Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision establishing a programme to support artistic and cultural activities having a European dimension (Kaleidoscope 2000) (94/C 324/03) (Text with EEA relevance) COM(94) 356 final - 94/0188(COD)

(Submitted by the Commission on 25 October 1994)

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,

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions,

Whereas the Treaty confers on the Community responsibility for contributing to the flowering of the cultures of the Member States by improving the knowledge and dissemination of the culture and history of the European peoples and by encouraging cultural exchanges and artistic and literary creation;

Whereas cultural diversity, as expressed at national, regional and local level, must be preserved and the works of European artists and writers which are a manifestation of the richness of the many forms they take must be promoted;

Whereas it is also important to encourage all citizens, especially young people - and more particularly those in less-favoured circumstances - to become more involved in culture so as to promote greater mutual respect and understanding;

Whereas cooperation through networks is one of the best ways of breaking down barriers and helping both professionals and volunteers in the cultural sector to cooperate more closely on the ground, with due regard for the principle of subsidiarity;

Whereas Community action in support of artistic and cultural events with a European dimension, and cultural projects with a Europe-wide scope and symbolic nature, promotes the spread of different cultures whilst bringing artists and creators closer to the European public, and can also create added value at a socio-economic level by encouraging operational synergies and partnership;

Whereas, in the Solemn Declaration on European Union signed in Stuttgart on 19 June 1983, the Heads of State and Government called for more extensive contacts between writers and artists of the Member States and a wider dissemination of their works;

Whereas Parliament adopted a resolution on the creation of a European Communities Youth Orchestra, and a European Communities Baroque Orchestra was created to mark the European Year of Music in 1985;

Whereas the Ministers responsible for Cultural Affairs meeting within the Council on 13 June 1985 adopted a resolution (1) concerning the annual 'European City of Culture` event to help bring the peoples of the Member States closer together;

Whereas, in the conclusions of the Ministers of Culture meeting within the Council of 18 May 1990, it was decided to create a 'European Cultural Month` to take place each year in one city in a European country basing itself on the principles of democracy, pluralism and the rule of law (2);

Whereas the Ministers for Culture meeting within the Council on 7 June 1991 expressed in a resolution 'their determination to encourage the theatre in Europe and to enhance its European dimension` (3);

Whereas the resolution of the Council and the Ministers of Culture meeting within the Council of 14 November 1991 stresses the important role of networks of cultural organizations in cultural cooperation within Europe (4);

Whereas the Commission communication of 29 April 1992 on 'New prospects for Community cultural action` states that the arts sector, and particularly the performing and visual arts, should be supported by means of trans-national networks and measures to encourage creation; whereas the Council, in its conclusions of the Ministers of Culture meeting within the Council of 12 November 1992 on guidelines for Community cultural action (5) encouraged this approach;

Whereas the aforesaid conclusions pointed out that there was an interest, within the principles of the Treaty on European Union, in Community cultural action with third countries in and outside Europe, and in European cultural cooperation with other competent international forums, including the Council of Europe;

Whereas Parliament, in its resolution on the communication from the Commission on new prospects for Community cultural action (6) and in its resolution on Community policy in the field of culture (7), stresses the importance of cultural networks and of stepping up support for music, theatre, dance and the visual arts,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

The Commission shall set out, for a five-year period from 1996, an action programme, contained in the Annex, to promote knowledge and dissemination of the culture of the European peoples, particularly in the fields of the performing arts, visual or spatial arts, multimedia arts and applied arts, through cultural exchanges and emblematic events (the 'Kaleidoscope 2000` programme), hereinafter referred to as 'the programme`.

Article 2

The aims of the programme shall be as follows:

- to encourage artistic and cultural creation in Europe in the fields of the performing arts, visual or spatial arts, multimedia arts and applied arts by bringing such creation closer to different European publics,

- to support innovative cultural projects of professional standard and of European interest involving genuine European cooperation,

- to encourage cultural exchanges in order to contribute to mutual awareness, thus promoting access to culture for less privileged categories,

- to encourage the promotion and spread of culture in Europe,

- to promote arts and culture in order to develop the job-creation potential in this sector, especially for the benefit of young people.

Article 3

To attain the objectives of the programme, the Community shall provide financial support for the following incentive measures which are intended to support and supplement measures by the Member States in the fields of artistic and cultural creation, cultural exchanges and artistic and cultural dissemination:

1. Promotion and spread of culture:

(a) support for large-scale emblematic cultural projects with a European dimension;

(b) support for large-scale cultural projects carried out by European cultural partners.

2. Projects carried out in partnership or in cooperation through networks:

(a) support for artistic and cultural events organized in partnership, that is to say, jointly organized by partners from at least three Member States or by cultural networks, and involving creative artists or others active in the cultural field from at least three Member States, and entailing creative work to be disseminated and presented to the public;

(b) Support for meetings and exchanges of knowledge and experience between professionals and others active in the cultural field, jointly organized by partners from at least three Member States, or by cultural networks, and involving participants from at least three Member States.

For this type of project, priority shall be given to European cultural networks involving either non-profit making cultural organizations or professionals engaged in developing common cultural action.

3. Training:

Support for projects linking the training of creative or performing artists or others active in the cultural sector with artistic and cultural events supported by this programme.

4. Access to culture:

Support for cooperation between those active in the cultural sector or regional, national or European authorities on specific themes within the fields of arts and culture, either through meetings at European level or through studies and research directly linked to the development of Community action on culture. Priority shall be given to projects using multimedia tools.

5. Cooperation with non-member countries and international organizations:

(a) support for large-scale cultural projects representative of European culture, taking place outside the Community with the participation of artists from the Community;

(b) support for artistic and cultural cooperative ventures involving, in both organization and participation in the event, partners from at least two European third countries and one Member State. The project must be submitted by a cultural body from a European third country and must include creative work intended for public display or dissemination;

(c) support for meetings and exchanges of knowledge and experience between professionals and others involved in the cultural sector. Priority shall be given to cultural networks which develop cultural activities in European third countries.

Priority shall be given to non-member countries with which the Community has signed association or cooperation agreements incorporating cultural clauses.

The Community and the Member States shall promote cooperation with the relevant international organizations in the cultural sector, and in particular with the Council of Europe, whilst ensuring that the instruments adopted are complementary and respect the individual identity and autonomy of each institution and organization.

Article 4

The Commission shall be responsible for implementing the programme. For the purpose of carrying out that task, the Commission shall be assisted by the Advisory Committee for the incentive measures in the cultural field (hereinafter referred to as 'the Committee`), according to the procedure laid down in Article 5.

The Committee, of an advisory nature, shall consist of representatives appointed by each Member State and shall be chaired by a representative of the Commission.

Article 5

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 the 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; in addition, each Member State shall have the right to ask for its position to be 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

After the programme has been in operation for two years, and within six months of that period, the Commission, after having consulted the Committee, shall present a report on the results achieved to the European Parliament and the Council, accompanied, where necessary, by appropriate proposals.

On expiry of the programme, the Commission, acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 5, shall submit a report on the implementation and results of the programme to the European Parliament and the Council.

Article 7

The programme, containing practical information on procedure, national organizations able to provide technical assistance to cultural projects, the closing dates for the submission of applications and the documents which must accompany the applications, shall be published each year in the 'C` series of the Official Journal of the European Communities.

Article 8

This Decision shall enter into force on the 20th day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

Article 9

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

(1) OJ No C 153, 22. 6. 1985, p. 2.

(2) OJ No C 162, 3. 7. 1990, p. 1.

(3) OJ No C 188, 19. 7. 1991, p. 3.

(4) OJ No C 314, 5. 12. 1991, p. 1.

(5) OJ No C 336, 19. 12. 1992, p. 1.

(6) OJ No C 42, 15. 2. 1993, p. 173.

(7) OJ No C 44, 14. 2. 1994, p. 184.

ANNEX

COMMUNITY SUPPORT PROGRAMME FOR ARTISTIC AND CULTURAL PROJECTS HAVING A EUROPEAN DIMENSION Kaleidoscope 2000

Conditions of participation

To promote the awareness and dissemination of the culture of European peoples, particularly in the fields of the performing arts, visual or spatial arts, multimedia arts and applied arts, the Community is planning to support cultural projects with a European dimension and symbolic actions and to give priority to cooperation between those professionally involved in the cultural sector, particularly by means of networks.

To this end, the Community is organizing the Kaleidoscope 2000 programme which includes the following measures:

Action 1: Promotion and spread of culture in Europe

1. The programme is open to large-scale cultural projects with a European dimension and of an emblematic nature.

2. Depending on the quality of the proposed programmes, the following shall be considered to be large-scale European projects with an emblematic character:

- cultural events which are already well established at European level, such as the European City of Culture, the EC Youth Orchestra, the EC Baroque Orchestra, etc.,

- cultural events organized jointly by the Member States to mark Europe Day on 9 May,

- large-scale, high-quality cultural projects with a European dimension which enable the cultural and socio-economic impact of projects carried out in partnership to be assessed.

3. The projects described at point 2 must be the subject of an individual application to the European Community; the application must be accompanied by:

- a detailed description of the actions to be undertaken in the course of the year,

- a detailed budget for these actions,

- an evaluation of the actions undertaken in the year preceding the application to allow an assessment of both the cultural quality and the socio-economic impact of the results obtained.

4. Applications should be sent no later than . . . to the European Commission, DG X, Culture Unit, 200 rue de la Loi, B-1049 Brussels.

5. Projects must have adequate financial cover to ensure that they can be completed. Community support for a project may in no circumstances cover the entire costs.

6. Applications will be examined separately and selected by the Commission's departments.

Action 2: Networks and partnerships: Support for events and cultural projects carried out in partnership or through networks

1. The programme is open to cultural and artistic projects jointly organized by partners from at least three Member States, or by cultural networks, and involving creative or performing artists or others active in the cultural from at least three Member States.

