The European Union and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) reached a new deal that will boost cooperation, dialogue and help to share information and best practice. The new partnership sets out clear, strategic priorities and encourages increased policy dialogue on areas of mutual interest between the two organisations, such as education, culture, science and technology, maritime policy and freedom of expression.

The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, Catherine Ashton, and the Development Commissioner, Andris Piebalgs signed a new partnership to boost cooperation, dialogue and help on education, culture, science and human rights. An example of cooperation between the both organisations is the group of experts appointed by the Commission to analyse how to tackle illiteracy.

The Memorandum of Understanding signed for both organisations sets out clear, strategic priorities and encourages increased policy dialogue on areas of mutual interest between the two organisations, such as education, culture, science and technology, maritime policy and freedom of expression. The partnership will offer enlarged opportunities to address local, regional and global challenges, also through a reinforced dialogue between EU Delegations and UNESCO Field Offices and UNESCO specialized Institutes.

This partnership is based on long-standing cooperation between the EU and UNESCO, which include multistakeholder initiatives, such as the Global Partnership for Education to promote aid effectiveness and policy dialogue on education. Both UNESCO and the EU promote human rights and fundamental freedoms as cornerstones of stability and development. Freedom of expression, the safety of journalists, and the stabilization of democratic processes are other examples of shared engagement. UNESCO and the EU cooperate also in the areas of civil protection and disaster preparedness, which includes joint work on prevention and reduction of the impacts of marine hazards and on sustainable early warning systems.