A Greek question in the European Parliament concerning support of lifelong learning

WRITTEN QUESTION P-6129/09
by Georgios Papanikolaou (PPE)
to the Commission

Subject: Promotion and support of lifelong education

The lifelong learning and education of European citizens is an important priority of the European Union and its Member States and a basic tool for creating and supporting the knowledge society.

Despite all this, the Greek Government, in a recent bill on overhauling the recruitment procedure for new public sector workers, proposes abolishing recognition of a second postgraduate degree as an additional qualification of candidates. It is thereby essentially punishing citizens who opt for continuous education and training and invest in this area, while at the same time ignoring the valuable time, hard work and also the money they have invested acquiring their educational specialisation.

In view of the above, will the Commission say:

1. Does it consider that the Greek government's proposal is compatible with the more general European approach of promoting specialisation and lifelong education?

2. Does it take the view that decisions of this kind represent a condemnation of knowledge and of efforts to improve the services provided by the public sector and make it more effective?