WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3143/98 by Joaquín SISÓ CRUELLAS to the Commission. International literacy day
Date: 1998-10-16
Institutions: European Parliament, SISO CRUELLAS
Subjects: European Union, UNO, Unesco, adult education, education policy, elimination of illiteracy, public awareness campaign, statistics

15.10.1999

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 297/51

(1999/C 297/066)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3138/98

by Giuseppe Rauti (NI) to the Commission

(16 October 1998)

Subject: Mismanagement of vocational training funds

Dr Giovanni De Blasiis, in charge of the legal department of Basilicata regional council, has lodged a petition
on misuse of Community funds earmarked for vocational training, which was entered in the general register as
No 47/96. On 26 June 1996 Parliament’s Committee on Petitions deemed the matters raised to be admissible,
therefore began consideration of the petition and decided to ask the Commission to take a stance on the
various aspects of the problem.

What action does the Commission intend to take?

Answer given by Mr Flynn on behalf of the Commission

(16 December 1998)

In response to a request for information from the petitions committee concerning petition No 47/96 by
Dr Giovanni De Blasiis, the Commission transmitted a reply to the committee on 12 November 1996. The
petition was discussed at a meeting of the petitions committee on 17-18 March 1997 and closed.

(1999/C 297/067)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3143/98

by Joaquín Sisó Cruellas (PPE) to the Commission

(16 October 1998)

Subject: International literacy day

The international literacy day was celebrated on 8 September. This day was designated by the UN and Unesco
with the aim of raising the awareness of the international community and ensuring that a commitment is
entered into on a global scale with regard to education and development. Despite this, it is estimated that in the
year 2005 there will be 870 million illiterate people over the age of 15. Similarly, according to data supplied
by the Spanish national statistics institute, there are over a million illiterate people in Spain of which 960 000
are women and 380 000 are men.

In this connection, could the Commission answer the following two questions:

9 Can the Commission say how many people in the European Union are illiterate and provide a breakdown

both by gender and as a percentage of the population of each Member State?

9 What specific actions are being pursued by the Union to end illiteracy?

Answer given by Mrs Cresson on behalf of the Commission

(27 November 1998)

On 14 May 1987 the Council and Ministers of Education adopted conclusions concerning a European
programme to step up action against illiteracy. Illiteracy was regarded as being attributable to a series of
mutually sustaining causes, in addition to school-linked factors: social, geographic, medical, psychological
factors, as well as a lack of correspondence between educational requirements and those of the languages used
by the media, including the languages of information processing. It was also considered that compulsory
schooling alone was incapable of eradicating illiteracy and that initiatives should be taken as part of an overall
strategy to both prevent illiteracy in schools and improve literacy among adults.