A4-0410/96

Resolution on the first report of the Commission on the consideration of cultural aspects in European Community action (COM(96)0160 - C4-0249/96)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Commission report (COM(96)0160 - C4-0249/96);

- having regard to Articles 3(p), 92(3)(d) and 128 of the EC Treaty;

- having regard to its resolutions of:

. 18 January 1979 embodying the opinion of the European Parliament on the communication from the Commission of the European Communities to the Council concerning Community action in the cultural sector ((OJ 39, 12.2.1979, p. 50.));

. 18 November 1983 on stronger Community action in the cultural sphere ((OJ C 342, 19.12.1983, p. 127.));

. 17 February 1989 on a fresh boost for Community action in the cultural sector ((OJ C 69, 20.3.1989, p. 180.));

. 21 January 1993 on the Commission communication on new prospects for Community cultural action ((OJ C 42, 15.2.1993, p. 173.))

. 10 January 1994 on Community policy in the field of culture ((OJ C 44, 14.2.1994, p. 184.));

- having regard to the positions it adopted on the revision of the Treaty on European Union, in particular its resolution of 13 March 1996 embodying (i) Parliament's opinion on the convening of the Intergovernmental Conference, and (ii) on evaluation of the work of the Reflection Group and a definition of the political priorities of the European Parliament with a view to the Intergovernmental Conference ((OJ C 96, 1.4.1996, p. 77.)),

- having regard to the communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and Council of the European Union - European Community action in support of Culture(COM(94)0356),

- having regard to the report by the Committee on Culture, Youth, Education and the Media and the opinion of the Committee on External Economic Relations (A4-0410/96),

A. whereas Article 128(4) of the EC Treaty states that 'the Community shall take cultural aspects into account in its action under other provisions of this Treaty',

B. whereas in its communication referred to above, the Commission announced that it planned a report on the cultural dimension of Community policy,

C. whereas the Commission also announced that internal measures would be taken to enable account to be taken of cultural requirements in drafting and implementing Community policies with implications in the field of culture,

D. whereas the Commission's first report on the consideration of cultural aspects in European Community action does not cover the cultural actions undertaken by the Community on the basis of Article 128 and notably the Kaleidoscope programme which entered into force in March 1996 and the Ariane and Raphael programmes currently being considered by the European Parliament and the Council,

E. whereas the Commission's report seeks to answer the following four questions:

'- Which Community texts and policies have taken and take cultural matters into account, which ones have had and may have an impact in cultural areas, and which have acquired a cultural dimension?

'- In texts or policies of the above type, how have the objectives pursued and objectives of a cultural nature been reconciled? To what extent have cultural aspects been taken into account?

'- Have the guidelines implemented and decisions taken at Community level consolidated, adversely affected or weakened cultural policy guidelines and decisions implemented and taken at regional or national level?

'- What forthcoming deadlines are there which particularly require 'cultural aspects' to be taken into account?'

F. whereas, after surveying the development of Community law, internal policies, audiovisual policies and the Community's external policies, the Commission briefly considers ways and means of addressing the new tasks entrusted to the Community by the Treaty and proposes a general method for taking into account cultural aspects in drawing up acts and in charting out and pursuing policies which may have an impact on the cultural domain,

G. whereas, although this first Commission report does not represent a comprehensive survey of cultural aspects in actions undertaken by the European Community, it nevertheless allows an assessment of the cultural dimension in the various sectors in which the Union has the right to intervene, the shortcomings of Community action and the obstacles encountered in progress towards satisfactorily implementing Article 128(4) of the EC Treaty and a comparative study of Community acts dealing with cultural matters,

H. whereas the conclusions reached by the Commission merely note that the legislative acts and the case law of the Court of Justice have attempted to reconcile the attainment of the objectives of the Treaty and the specific aims of cultural policies, and that the great majority of policies and actions undertaken by the Community have a cultural dimension - but without acting on these two findings by proposing specific solutions; and whereas these conclusions merely reiterate the principles of compatibility of acts of secondary legislation and the coherence of internal policies with the objectives of cultural policy within the meaning of Article 128 of the Treaty,

