18/02/2009: Parliament expressed its support for the Commission Communication "Towards an EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child" and called on the Commission to take specific measures. The need to take concrete measures in order to answer to the needs of children and families is a position that the EP has defended on two notable occasions, through its resolution on "promoting social inclusion and combating poverty, including child poverty, in the EU" and its decision establishing 2010 as the European Year for combating poverty and social exclusion.

In this context, Marie Panayotopoulos - Cassiotou MEP (EPP-ED, Greece), Chairwoman of the Intergroup on 'Family and Protection of Childhood', asked the European Commission what is the recent state of play in this field and what other matters of crucial importance to children the Commission will promote in the near future.

The representative of the European Commission, Vice-President Jacques Barrot, gave the following answer to Mrs Panayotopoulos - Cassiotou: "The Commission Communication proposes the establishment of a Strategy aiming at efficiently promoting the rights of the child in the framework of the EU internal and external policies, supporting the efforts made by the Member States in this field (...) [ and finally] launching a consultation before the presentation of a European Strategy for the period 2010-2014. This consultation is ongoing: (...) in the fields of Justice, Liberty and Security prior to the Stockholm programme, the European forum for the rights of the child, the experts' reunion and the consultation of children to be launched in 2009. The new Strategy on the rights of the child will particularly be focused on the new priorities identifies by the EP resolution. Since the adoption of its Communication the Commission has committed itself to taken concrete measures such as legislative measures, measures of police and judicial cooperation, measures of cooperation between Member States, exchange of good practices, in view of combating any violation of children's rights. To this end, a Forum was created (...) [in order to] advice and support the Commission and other European Institutions, (...) to exchange information and good practices in matters related to the rights of the child (...) to promote the children's point of view on policies and matters which are of an interest to them. The conditions of such participation are to be determined. The Forum held on the 9th of December 2008 mainly dealt with the theme of violence and of the participation and consultation of children.

Regarding children's poverty, national action plans for social inclusion 2008-2010 have confirmed that poverty and social exclusion of children constitute more than never a concern to the great majority of Member States, but also an essential element in the framework of the Open Method of Coordination on poverty and social exclusion. Progress has been made in the field of the analysis and the statistical treatment of these questions; nevertheless, it is hard to find the necessary efforts and political engagement without which it will be very difficult to have a decisive influence on the phenomenon of poverty and social exclusion of children. (...) In this respect, the Commission wishes to reinforce the process of definition of reasonable objectives but also the establishment of monitoring and evaluation tools both at European and National level. It also considers a better way to coordinate the European process in the field of the rights of the child, but also the social inclusion process and the encouragement of the improvement of synergies at a National level between the establishment of reports on the UN Convention on the rights of the Child and the development of national action plans for social inclusion".

"In this context of generalised financial crisis which influences the daily lives of families, what matters is the rapid execution of preventive measures in order to control an unexpected extension of the multidimensional phenomenon of child poverty, and notably in the regions affected by unemployment", commented Marie Panayotopoulos - Cassiotou.

For further information:
Tel: +32-2-2847447 - Fax: +32-2-2849447
E-mail: marie.panayotopoulos-cassiotou@europarl.europa.eu

2010 - 2014: NEW EUROPEAN STRATEGY ON THE PROTECTION OF CHILDREN'S RIGHTS

13/02/2009: The EU establishes a strategy for the protection of the rights of children on its territory, through its internal and external policies. In that respect, MEP Marie Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou MEP (EPP-ED,GR), Chairwoman of the Intergroup on 'Family and Protection of Childhood', asked the Commission what its efforts have achieved so far, whether there is recognition at European level of the rights of the unborn child - healthy or disabled, and how they are implemented.

In a written answer, the Commission declared that "since the adoption of the 2006 Communication 'Towards a Strategy on the rights of the child', the Commission has committed itself to undertake concrete actions in view of combating any form of violation of children's rights. The Commission foresees to present a new strategy on the rights of the child for the period 2010 - 2014. To this end, a public consultation is ongoing.
European action is focused on the inclusion of children's rights in all policies, but also on the consideration of these same rights when undertaking concrete actions, within the framework of EU's competences.
The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights guarantees the principle of inviolability of Human dignity. It is up to each Member to determine the pertinence of the application of this principle to the unborn child.The determination of whether the principle of inviolability of human dignity comprises the embryo or not as well as the determination of the legal personality of the embryo lies within the competences of the Member States.
The EU has no competence on this issue" concluded the European Commission.

