Leaders of the centre-right EPP grouping in the European Parliament say there should be compulsory classes for 14-year-olds in all member states. The calls are being led by Mario David, a Portuguese MEP who was chief of staff to European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso when he was the country's prime minister. He claimed the controversy surrounding the Lisbon Treaty demonstrated their was widespread ignorance of the EU's work. "All the debates about the constitution and then the Lisbon Treaty showed a great deal of lying, cheating and mistrust about the EU," he said. "In Ireland people were told there was going to be abortion across the EU, that young men would be conscripted into a European Army. This was a bunch of lies. "Knowing and understanding, from a young age, the principles, the procedures and the successful history of the European Union, the generations of tomorrow will be immune to any distortion of the perception of the role of the EU and will much better embrace the advantages of this unique project of voluntary sharing of sovereignty." He said the curriculum would initially include a series of five half-day seminars on the history of the union. It would cover the "Founding Fathers", the different treaties, enlargement, EU functions, the role of the union in the world and "How the EU affects everyday lives". However, the idea of the seminars was suggested "to soften the idea," according to Mr David, who was a medical doctor before entering politics. "I'm no education specialist. If they want to turn the idea into a full year-long course, so much the better," he added. Mr David said he wanted to get cross-party support for his plans and hoped it would take less than two years to get EU studies into schools. He plans to present a report to the parliament calling on the commission to develop a detailed proposal, which would then have to be adopted by the member states. Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Independence Party (Ukip), said: “I loathe the idea, but I am sure it will be passed.” He described proposal as an extension of a scheme in which British university professors are funded to carry out projects on European integration in higher education that “teach EU interpretations of history and economics”.MEPs call for compulsory 'EU lessons' in schools
MEPs are calling for school pupils to be forced to take European Union lessons to counter "lies" about Brussels.
Friday 16 October 2009
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