At the initiative of the AER, 150 regional Ministers and political representatives of culture and education from all over Europe and Canada looked at the consequences of negociations in the framework of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) on public policies and services in the fields of culture, education and the media. They unanimously demand the organisation of wide public consultation and deliberation by national and regional Parliaments before opening up these sectors of major importance for the protection and promotion of cultural identities and diversity to privatisation and competition.

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