Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on: - the 'Communication from the Commission on the First European Community Framework Programme in Support of Culture (2000-2004)', and - the 'Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision establishing a single financing and programming instrument for cultural cooperation (Culture 2000 programme)'
Date: 1998-11-19
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: EU programme, European Union, cultural cooperation, cultural policy, regional policy

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Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on:

— the ‘Communication from the Commission on the First European Community Framework

Programme in Support of Culture (2000-2004)’, and

— the ‘Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision establishing a single
financing and programming instrument for cultural cooperation (Culture 2000 pro-
gramme)’

(1999/C 51/12)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

having regard to the Commission Communication on the First European Community
framework programme in support of culture (2000-2004) including a proposal for a European
Parliament and Council Decision establishing a single financing and programming instrument
for cultural cooperation (culture 2000 programme) (COM(98) 266 final)(1);

having regard to the decision taken by the Council on 9 July 1998, under Article 128 and the
first paragraph of Article 198c of the Treaty establishing the European Community, to consult
the Committee of the Regions on this matter;

having regard to the decision of its Bureau of 13 May 1998 to direct Commission 7 Education,
Vocational Training, Culture, Youth, Sport and Citizens’ Rights to draw up an Opinion on
this subject;

having regard to the Draft Opinion (CdR 227/98 rev.) adopted by Commission 7 on 1 October
1998 (Rapporteurs: Mr Mun˜ oa Ganuza and Ms Tallberg);

having regard to the Committee of the Regions Opinions on the Kaleidoscope 2000 programme
(artistic and cultural activities) (CdR 145/95) (2) the Ariane programme (books and reading)
(CdR 146/95) (3) the Raphael programme (cultural heritage) (CdR 302/95) (4) and on the ‘First
report on the consideration of cultural aspects in European Community action’ (CdR 206/96
fin)(5);

whereas the Treaty of Maastricht calls upon the Community to respect and promote cultural
diversity in Europe and to further knowledge, cooperation and exchanges between individuals,
organizations and cultural institutions;

whereas the Treaty of Maastricht also stipulates that EU programmes should take into account
the Community’s cultural objectives,

adopted the following opinion at its 26th plenary session of 18 and 19 November 1998 (meeting
of 19 November).

1.

Introduction

1.1.
The Commission has carried out three analyses
of European cultural action. First of all it has analyzed
the three European programmes implemented to date in
the field of culture: Kaleidoscope, which is devoted to
artistic and cultural activities; Ariane, which focuses on
books and reading; and Raphael, which covers Europe’s
cultural heritage. Secondly it has examined how the
Community ties cultural aspects in with general EC

(1) OJ C 211, 7.7.1998, p. 18.
(2) OJ C 100, 2.4.1996, p. 30.
(3) OJ C 100, 2.4.1996, p. 35.
(4) OJ C 100, 2.4.1996, p. 119.
(5) OJ C 116, 14.4.1997, p. 65.

policy in a ‘First report on the consideration of cultural
aspects in European Community action’ (6). Thirdly, it
has engaged in a series of consultations with the Member
States of the Union, the Member States of the European
Economic Area, Cyprus, the associated countries of
central and eastern Europe, and a large number of
European cultural organizations.

1.2.
The Committee of the Regions recognizes a
number of positive features in the Commission’s analy-
ses. It realizes that action carried out under the three
European cultural programmes has fostered trans-
national cooperation, raised the profile of European
cultural activities, ensured the protection and conser-

(6) COM(96) 160 final.

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vation of our heritage and has facilitated public access
to culture, and enabled cultural creativity to be more
and more highly regarded since it fosters innovation and
in particular
the establishment of social networks,
exchange activities carried out in cultural areas common
to European countries.

1.3.
The COR nevertheless considers that the Com-
mission’s analyses display a number of shortcomings.
There continues to be scant awareness of a common,
open and diversified cultural area in Europe. Although
cultural activities promoted by the Community are
many and varied, they are also scattered thinly on the
ground and do not generate structured and permanent
networks of cooperation. The quantitative involvement
of the Community in cultural projects is also a small
percentage of the whole. All this means that European
citizens are hardly aware of the Community’s efforts
and remain ignorant of what is being done to preserve
and support their cultures. The process of building a
multicultural and transnational European cultural area
is therefore weak.

