Schavan. A joint meeting of the EU Commission and members of the Government traditionally kicks off every EU Presidency. At this meeting, the programme for the following six months is discussed.
