COUNCIL CONCLUSIONS of 18 December 1997 on Music in Europe (98/C 1/04)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Council resolution of 16 September 1996 on the integration of cultural aspects into Community actions,

Having regard to the final document from the 'Music for Europe, Europe for Music` meeting held in Ennis (Ireland) on 18 and 19 October 1996 and the proceedings which followed therefrom,

Having regard to the Council Decision of 30 June 1997 regarding the future of European cultural action, inviting the Commission to table proposals for the establishment of a single instrument for programming and financing,

(1) Considering that music is a fundamental part of the cultures and history of our countries and constitutes one of the most important and omnipresent modes of individual and collective artistic expression in our everyday lives;

(2) recalling the infinite richness of the European musical heritage and the richness of contemporary new works distinguished by their diversity, vitality and constant ability to go on developing and regenerating themselves perpetually on contact with other cultures;

(3) aware that the musical creation process is based on a cycle which ranges from composition to dissemination of the work to the public and that music, as a means of artistic and cultural expression, cannot be separated from its eminently social role nor from the importance of the economic sector it reflects, which in Europe covers an infinite range of talents, know-how and professions and thus constitutes a source of employment to be taken into account, in particular in the case of young people;

(4) aware that it is important to ensure that the public can have access, throughout the territory of the Member States, to repertoires and to musical performances, in all their diversity and richness, and that European music in the world is highlighted;

(5) aware that better access to repertoires will make it possible to develop, among the younger generation, an interest in and taste for music, and to promote the dissemination of different musical cultures;

(6) valuing the action already undertaken by the Council of Europe in the music field and recalling that the Community and the Member States foster cooperation with that organization and with other relevant international organizations in the sphere of culture in accordance with Article 128 (3) of the Treaty establishing the European Community, by ensuring that the instruments adopted are complementary, with due regard for the individual identity and autonomy of each institution and organization;

(7) recalling that, since the programme of support for cultural cooperation activities in the Union, Kaleidoscope, expires in 1998, it is important to prepare means of cooperation to be developed in the future and, without prejudice to the positions which may be adopted, to consider in detail the needs and topics of priority interest in the various sectors covered by the programme,

WELCOMES the study 'Music in Europe` produced by the European Music Office, offering for the first time a comprehensive approach at European level to all the sectors involved in the music creation cycle;

EXPRESSES its determination to promote the European music sector, in particular by encouraging the emergence of an environment conducive to the circulation, exchange and dissemination of repertoires, performances and artists in Europe and in the world;

AGREES on the need to consider in more detail, in the context of Article 128 of the Treaty establishing the European Community and in compliance with the subsidiarity principle, the work done in the Union together with the relevant authorities of the Member States and with professionals, to deepen knowledge of the needs of the European music sector in all its facets,

INVITES the Commission:

to submit to it, in the framework of the Council Decision of 22 September 1997 regarding the future of European cultural action, proposals for the music sector designed to supplement the action of Member States by measures in particular in the following fields:

- improved access to music for a wider public, with particular attention being given to musical education from a very young age, by supporting innovative and exemplary projects highlighting the essential, integrating role of music in society,

- disseminating and composing music, promoting exchanges, especially of young creative and performing artists, and supporting the circulation of repertoires, performers and musical productions (live performances),

- enhanced skills for artists and other music professionals, especially in the framework of the new possibilities afforded to musical creation by the new information technologies, and vocational guidance in the music sector,

- the possibility, within the existing structures and within the limits of available financial resources, of improving the mutual information of the Member States on musical knowledge through, for example, a strengthening of existing networks, or by creating a monitoring centre or a European information and documentation centre.