1.4.
The management of cultural programmes is
considered to be excessively bureaucratic, i.e. procedures
are long and complex. This has an adverse effect on the
efficiency of the service and means that European
cultural programmes are largely terra incognito for the
European public.

1.5.
The Commission has stated that ‘although con-
siderable means are devoted to cultural activities or
activities with a cultural dimension, the operations are
rarely a response to the tasks assigned to the Community
in the cultural field’, and has indicated its intention to
ensure that ‘in the definition and implementation of
support policies, the objectives and the means of each
instrument having an effect on the cultural field are
consistent with the objectives and the means of Com-
munity cultural policy.’

2. General comments

2.1. The importance of culture for the future develop-

ment of the European Union

2.1.1. P r e s e r v i n g c u l t u r a l d i v e r s i t y

The basic principle underlying the process of
2.1.1.1.
European integration is respect for and the promotion
of cultural diversity. Cultural diversity is a source of
richness that needs to be preserved whilst its virtues
need to be extolled as one of the main characteristics of
Europe’s identity. This cultural and linguistic diversity
likewise embraces all
local, regional, national and
sub-state manifestations.

base. Moreover, Europe has a wide concept of culture
which includes not only manifestations regarded as
high-brow and elitist but also traditional, popular
culture and modern mass culture.

Active participation in associations and vol-
2.1.1.3.
untary educational organizations boosts people’s com-
mitment to social issues and their understanding of other
cultures. The extensive programmes for cooperation
between regions and/or municipalities and for town
twinning have enriched cultural cooperation between
towns and cities and strengthened a sense of solidarity
and knowledge of different cultures. It should be stressed
that the purpose of building a citizens’ Europe is to
foster greater cooperation and understanding among
the peoples of Europe as opposed to levelling out
differences or creating uniform structures. The COR
feels that cooperation and dialogue need to be stepped
up in the cultural sphere so as to ensure that cultural
differences do not provoke disharmony but instead
become an instrument for strengthening and uniting
populations in a multicultural Europe, based on soli-
darity.

2.1.1.4.
In the COR’s view, therefore, the Member
States’ common drive to boost the importance of culture
in the construction of Europe must draw on all the many
players in the regions and municipalities. Among the
permanent and enduring features of the culture of local
and regional communities are local culture and cultural
heritage. The preservation, nurturing and use of which
as the milieu in which citizens live is at the very heart of
a multicultural Europe. Local and regional authorities
must therefore be given the wherewithal to launch
cultural
initiatives in their areas, by means of the
appropriate allocation of resources.

2.1.1.5.
The COR would focus attention on the
special challenge that lies in preserving and promoting
the diversity of Europe’s cultures while at the same time
consolidating the foundations of a common European
identity. Local and regional initiatives play a key role in
encouraging further cooperation and solidarity between
municipalities and regions in both the present and the
future Member States. Because of our shared history,
European cultural identities have much in common.

In the interests of protecting European cul-
2.1.1.6.
tural and linguistic diversity, the Community should
include among its priorities support for projects aimed
at cultural and linguistic minorities. This would mean
both support for specific cultural activities and looking
at Community programmes in general.

Europe therefore consists of a multitude of
2.1.1.2.
different cultures, most of them with a local or regional

2.1.1.7.
In this respect, the COR calls on the EU to
strengthen cooperation with the Council of Europe and
UNESCO which have a wealth of experience in

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promoting cultural cooperation and the recognition of
cultural diversity across the whole of Europe. In the
context of enlargement, such cooperation may help
facilitate the transition towards accession.

2.1.2. C u l t u r e a n d c i t i z e n s ’ E u r o p e

2.1.2.1.
The political challenge of the European Union
is to make respect for cultural and linguistic diversity
compatible with the extension of a common European
citizenship. One may conclude here that European
citizenship will emerge from a multicultural and multilin-
gual society, which will mean living together with a
large number of local, regional, national or state
sub-identities.

2.1.2.2.
The COR consequently suggests that, if the
Community is to meet the challenge of European
integration whilst maintaining cultural and linguistic
diversity, it will have to open up channels that permit
the more active involvement of sub-state political levels
in the process of European integration since the latter
are better able to transmit the richness of the cultural
and linguistic communities existing in Europe. More
specifically, the Community should make it easier for
regions and municipalities with full responsibilities for
culture to take part in European cultural programmes
through mechanisms sketched out in this Opinion. After
all,
it would only be a question of confirming at
European level what is already recognized at Member
State level.