2. The following shall be considered to be cultural cooperation projects:

- Any artistic or cultural event involving creative work intended for public display or dissemination in Europe. The areas chosen are as follows: the performing arts (dance, music, theatre, opera, etc.), visual or spatial arts (painting, sculpture, carving, engraving, etc., architecture, photography and design), multimedia arts and applied arts.

- Events such as conferences, seminars or meetings between professionals from the cultural sector organized by cultural networks or others involved in culture from at least three Member States, and involving creative or performing artists or others involved in the cultural sector from at least three Member States. The sectors involved are the visual arts, performing arts, spatial arts, multimedia arts, applied arts and related areas such as cultural administration, the cultural economy, sponsorship, etc.

3. Projects submitted for the Kaleidoscope programme must be of European interest, of high quality and innovatory and exemplary in nature, and take place in 19. . .

4. The following are excluded:

- cultural cooperation projects of a purely regional, national or bilateral nature,

- cinema or television events,

- cultural heritage projects,

- literary translation projects,

- the production of material and publications not forming an integral part of the event (monographs, collections, reviews, records, CDs, videos, etc.),

- feasibility studies,

- investment or operating costs of the cultural organizations which do not form an integral part of the event in question,

- cost of preparing future cooperation projects,

- cost of setting up networks.

5. Generally speaking, support for a cultural event may not be repeated. However, in certain cases the Community may provide assistance to cultural networks for a maximum of three consecutive years, provided that there is continuity in the project. The renewal of Community assistance will be assessed by independent experts on the basis of the activity report for the project submitted by the network.

6. Projects must have adequate financial cover to ensure that they can be completed. Financial assistance for a project under the Kaleidoscope programme may not exceed 25 % of the total cost of the project and in any event may not exceed ECU 30 000.

7. The application forms and a copy of this notice can be obtained from the Offices of the European Commission in the Member States or from the European Commission, DG X, Culture Unit, rue de la Loi 200, B-1049 Brussels.

8. Applications for financial support should be sent to the European Commission in Brussels. Applications should be postmarked no later than . . .

9. The Commission, according to Articles 4 and 5 of Decision No . . . of . . . will decide whether or not to provide financial support to the selected projects.

Action 3: Training

1. Further training for creative or performing artists or others active in the cultural sector, which is immediately put to use in specific projects with a particular aim, encourages contemporary creation. Priority will therefore be given to projects for cultural events which include training or further training courses in their organization. These projects, which will contribute to develop the potential of job creation in the field of arts and culture, will notably benefit young people.

2. Financial assistance with training may be granted to some of the cultural and artistic cooperation projects (Action 2) selected. This support may not exceed 50 % of the Community's contribution to the event or cultural project.

3. The Commission, in cooperation with Member States, shall take care of ensuring complementarity between the actions of this programme and the Community programmes in the field of education and training, Socrates and Leonardo.

Action 4: Access to culture

1. By way of an extra, and in order to improve cultural cooperation between those working in the cultural sector and regional, national and European authorities, support may be provided in specific cases limited to meetings organized at European level or to studies and research directly linked to the development of Community cultural action.

2. These meetings and studies shall not be directly linked to the cultural projects and events receiving support under the Kaleidoscope 2000 programme (Actions 1, 2 and 3).

3. Applications for financial assistance must be sent to the European Commission, DG X, Culture Unit (200, rue de la Loi, B-1049 Brussels), no less than two months before the date of the meeting or study. They must contain a detailed description of the aims and content of the meeting or study as well as a detailed budget for the operation.

4. Applications must demonstrate adequate financial cover to ensure that the action can be completed. In any event, the Community's contribution may not exceed 50 % of the total costs of the meeting or study.

5. Applications will be selected by the Commission by reference to the quality, usefulness and subsidiarity element of the project submitted.

Action 5: Cooperation with non-member countries and international organizations

1. Community support for cultural cooperation projects with non-member countries is organized along similar lines to aid for projects involving the Community countries referred to in points 1, 2, 3 and 4. In this connection, priority is given to projects involving third countries with which the Community has signed association/cooperation agreements with cultural clauses, such as the countries of central and eastern Europe and the Latin American countries.

2. The following projects are eligible:

- Large-scale cultural projects representative of European culture, taking place outside the European Community with the participation of artists from the Community (e.g. European Culture Month).

- Artistic and cultural cooperation projects or meetings and exchanges of knowledge and experience between professionals and others involved in the cultural sector, involving, in both organization and participation in the event, partners from at least two non-Community countries and one Member State. The project must be submitted by a cultural body from a non-Community country and must include creative work intended for public display or dissemination. Priority shall be given to cultural networks which develop genuine cooperation between the Community and non-member countries.

3. In this connection the Community will seek synergy with competent international organizations, and in particular with the Council of Europe, while respecting the individual identity and autonomy of action of each institution and organization.