DECISION No 2085/97/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 6 October 1997 establishing a programme of support, including translation, in the field of books and reading (Ariane)
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 128 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),
Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions (2),
Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 189b of the Treaty (3) in the light of the joint text approved by the Conciliation Committee on 28 May 1997,
(1) Whereas, in the age of the information society, books and reading are still one of the most suitable methods of disseminating knowledge, and the complementary relationship between books and audiovisual technology, and multimedia, must be taken into account;
(2) Whereas any Community programme in the field of books needs to take account of their dual function as economic and cultural objects;
(3) Whereas reading as a leisure pursuit of particular importance can be encouraged by Community programmes, in particular in the field of education and culture;
(4) Whereas it is important to distinguish, in the book production chain, between creation, publishing, translation and dissemination; whereas this programme (Ariane) may be viewed as a significant cultural measure to promote books;
(5) Whereas the Treaty entrusts the Community with the task of:
- contributing to the flowering of the cultures of the Member States, while respecting their national and regional diversity,
- encouraging cooperation between Member States and, if necessary, supporting and supplementing their action, particularly as regards artistic and literary creation,
- fostering cooperation with third countries and the competent international organizations in the sphere of culture, in particular the Council of Europe;
(6) Whereas the promotion of translation and support for targeted initiatives carried out in partnership, particularly between specialist operators in the European books and reading sector, contribute to:
- knowledge and dissemination of the culture and history of the European peoples,
- maintaining the diversity of literary creation and the literary heritage expressed in the various national and regional languages,
- intercultural exchanges and exchanges of know-how
and whereas such promotion favours the access of citizens - including less-favoured ones - to culture;
(7) Whereas it is necessary to contribute towards encouraging high-quality translation and promotion of literary works within the Community, in particular through improvement of the skills of literary translators as well as of other professionals in the book sector, particularly those who are responsible for the promotion of access by the European citizen to such works;
(8) Whereas European literary and translation prizes may contribute to the dissemination of literary works of high merit;
(9) Whereas the Community institutions have recognized the importance of knowledge and dissemination of literary works, by means of translation in particular, as is apparent from:
- the European Parliament Resolution of 10 July 1987 on the Commission communication to the Council on the European dimension with regard to books (4),
- the Resolution of the Council and of the Ministers responsible for Cultural Affairs meeting within the Council of 9 November 1987 on the promotion of translation of important works of European culture (5),
- the Resolution of the Council and of the Ministers responsible for Cultural Affairs meeting within the Council of 18 May 1989 concerning the promotion of books and reading (6),
- the Commission communication of 3 August 1989: Books and reading: A cultural challenge for Europe,
- the conclusions of the Ministers of Culture, meeting within the Council, of 12 November 1992 on guidelines for Community cultural action (7),
- the European Parliament Resolution of 21 January 1993 on promoting books and reading in Europe (8),
- the Resolution of the Council and of the Ministers of Culture, meeting within the Council, of 17 May 1993 on the promotion of the translation of contemporary European dramatic works (9);
(10) Having regard to the outcome of the European campaign to promote awareness of books and reading (1993-1994) organized by the Community and the Council of Europe;
(11) Whereas the Commission communication of 27 July 1994 on 'European Community action in support of culture`, which makes books and reading a priority area, sets out the framework for incentive measures to support and complement the efforts of Member States, while respecting the principle of subsidiarity;
(12) Whereas it is important to implement Community cultural projects with third countries within and outside Europe, and to implement European cultural cooperation with the Council of Europe and other relevant international bodies, such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco);
(13) Whereas this Decision lays down, for the entire duration of this programme, a financial framework constituting the principal point of reference, within the meaning of point 1 of the Declaration by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission of 6 March 1995, for the budgetary authority during the annual budgetary procedure;
(14) Whereas a modus vivendi was concluded on 20 December 1994 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission concerning the implementing measures for acts adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 189b of the Treaty (10),
HAVE DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
Article 1
This Decision establishes the Ariane action programme set out in the Annex, hereinafter referred to as 'this programme`, for the period 1 January 1997 to 31 December 1998, intended to increase the knowledge and dissemination of literary works and the history of the European peoples as well as access by the European citizen thereto, notably through support for the translation of literary works, plays and reference works, through support for cooperation projects on books and reading carried out in partnership, as well as through the improvement of the skills of professionals working in this field.
Article 2
This programme shall encourage cooperation at European level between Member States in the field of culture. It shall support and supplement their action in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity by contributing to the flowering of their cultures while respecting their national and regional diversity.
To this end, the aims of this programme shall be as follows:
(a) to encourage, by means of translation:
- a wider dissemination of 20th-century literary works of merit which are representative of the culture of the Member State from which they come and which illustrate, in particular, trends in contemporary European literature in the second half of the century; in this respect, priority will be given to translations of works in less widely used languages of the European Union or translations into such languages,
- the dissemination of contemporary dramatic works in order to present to the European public a varied repertory which is representative of the cultures of the Member States,
- the dissemination of reference works to improve the knowledge of the culture and history of the European peoples, in particular in the areas referred to in Article 128 (2) and (4) of the Treaty;
(b) to encourage, through support for cooperation projects carried out in partnership:
- exchanges of experience and know-how on themes of common interest in the book sector between professionals at European level,
- the development of partnership initiatives which aim to facilitate access to data relevant to the dissemination of books, and the promotion of, and access by the citizen to, reading;
(c) to encourage high-quality translation and promotion of works by providing Community support for the improvement of the skills of literary translators, as well as of other professionals in the book sector, and particularly those responsible for improving access by the citizen;
(d) to accompany and supplement the efforts referred to in (a), (b) and (c) by providing support for innovative study and research projects submitted by networks and professional organizations.