2.1.3. C u l t u r e

a n d l o c a l

a n d r e g i o n a l

d e v e l o p m e n t

2.1.3.1.
Europe’s future development and dynamism
are increasingly interlinked with its cultural creativity,
capacity to hold its own on the world market and future
growth and employment. Culture is a major component
of a region’s development. Culture has an intrinsic value
but it also plays an economic role as a major factor in
attracting business and industry to an area. A vital
cultural life with a wide range of cultural facilities
therefore boosts the entire region’s force of attraction.
The COR sees culture as a seedbed of territorial cohesion
in Europe, providing substantial added value and exercis-
ing a multiplier effect on regional and local development
projects.

2.1.3.2.
Cultural tourism is playing an increasingly
important role in local and regional development.
It stimulates trade and industry, the economy and
employment in both urban and rural areas and helps to
curb rural depopulation by providing a livelihood.

The development potential vested in audio-
2.1.3.3.
visual culture could open up significant economic oppor-

tunities, with Europe offering an alternative to US and
Asian production. In order to be able to compete within
the audio-visual sector, productions must be of high
quality, which could be achieved through promotion of
Europe’s cultural diversity, fostered by its regional and
local cultures. The COR stresses that the EU must
reinforce the audiovisual
industry promoting the
creation of a regional media and film policy.

2.1.4. C u l t u r e a n d E m p l o y m e n t

2.1.4.1.
There is a growing awareness of the role that
culture and its industries can play in contributing to
economic and social cohesion and the opportunities
that exist for future development. However, the COR
considers that employment opportunities can only be
realised if a number of weaknesses are effectively
addressed and addressed within a comprehensive strat-
egy which is firmly grounded at the local and regional
levels.

2.1.4.2.
The COR underlines the need to support
those currently employed in the cultural sector, especially
those involved in the creative side of the industry. Action
needs to be taken to counter the precarious nature of
employment and to improve the quality of employment
in the sector, which in some industries is often low-paid,
part-time and unstable.

2.1.4.3.
The Committee of the Regions calls for
appropriate levels of investment for the cultural sector,
if the growth it has experienced in the past ten years is
to be sustained. Culture should in the view of the
COR be explicitly referred to in the Structural Fund
regulations. Financial supports to the cultural sector
should also be specifically tailored to meet the needs of
culture and its industries. Sufficient attention also needs
to be given to activities linked with the enhancement
and optimization of cultural assets as well as to cultural
tourism, with particular emphasis on small localities.
To further develop cultural industries action is required
to facilitate organisation of those involved in similar
activities to pool knowledge of funding possibilities and
develop opportunities for joint action.

The COR recognises the positive impacts of
2.1.4.4.
action already undertaken at Community level and
calls for further measures to stimulate employment
opportunities by promoting innovation and stimulating
creativity, encouraging inter-regional exchange of
experiences, developing support structures for cultural
entrepreneurs, highlighting best practice and promoting
experimental job creation schemes and developing coop-
eration within the cultural sector and with other econ-
omic activities.

2.1.4.5.
The COR emphasises the need for reliable
information on the cultural sector and would call for a
comprehensive Community-wide approach to ensure
that there is uniformity of employment classifications

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and a regular source of data that can be disaggregated
and easily compared. Further investigation is also
required to quantify the potential for expansion of some
cultural industries.

Some cultural products destined to safeguard
2.1.4.6.
and promote cultural diversity should benefit from
measures such as tax incentives, facilitating their inte-
gration into the market given that they would create
new jobs related to the product itself.

2.2. Access to culture

2.2.1. O p p o r t u n i t i e s

t o

e x p r e s s

c r e a -

t i v i t y

The COR feels that it is important to involve
2.2.1.1.
citizens more closely in cultural actions and give them
scope to express their creativity. To ensure broader
participation and more deeply rooted democracy, within
both the EU and the new Member States, it is essential
that such opportunities should be created outside as
well as within the professional cultural sphere.

