Culture has a large part to play in how the European Union deals with the rest of the world. We at the ECF have championed a well-thought-out ‘cultural foreign policy' for the EU, and not simply one arrived at by default. To this end, we organised a conference and commissioned two research projects on EU external relations.
The good news is that culture's place and role in EU external relations are now officially being strengthened. In November 2008, the Council of the European Union signalled a fresh direction, urging the drawing up of ‘a European strategy for incorporating culture consistently and systematically in the external relations of the Union'. Read the Council's Conclusions.
This move will affect European policies, programmes, instruments and funding. One beneficial outcome is that we are likely to see civil society becoming more involved in EU foreign policymaking.
‘The future role of Europe in the world will be shaped by the common EU foreign and security policy being developed by the Member States and the European institutions. But the strength of the EU model is that it is a cultural as well as a political one. Foreign policy inevitably has a cultural dimension.'- from The Hague Recommendations
Culture's Importance
Why is it important for cultural cooperation with third countries to be an official EU policy goal? Historically, culture has been a neglected aspect of the ‘ever-closer union' that started out, pragmatically, with securing economic advantages for Member States. But the EU has become a powerful player in world affairs. Foreign policy always has a cultural dimension, so why not address this directly?
We all want to avoid the mistakes of the past, when ‘external relations' too often meant domineering interference. We want the EU to use its ‘soft power' to help bring about a peaceful, safe, sustainable, prosperous and fair world.
Especially in turbulent economic times, when competition can be cut-throat and prosperity is in short supply, it is vital not to allow relations to become soured. ECF Director Gottfried Wagner has remarked: ‘After lessons are learned from the financial meltdown, civil society will have to become a key player in the creative reorganisation of our economies; shared creative solutions to climatic and environmental problems will be needed, and creativity can bolster the new ethical political paradigm that is on the rise.'
Diversity Makes the Difference (The Hague, 9 March, 2007)
Policymakers heard and responded to calls for greater cultural cooperation between the EU and third countries. Resulted in the Hague Recommendations for developing a cultural component to EU foreign policy. Co-organised by the ECF, ‘under the umbrella' of the German EU Presidency.
Kultur-Macht-Europa / Culture-Powers-Europe (Berlin, 7-8 June 2007)
Participants from across Europe reflected on the prospects of a European cultural policy and the strengthening of Europe's ‘cultural power' in a globalising world. The ECF was a partner of the conference.
New Paradigms, New Models (Ljubljana, 13-14 May 2008)
46 countries were represented at this international conference on EU external relations. Taking part were artists, arts networks, cultural commentators, cultural relations organisations, MEPs and officials from Ministries of Foreign Affairs and the European Commission. Emphasis was placed on better dialogue between public authorities and civil society. Part of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU, and co-initiated by the ECF.
Does Europe need a Cultural Foreign Policy? (Kulturpolitische Gesellschaft, Bonn, March 2004) was researched and written by then Chair of the ECF Kathinka Dittrich van Weringh and Ernst Schürmann. It revealed considerable agreement within Member States that the EU is a cultural and social project in the making, founded on certain accepted norms and values; improved intercultural dialogue is seen as crucial to conveying these norms and values convincingly to the outside world.
A Cultural Component as an Integral Part of the EU's Foreign Policy? (Dodd, Diane; Lyklema, Melle; Dittrich van Weringh, Kathinka; Boekmanstudies, Amsterdam, 2006) was a second, follow-up study commissioned by the ECF and LabforCulture. It concentrated on the question of whether the Member States would agree to a cultural component to EU external relations. All of the relevant official mission statements, as well as background literature, were examined, revealing no serious objections to such a development.
A Cultural Dimension to the EU's External Policies:
from Policy Statement to Practice and Potential (Fisher, Rod, 2007, Amsterdam, Boekmanstudies, Amsterdam, 2007). In this further follow-up, six Member States (Denmark, France, Latvia, Poland, Portugal and the UK) with differing views on the EU were chosen for a ‘reality check' to see if theory complied with practice. Native researchers interviewed officials and culture professionals. The findings broadly endorsed the conclusions of all the previous research.