I. whereas the principle of subsidiarity must be interpreted as an appropriate guarantee of respect for priority action in the cultural sphere of States and regions, but must not impede Union action within the framework of Article 128,

J. whereas there are symbols of the European cultural identity which are expressed in different ways according to the characteristics of the individual peoples and which are based on the Graeco-Roman/Judaeo-Christian tradition, which upholds the principles of democracy, the rule of law, the value of the individual, freedoms and solidarity,

K. having regard to the European Union's self-appointed task of strengthening the solidarity of the people of Europe while respecting their historical identity, their linguistic diversity, their cultural identity - both regional and national - and their dignity and freedom,

L. having regard to the need to maintain humanist values, the teaching of the humanities and the languages of classical antiquity as a basis of European culture in a world threatened by technology and pragmatism,

M. whereas Europe is and will remain plurinational, multilingual, multicultural and multi-ethnic and this represents an indispensable part of the heritage which the Union is duty-bound to preserve,

N. whereas culture provides cohesion, brings people together, promotes human dignity and a spirit of tolerance and is a driving force behind development, for which reason it should be recognized and endorsed as such in the Treaty on European Union,

O. whereas it is more important than ever to offer to the rest of the world cooperation based on the principles on which the European Union is founded: freedom, human rights, democracy, tolerance, respect for differences between peoples, the value of the individual, and moral and human principles,

P. having regard to the paucity of the financial resources allocated to cultural policy, which is jeopardizing the attainment of the objectives of the European Union,

Q. whereas it is accepted that the role of culture should be enhanced within the parameters of the Treaty on European Union,

R. whereas it is now accepted that the citizens of Europe have an inalienable right of access to culture and to affirm and express their cultural identity;

S. whereas culture is now an activity that has a legal basis under the Treaty; whereas it is accepted that culture forms an integral part of Community action and as such must be accorded parity of treatment with other actions under the Treaty;

T. whereas it is accepted that culture can contribute to the objectives of the Community through enhancement of citizenship, personal and human development, greater economic and social cohesion, improvement of employment opportunities, elimination of exclusion and enrichment of the quality of life of European citizens;

1. Is convinced that the establishment of a genuine European cultural dimension will only be possible through the introduction of qualified-majority voting in decision-taking at Council level;

2. Considers that the taking into account of cultural aspects will in future be a requirement imposed on the European Community and that compliance with this requirement involves the establishment of a clause whereby all Community acts and actions which may have a cultural impact must be compatible with cultural objectives;

3. Considers that, unless it is to be stripped of all substance, Article 128 should constitute the legal basis or one of the legal bases of all legislation whose purpose is essentially cultural;

4. Stresses that the safeguarding of cultural and linguistic diversity forms part of the conservation and safeguarding of cultural heritage, as provided for in Article 128;

5. Considers, furthermore, that changes should be made to that article to enlarge its scope, in particular by including a reference to the safeguarding and protection of European languages both inside and outside Europe and by replacing the reference to 'non-commercial cultural exchanges' by the expression 'predominantly cultural objectives';

6. Stresses that it is important for the subsidiarity principle to be interpreted in a positive sense which encourages Community intervention, provided that this is beneficial to European cultures and helps create the conditions for the full involvement of the general public and local, regional and national bodies in the creation of a strong, united Europe;

7. Recalls the need for ever-closer relations with the Council of Europe, UNESCO and specialized NGOs in the cultural sphere, while respecting the identity and autonomy of each of those organizations;

8. Endorses the view that cultural policy is an important component of international relations and foreign policy and considers that the Community should promote cultural actions outside the European Union in order to enhance European cultural models, taking particular account of the fact that a European-based cultural heritage exists outside Europe;

9. Calls on the Commission to submit, in future, 'integrated' cultural programmes, i.e. ones which ensure consistency between the cultural actions provided for in Article 128 of the EC Treaty and the other Community instruments provided for in the same Treaty, in particular in Articles 126 and 127 (education and training), Articles 130a to 130e (economic and social cohesion) and Article 130g (research and technology);