2.1.5. C u l t u r a l a c t i o n t o p r o m o t e i n t e -
g r a t i o n a n d s o c i a l c o h e s i o n

2.2.2. C u l t u r e a n d C h i l d r e n a n d y o u t h

in alleviating social exclusion,

The COR would stress that culture can
2.1.5.1.
assist
isolation and
marginalization of especially disadvantaged social
groups. Some 18 million people are out of work in the
EU. Culture and participation in cultural activities can
provide them with new possibilities for strengthening
their identity, their self-esteem and achieving a new
status in society. Joining in cultural activities fosters
dialogue and understanding between the different sec-
tions of society and between the many different cultures
existing within the Community thereby contributing to
tolerance, harmonious coexistence and peace. Such
dialogue is vital since racism, xenophobia and friction
are on the increase.

2.1.6. R o l e

p l a y e d
e x t e r n a l r e l a t i o n s

b y

c u l t u r e

i n

E U

The COR notes that culture confers prestige
2.1.6.1.
on Europe’s foreign policy, opening up relations with
third countries and maintaining links with millions of
European citizens living and working abroad. Cultural
cooperation with other countries promotes in particular
sensitivity to the humanitarian values enshrined in the
EU, in particular respect for human rights, freedom
and democracy, tolerance and respect for cultural
divergences. Here culture can propagate cultural dia-
logue at all levels, thereby defusing social tensions,
violence and even conflicts.

The COR calls for culture to be supported
2.1.6.2.
and promoted as a vital component of EU external
cooperation and peace policies. With this in mind,
encouragement should be given to schemes aiming to
promote mutual knowledge of the various communities
active in the same geographical areas or in adjoining
areas.

2.2.2.1.
The COR would point to the increasingly
important role culture plays in our society. Consequently
it must be given greater prominence in education and
upbringing. To stimulate the creative powers and
tolerance level towards other cultures of a child or young
person is a major facet of their general development. By
providing broader scope for such activities at school,
culture will become accessible to all children and young
people. In addition, children should be brought in touch
with other cultures at an early age. It is important
that the role of culture should be defined in school
programmes.

2.2.3. C u l t u r e a n d s o c i a l e x c l u s i o n

The COR would emphasize that culture
2.2.3.1.
can contribute in reducing social marginalization in
particular of disadvantaged groups in society and that
it is very important that these groups have access to
various cultural activities.

2.2.4. C u l t u r e f o r a l l

2.2.4.1.
Culture must be made accessible to everyone
and pay special heed to people with disabilities. Hence
particular attention should be given to the production of,
for instance, talking books, braille texts and easy-to-read
literature, in tandem with the development and adjust-
ment of IT methods to serve as aid and support for the
disabled. To make culture accessible to everyone,
suitably adapted premises are essential. To enable people
with disabilities to be active cultural protagonists,
special facilities will have to be provided such as helpers,
interpretation and assistance from professional cultural
staff. The COR would stress that such cultural activities
will involve additional costs.

2.2.5. A c c e s s t o c u l t u r e i n h e a l t h c a r e

Emotional experiences are essential for our
2.2.5.1.
survival and quality of life, especially when we become

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old and sick. Culture reinforces the positive side of our
nature and is therefore of great importance for health.
Research into cultural action in a health care environ-
ment points to encouraging results.

2.2.5.2.
There are increasing numbers of elderly
people in long-term care, and more and more people in
need of care. Culture is beginning to play an important
role as a bearer of humanistic values in the care sector.
In the run-up to EU enlargement,
it is essential to
promote cooperation with the new Member States on
developing the role of culture in care services.

2.2.6. C u l t u r e a n d e q u a l o p p o r t u n i t i e s

The COR underlines the importance of high-
2.2.6.1.
lighting action to promote equal opportunities in the
cultural sector. The programme should also provide
scope for projects which support women’s distinctive
creativity.

2.2.7. A c c e s s t o i n f o r m a t i o n , b o o k s a n d

r e a d i n g

2.2.7.1.
The extensive network of public libraries in
the EU stems from local and regional commitment and
needs. Libraries cooperate internationally, nationally,
regionally and locally and are therefore a major resource
in giving citizens access to literature and objective
information and allowing them to use new technologies
when consulting data bases. It is crucial to make it
possible for people irrespective of where they live, their
culture or traditions, to keep informed and to participate
in the democratic process.

2.2.7.2.
The COR notes the important contribution
made by local and regional authorities in creating public
libraries for local people, in setting up telematic networks
to make their contents available in both urban and rural
areas and in facilitating exchanges between libraries. By
linking together all parts of the country, public libraries
are a real force for spreading and promoting European
culture.

