Cultural and educational exchanges between the EU and its partners can contribute to creation of jobs, MEP Francis Zammit Dimech said. Furthermore, Member States and the European Commission need to develop high quality mobility and scientific cooperation schemes to enable international collaboration and exchange of knowledge. On the other hand, culture and education policies need to provide skills to face challenges arising from globalisation.

MEP Francis Zammit Dimech made these remarks following a vote taken on a report that he presented to the committee on Culture and Education. The Committee unanimously adopted his report with 25 votes in favour and no votes against or abstentions.

Zammit Dimech emphasised that trade agreements between the EU and third countries need to protect and promote cultural and linguistic diversity, freedom of expression, media freedom and pluralism irrespective of the technology or distribution platform used. “In trade agreements, culture and education cannot be considered or managed like a good or service”, noted Zammit Dimech.

In his report, Zammit Dimech also encouraged the Commission and Member States to use existing EU structures for cultural diplomacy actions in line with the principles of solidarity and sustainability to foster poverty reduction and international development when dealing with international trade.

Globalisation is considered to be one of the greatest challenges being facing by EU citizens as whereas it can boost EU economic growth, it can also put immense pressure on jobs, wages and standards. Hence, the European Parliament is preparing its recommendations on how the EU, the largest player in global trade, can mitigate such challenges, promote its values and boost the opportunities. Zammit Dimech’s report will now be considered by the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade.