WRITTEN QUESTION E-0942/97 by Giuseppe Rauti (NI) to the Commission (13 March 1997)

Subject: Reviving the craft industries throughout Europe

Is the Commission following the debate in various EU countries on the urgent need to revive the craft industries, that is all the forms of skilled craft-work found throughout Europe, which represent a magnificent range of skills, traditions, professional knoledge and levels of culture?

These crafts are now in danger of dying out and there is a risk that there will be no-one left anywhere to carry them on. These craftspeople include mosaicists, cabinet-makers, enamellers, restorers and gilders, to name but a few.

Has the Commission taken any action in recent years? If so what action and with what results? Is it aware of the ever-worsening crisis in all these craft industries? Does agree that there is an urgent need to draw up - in agreement with the Institutions as well as the individual governments concerned - a major, systematic and adequately funded project to revive all these crafts and thereby safeguard at least 500 000 jobs and the same number of apprenticeships throughout Europe?

Answer given by Mr Papoutsis on behalf of the Commission (16 May 1997)

The next European Conference on the Craft Sector and Small Enterprises organised by the Commission from 20 to 22 November 1997 in Milan in Italy could provide an opportunity to address, at European level, the question of reviving the applied arts.

To prepare the work for this conference as effectively as possible, the Commission is supporting the organisation of a series of preparatory workshops on themes of major interest to socio-professional circles in the craft sector. These workshops take place in the Member States, mainly upon the initiative of organisations representing businesses at national and local level.

The question raised by the Honourable Member will be dealt with during the workshop on the craft sector which will be held in Toledo in Spain on 26 and 27 June 1997. The question will also be dealt with at the workshop on the craft sector and local, rural and urban development, which will be held in Serpa in Portugal on 13 and 14 June 1997.

By the end of these preparatory workshops, several people will have been directly involved in the preparation of the European Conference, mainly representatives of public authorities, public and private business consultancy bodies and professional organisations. This should facilitate the adoption of common positions on the questions dealt with during the Milan Conference by the representatives of socio-professional circles in the craft sector and small enterprises.

Moreover, various projects by the Commission such as the European Survey of Local Development and Employment Initiatives, as well as the Communication from the Commission concerning Cohesion Policy and Culture ((COM(96) 512. )), confirm the large employment potential of the European cultural sector. In this context, the applied arts should be encouraged. As far as Commission intervention in this sector is concerned, we refer the Honourable Member to the Commission's First Report on the Consideration of Cultural Aspects in European Community Action ((COM(96) 160. )).

I would inform the Honourable Member that, as part of the implementation of its work programme, the Commission is currently preparing a Green Paper on the contribution of culture to job creation. Amongst other things, this document will deals especially with the problem of creating jobs in the applied arts.

Under the former programmes Force, Petra and Lingua, a number of training projects in the arts and crafts domain were subsidised. Several projects are currently under way under the Leonardo da Vinci programme. The first results will be available next year.