2.2.7.3.
The COR would stress the importance of
publishing literature in minority languages and provid-
ing support for translations.

3. Specific comments

3.1. The first European Community framework pro-

gramme in support of culture (2000-2004)

3.1.1. O b j e c t i v e s

a n d

g u i d e l i n e s

f o r

‘ C u l t u r e 2 0 0 0 ’

The COR welcomes the single framework of
3.1.1.1.
the programme. It maintains that the proposal denotes

a more incisive yet still inadequately funded EU cultural
policy and stresses that local and regional cultural
action is the pillar of the cultural diversity which
the Community seeks to promote under this new
programme.

3.1.1.2.
The COR agrees with the objectives of the
programme, although it proposes that pride of place be
given to the aim of disseminating mutual knowledge
about cultural diversity and the histories of our European
peoples, emphasizing their unique features. The COR
also proposes that emphasis be placed on the concept of
‘cultures’ in the plural.

3.1.1.3.
It hopes that the final version of the proposal
will formulate the approach to be pursued to ensure that
implementation effectively attains the specific objectives
set out. The COR also observes with satisfaction that
the programme is open to those central and eastern
European countries which have concluded association
agreements with the Community, as well as to Cyprus
and the European Economic Area countries. It views
cultural cooperation as particularly important for the
applicant countries since it allows them, at an early
stage, to work in liaison with EU citizens.

It endorses the new approach of the Com-
3.1.1.4.
mission to the Community’s cultural activities,
i.e.
prioritizing projects with a Community dimension which
contribute to the development of a European cultural
area, are visible for the European citizen, have a real
communicative impact, seek to ensure the concentration
of activities, seek more stable forms of cooperation
between operators, support innovation and new forms
of cultural expression, and are run less bureaucratically.

3.1.2. A c t i o n s
g r a m m e

t o

i m p l e m e n t

t h e

p r o -

3.1.2.1.
The COR is concerned that the actions
to implement the programme are balanced towards
favouring high impact, large-scale activities. Despite
sharing the Commission’s view that the Community’s
cultural activities need to be more visible, the COR
would draw attention to the dangers in this. This might
lead to the spotlight being turned on major events and
an elite culture, with less importance attached to popular,
everyday cultural manifestations. It must be remembered
that citizens will not identify with Europe if Europe is
not part of their daily lives. Cultural activities might be
reduced to a superficial level where the spectacle and
ephemeral communication is the be-all and end-all
of everything and there are no positive long-term
repercussions.

Concentrating efforts on a smaller number
3.1.2.2.
of activities with a major impact may be prejudicial to
the involvement of the regions; this chimes with the
views already expressed by the COR in its Opinion on
Kaleidoscope which states that ‘supporting or encourag-
ing emblematic, tightly-defined, high-profile projects
local or national
which already receive substantial

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support will militate against support for creative people
from different regions of Europe coming together in a
more unstructured way’. The COR adds here that local
and regional authorities and organizations can find
it hard to participate in projects since they require
substantial own resources in the shape of funding and
staff.

3.1.2.3.
Small scale local projects on the other hand
may bring lasting impulsions from which long term
partnerships and multiplier effects may emerge which
provide an important added-value to EU cultural action.
It should also be noted that innovatory and creative
activities most frequently stem from local and regional
initiatives. Moreover, local and regional organizations
and associations are closest to the people and are
therefore able to stimulate more active involvement in
cultural activities in terms of contacts with artists,
voluntary organizations, education establishments and
the population in general and be able get through more
effectively to ‘disadvantaged’ groups. They are thus best
able to ensure the widest access as possible to cultural
activities and maximum benefit of opportunities avail-
able.

(i) Cultural cooperation agreements

The COR welcomes the proposed cooper-
3.1.2.4.
ation agreements that aim to create a network of
operators, cultural organizations and cultural
insti-
tutions in the Community but is highly sceptical regard-
ing the condition that project approval is dependent on
the agreement being signed by as many as seven States.

3.1.2.5.
In the COR’s view the Culture 2000 pro-
gramme should promote cross-cultural rather than
inter-state relations. Bearing in mind the fact that
cross-cultural relations lend themselves more to the
participation of regions and local authorities, the Com-
mittee proposes that the participation of such authorities
should also be accepted, particularly those which have
transferred their cultural responsibles, as full members,
to European cultural cooperation projects. This is of
course provided that they can guarantee cross-cultural
interactions by virtue of representing diverse cultures
within the confines of their own particular Member
State.