10. Welcomes the resolution put before the Council of Culture Ministers on 16 December 1996 which set the Council the task of establishing effective and coherent procedures by which the impact of other Community policies in the field of culture can be monitored and adjusted as necessary;

11. Calls on the Commission to develop appropriate procedures for assessing, when embarking on drawing up policies under other provisions of the Treaty, what proposals are likely to have an impact on culture and to identify these in its annual work programme;

12. Emphasizes the need to ensure greater coordination in the Commission between all sectors of Community action - and especially between the funds granted to the cultural sphere - while maintaining the present system of differentiated interventions which make it possible to guarantee the multiplication of resources and the integration of the cultural dimension in the Community's internal policies;

13. Reiterates its conviction of the need to increase the overall funding allocated to the cultural sector or having a cultural impact, without integrating it in a single specific fund for Community cultural policy;

14. Recalls Article 10 of the ERDF regulation, but emphasizes the very limited financial impact of this article and the need to ensure in practical terms that cultural aspects are taken into account in implementing the ERDF as a whole;

15. Calls on the Commission to put cultural policy at the heart of EU Structural Funds in order to strengthen the creative economy which can assist in job creation and economic and social regeneration;

16. Draws attention to the fact that a considerable proportion of Community action in the cultural field could be undertaken according to the principle of conditionality, and that activities undertaken in accordance with that principle should supplement those effected through direct action;

17. Is concerned that certain major infrastructure projects whose implementation still requires specific decisions by the Council of the Union may undermine the principle of compatibility of European action with the cultural dimension, and calls on the Commission to guarantee that this principle is respected; considers that compensatory measures might be granted in certain cases;

18. Calls on the Commission to introduce a law to ensure that in tenders for any public construction project (road infrastructure, other installations, etc.) which is cofinanced by the European Union, 0.5 or 1% of the budget provided from European funds is allocated to the production of a work of art (painting, sculpture or one of the other fine arts) to adorn the construction project in question;

19. Recognizes that it is important to enhance the European dimension of education, TV and film in order for EU citizens to have a better understanding of the diverse cultures of the EU;

20. Recalls the role of NGOs and civil society in the development of Europe's cultural dimension and calls on the Commission to establish with these organizations a genuine and constructive cultural dialogue, and declares its readiness to contribute to this dialogue by studying the possibility of creating, under the aegis of the European Parliament, an ad hoc structure to give it proper substance;

21. Calls on the Commission to continue support for cultural networks which are vital to achieve involvement of all cultural organizations of the creative community in the formulation and implementation of EU cultural policies, a key part of achieving real European citizenship;

22. Calls on the Commission to encourage European cooperation by establishing a constructive dialogue and a system of cooperation between European cultural foundations; stresses the importance of the role of academies and universities in achieving the European cultural dimension; welcomes the positive results of the Commission's intervention within the framework of the 'Jean Monnet' scheme and draws attention to the advisability of setting up other chairs named after the Europe's founding fathers, such as Schuman, Spaak, De Gasperi, Adenauer, Madariaga and Spinelli; reiterates its call that the European University Institute should be converted into a fully fledged Union establishment;

23. Calls on the Commission, with these objectives again in mind, to turn its attention to the pre-university stages of education within the European Union and to draw up a school textbook on the history of Europe (art, thought, science, politics etc.) which, following approval by the Council, would be recommended for study in all the Member States;

24. Calls on the Commission to develop a cultural policy with the prime aim of eradicating illiteracy and promulgating books, with measures being promoted to use the zero rate of VAT and apply fixed prices for books within homogeneous language areas;

25. Calls on the Council of Education Ministers to fulfil its commitment in individual Member States under the 1988 Resolution adopted by the Council on the European dimension in education;

26. Calls on the Commission to report annually to Parliament on the way in which it has taken cultural aspects into account in Community actions undertaken under other provisions of the Treaty;

27. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions, the governments of the Member States, the Council of Europe and UNESCO.