For further information:
Tel: +32-2-2847447, Fax: +32-2-2849447
E-mail: marie.panayotopoulos-cassiotou@europarl.europa.eu

A EUROPEAN AND INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL IN NANTES, FRANCE : 26TH-29TH OF MARCH, 2009.

05/02/2009: On Sky News : Johnson's dad, the old block of whom Boris is a chip off, believes that Boris's success will be down to a classical upbringing. "If you can really master ancient Greek, you can do anything! Pericles' view of Athenian democracy is a very good model if you're going to be mayor of London".

Associated Press : "Johnson is focusing his campaign on London's outer boroughs [...] Mindful perhaps that London conservatives are stereotyped as rich white English males, he has spoken mangled ancient Greek to Greek voters (he learned it in school).»

Every year, other countries participate with representative groups, authors, films, professors and teachers. The following year, we bring events to their country. In some cases, we can give distance to the passions of a modern event. For example, it is easier to speak of Persia (Iran) from the perspective of Thucydides and Aeschylus. Egypt could be better understood by reading Herodotus. Cicero helps with concepts of the law. All the modern issues: human rights, women’s liberation, technology, advertising, ecology and even citizenship have their roots in classical times as well.

Festum Europaeum Latinum et Graecum quartum tractabit argumentum c.t."Barbari, Alteri, Limes". Patroni hujus festi erunt duo administri galli, Domina Valérie Pécresse ab Institutione Superiore et Dominus Xavier Darcos ab Institutione Nationali, et patrona perennis festi erit Domina Jacqueline de Romilly, Academiae Gallorum. Constabit e tribus diebus et duobus vesperibus congressuum et disceptationum minorum. Allicient quoque cantica linguâ latinâ, excerpta e comoediis antiquis hodiernisque, expositiones de Carthagine, conventûs de Pace Romana, 'Babylonia et Graecia', 'Hierosolyma, Athenae et Roma', itinera humanistarum, concentûs de Pythagoro, afflatûs antiqui super opera Debussy.
Fient apparatûs vestituum antiquorum, cena graeca, et legentur opera latina scripta a Joachim du Bellay, Karl Marx et Arthur Rimbaud.
Mense Marte anni 2005-i aperto, huic evento prodest favor non solum virorum feminarumque politicorum (François Fillon, qui illo tempore Administer ab Institutione Nationali primus eo favit, quem secutus est R. Donnedieu de Vabres, Administer a Cultu Civili); litteratorum (Jacques Lacarrière, qui eum inauguravit, Karl-Heinz de Rothenburg et Olivier Germain-Thomas, qui quoque adfuerunt, et Vassilis Alexakis; sed etiam diurnariorum, quorum P.P.D.A., hospes et sidus televisificum, qui consentit edicere titulo magnis litteris scripto Acta Diurna anni 429-i a.Chr.n. Athenis; necnon sodales Academiae Scientiarum (sicut ei, de quibus tractavit emissio «Rayon Gamma Facteur Epsilon» in Canal Académie [Catena televisifica Academiae]; et scholae, quarum specializatio 'Periegesis et Patrimonium', ubi horno 'Point Métier' [Angulus ad vitae cursum eligendum] ad juniores dicatus inaugurabitur.
In hoc festo aliquantum insolito ordinabitur certamen europaeum ludorum et inventorum pertinentium ad Antiquitatem, ut oblectamentis, musicâ, artibus elegantioribus, colloquiis de aspectibus historicis, et illo Angulo ad vitae cursum eligendum, emolumenta eruditionis conditae in memoria communi et patrimonio universali humanitatum (bene vocatarum) probet. Hoc patrimonium semper vivet pro eis, qui subsidiis latine in Interret pansis et Graeciae linguae mythisque, annorum plus quam duo millia et multas vicissitudines superantibus, student. Nam, nisi homo suum proprium cultum civilem et ejus virtutes noscit, quo modo ingenia alienigena explorare et ad ea se accommodare potest?
Ecce tres dies festivi et jucundi. (translated by Brennus Legranus)

http://www.festival-latin-grec.eu/en