Article 3
The Actions described in the Annex shall be carried out in pursuit of the objectives set out in Article 2. They shall be implemented in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 5.
Article 4
1. This programme shall be open to participation by the associated countries of central and eastern Europe (ACCEE) in accordance with the conditions laid down in the Additional Protocols to the Association Agreements on participation in Community programmes concluded, or to be concluded, with those countries. This programme shall be open to participation by Cyprus and Malta and to cooperation with other third countries which have concluded association or cooperation agreements containing cultural clauses, on the basis of additional appropriations to be provided according to procedures to be agreed with those countries. Some general rules for such participation are provided for in Action 6 in the Annex.
2. The Community and the Member States shall promote cooperation with the Council of Europe, and with other relevant international organizations in the cultural sector (e.g. Unesco), by ensuring, with due regard for the individual identity and autonomy of each institution and organization, that the instruments adopted are complementary.
Article 5
1. The Commission shall implement this programme in accordance with this Decision.
2. The Commission shall be assisted by a Committee composed of two representatives per Member State and chaired by the Commission representative. Members of the Committee may be assisted by experts or advisers.
3. The representative of the Commission shall submit to the Committee draft measures concerning:
- the priorities and general guidelines for the measures described in the Annex and the annual programme resulting therefrom,
- the general balance between all the Actions,
- the selection rules and criteria for the various types of project described in the Annex (Actions 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6),
- the financial support to be provided by the Community (amounts, duration, distribution and beneficiaries),
- the detailed procedures for monitoring and evaluating this programme, together with the conclusions of the assessment report provided for in Article 8 and any other measure readjusting this programme arising from the assessment report.
The Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft measures referred to in the first subparagraph within a time limit which the Chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the matter. The opinion shall be delivered by the majority laid down in Article 148 (2) of the Treaty in the case of decisions which the Council is required to adopt on a proposal from the Commission. The votes of the representatives of the Member States shall be weighted in the manner set out in that Article. The Chairman shall not vote.
The Commission shall adopt measures which shall apply immediately. However, if these measures are not in accordance with the opinion of the Committee, they shall be communicated by the Commission to the Council forthwith.
In that event:
(a) the Commission may defer application of the measures which it has decided for a period of two months from the date of such communication;
(b) the Council, acting by a qualified majority, may take a different decision within the time limit referred to in (a).
4. The Commission may consult the Committee on any other matter concerning the implementation of this programme not covered by paragraph 3.
The representative of the Commission shall submit to the Committee a draft of the measures to be taken.
The Committee shall deliver its opinion on this draft within a time limit which the Chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the matter, if necessary by taking a vote.
The opinion shall be recorded in the minutes; each Member State shall have the right to ask to have its position recorded in the minutes.
The Commission shall take the utmost account of the opinion delivered by the Committee. It shall inform the Committee of the manner in which its opinion has been taken into account.
Article 6
1. The financial framework for the implementation of this programme for the period referred to in Article 1 shall be ECU 7 million.
2. The annual appropriations shall be authorized by the budgetary authority within the limits of the financial perspective.
Article 7
The Commission, in collaboration with the Member States, shall seek to ensure that the Actions provided for in this programme and the other cultural programmes such as Kaleidoscope (11) and Raphael, on the one hand, and the Community action programmes, in particular concerning education, such as Socrates (12), and training, such as Leonardo da Vinci (13), on the other, are complementary.
Article 8
One year after this programme has been in operation, and within the six months following that period, the Commission, after having consulted the Committee, shall present to the European Parliament and the Council a detailed assessment report on the results achieved, accompanied, where necessary, by appropriate proposals, including proposals for the continuation of the programme and the relevant arrangements so as to enable the European Parliament and the Council to take a decision before the end of the period covered by this programme. This report will highlight the added value created, particularly of a cultural nature, including reference to the impact on the dissemination of literature in the less widely-used languages, and the socio-economic consequences brought about by the financial support granted by the Community. The report is intended to assess, both qualitatively and quantitatively, the extent to which the programme has achieved the objectives referred to in Article 2.
In the light of the assessment report provided for in the previous subparagraph and of the proposals to be made by the Commission, the European Parliament and the Council will consider the possibility of adopting a new programme, worked out and developed taking full account of the fruitful experience gained from this programme.
In this context they will be able to take, where appropriate, any suitable measure to avoid interruption of this programme.
Article 9
This programme, containing practical information on procedure, liaison offices designated by the Member States to provide technical assistance to cultural projects, the closing dates for submission of applications and the documents which must accompany applications, shall be published each year in the 'C` series of the Official Journal of the European Communities.
Article 10
This Decision shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
Done at Brussels, 6 October 1997.