17. februar 2012, 13:27 – opdateret 17. februar 2012, 13:36

The EU's latest educational proposal, 'Chess in School', which claims that teaching kids to play chess can reduce discrimination, crime and various forms of dependency, has already been given the cold shoulder by Danish anti-EU MEP's.

The Danish People's Party's Morten Messerschmidt, backed by the Socialist People's Party’s Emilie Turunen, said the EU should keep its nose out of Danish public school education and dismissed the 'trivial proposal' as yet another example of Brussels' self-absorption and inability to deal with important matters.

According to the EU, playing chess strengthens children’s concentration, patience, perseverance, creativity, intuition, memory and analytical skills, and teaches determination, motivation and sportsmanship'. “There appears to be no problem that can’t be cured by a game of chess,” Mr Messerschmidt said.

The EU proposal comes just as the governmetnhas outlined its own reform programme for state schools, centering on the three R's ' reading, riting, and rithmetic'. Minister for Education Christine Antorini said it's imperative for Danish kids to become measurably better at mathematics and Danish.

"These subjects are the foundation for everything else. If you have a good grasp on these, you can do well in other areas.”

According to the National Centre for Social Research, 20 to 25 per cent of students who have poor skills in Danish and mathematics also experience difficulty entering further education or finding work.