MORE INFO ON TOPIC
Read Gottfried Wagner's personal reaction to this news, 'A Sign But No Miracle As Yet'
Lesen Sie auch Gottfried Wagners persönliche Reaktion zu der EU Kommunikation, 'Es geschehen noch Zeichen, doch noch keine Wunder'
Read the latest EU-Insider, dedicated to the topic English et Français
Download press release from the EU Commission
Check official EU site
Read EU paper on 'Inventory of Community actions in the field of culture'
Culture gets to the heart of Europe with the adoption of the European Commission's first-ever Communication on culture.
The proposals contained in the European Commission's first-ever Communication on culture are up for discussion by all stakeholders (European Institutions, Member States, and civil society). They will be pored over in Lisbon this September at the civil society's Cultural Forum meeting (26th and 27th) as well as the informal Council of Ministers meeting (28th). The hope is that agreement can be reached and the Communication will be adopted by the Council of Ministers before the end of 2007.
The threefold aims are: to promote cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue; to promote culture as a catalyst for creativity in the framework of the Lisbon Strategy for growth and employment; and to promote culture as a vital aspect of the EU's international relations.
Cultural NGOs can expect to have greater leverage through the decentralised approach that will be adopted in implementing the proposals. This so-called Open Method of Coordination is a form of intergovernmental cooperation that has been used to good effect in other sectors, such as education, research, youth, and social affairs. If the process is successful, major changes to culture's place on the EU agenda should result.
The response of Gottfried Wagner, Director of the ECF, to this welcome news:
This is a momentous occasion for all of us who work in culture.
At the ECF we have been lobbying and arguing strongly for a European strategy for culture over many years. It was especially pleasing to see a mention for the Civil Society Platform for Intercultural Dialogue, which was initiated by the ECF and its partner, EFAH.
We will be working with the Civil Society Platform to gather support for the Communication and make sure that it is put into practice in all EU countries and at European-level too. Our own thinking and recommendations on European cultural policy will be presented to the forthcoming EU Presidencies.
Civil Society Platform for Intercultural Dialogue
The ECF and the European Forum for the Arts and Heritage (EFAH) have launched a civil society platform for intercultural dialogue to help ensure that the 2008 EU Year of Intercultural Dialogue has much more than merely symbolic importance.
European cultural organisations and networks, as well as organisations dealing with related issues such as migration, education, youth and social affairs, are part the platform. The platform's aims are to map, exchange and disseminate best practice throughout Europe; produce content, policy analysis and recommendations; act as a consultative body for the EU in its preparations for the Year of Intercultural Dialogue; and to make its own contribution to 2008.
The platform will meet twice a year during an initial 3-year pilot phase. Read more
EU (European) Neighbourhood
Cooperation and partnership must underpin an open European neighbourhood policy. We call on the EU to invest significantly in promoting greater mutual understanding of cultural diversity within the EU and beyond. This could be achieved with a culture programme which gives EU citizens the chance to
understand and identify with the process of European integration. We work closely with other organisations that have a similar outlook to ours (e.g. the Anna Lindh Foundation and EFAH), lobbying for a more substantial recognition of culture's importance, not least as a catalyst for economic and social development.
We also make informed recommendations on cultural cooperation policies and instruments that will improve relations between the EU and its neighbours to the East, South, and South-East.
Jochen Fried´s paper on "Cultural Cooperation in a Wider Europe" which brings together factual evidence and content proposals on developing a strategic cultural policy framework for Europe.
70 cents for culture! campaign
In the present context of a massively diverse EU, the severe underfunding of cultural cooperation by the European Union should not
be allowed to continue. With this in mind, we joined forces with the European Forum for the Arts and Heritage (EFAH) to campaign and gain political support for a substantial increase in EU finding for culture (our proposal: 315 million EUROS annually - just 70 cents per EU citizen). The campaign has not achieved our desired result, although it has seen a real improvement in the importance accorded culture by the European Parliament. This augurs well for the future. In the meantime, a now mobilised cultural sector should continue to strengthen its lobbying activities. Read more...