(ii) Major actions

3.1.2.6.
The COR has doubts about several of the
actions mentioned in the proposal (Europe Day, festival
in the Member State holding the EU Presidency, etc.).
Such activities risk being ‘one off’ projects which fail to
involve the public at large. The European City of Culture
event shows, however, the scope that exists for creating
and involving
the desired sustainable networks
grassroots local and regional organizations.

3.1.2.7.
In the COR’s view, one-third of the funding
earmarked for major actions should be transferred to
specific actions.

(iii) Specific actions

The COR advocates that more support be
3.1.2.8.
given to the specific actions since such projects lend
themselves to participation by local and regional organ-
izations and associations. The impact achieved by
projects implemented at local and regional level will have
a beneficial spin-off for local and regional development.
Special attention should be given to projects focusing
on disadvantaged groups or with children and youth as
target group.

3.1.2.9.
The Committee recommends that action
directed towards third countries should come under the
Specific Projects section and that ad hoc activities should
be introduced, given the specific nature of these projects
and their high cost. The range of such actions should
also be limited in the interests of ensuring a clear grasp
of the programme’s objectives. The COR does not agree
with the stipulation requiring Specific Projects to be
developed in conjunction with cultural operators from
at least four Member States.

3.1.2.10.
In addition to our earlier justification of the
greater involvement of regional and local authorities,
we would propound a number of additional arguments
in this particular case. Firstly, the classification of a
project as innovative depends on the regional context
since what is innovative in one region is not likely to be
innovative in another. Secondly, regional and local
levels are much closer to European citizens, and are
consequently more suitable for developing projects that
allow disadvantaged social circles to gain access to
culture.

For all these reasons the COR proposes that
3.1.2.11.
local and regional authorities be involved in this case too,
and especially those authorities which have transferred
their cultural responsibilities, as full members, to Specific
Projects under the ‘Culture 2000’ programme. This is of
course providing that they can guarantee cross-cultural
interactions by virtue of representing diverse cultures
within the confines of their own particular Member
State.

3.1.2.12.
The COR calls for special support to be
given, within the framework of the Specific Projects
scheme, to projects designed to foster cooperation
between the local and regional authorities of different
Member States but which share the same culture. Given
the uniqueness of such projects, the COR supports
schemes guaranteeing more
transnational
requirements.

flexible

3.1.3. A d m i n i s t r a t i o n
p r o c e d u r e s

a n d

a p p l i c a t i o n

The COR takes the view that the adminis-
3.1.3.1.
tration of European cultural programmes must be more

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efficient; form-filling must be simplified; a sufficient
period of time must be allowed for the submission of
applications; and procedures must be speeded up so that
funds can be disbursed as soon as possible.

between local artists and European authorities are
broadened. Furthermore, the COR supports the use of
existing decentralized points where that is possible.

3.1.3.2. Mention should be made of the problems
which have arisen over late payment of funds to the
selected projects which can make it virtually impossible
for many organizations to benefit properly from EU
support. In the COR Opinion on ‘the role of voluntary
organizations a contribution to a European society’ (1),
the COR has indicated a model designed to facilitate
their participation. This model enables associations to
step up cooperation with private foundations. Several
examples can be found in the Member States of
arrangements whereby foundations make advance liquid
capital payments to associations to assist them in their
partnership with the EU Commission.

3.1.4. A d v i s o r y c o m m i t t e e

3.1.4.1. Given culture’s local and regional roots and
the cultural responsibility borne by local and regional
authorities, the advisory committee set up to assist the
Commission in the implementation of the programme
should include local and regional representatives.

3.1.5. F i n a n c i n g

3.1.5.1.
The COR suggests that one-third of the
appropriations earmarked for major actions be trans-
ferred to specific actions, along with a share of the
funding allocated to cooperation agreements.

3.1.5.2.
The COR considers that the ECU 167 million
earmarked for the ‘Culture 2000’ programme from
1 January 2000 to 31 December 2004 is insufficient
and should be significantly increased in view of the
importance of culture in the European venture.

3.1.6. C o n t a c t p o i n t s

3.1.6.1.
The Commission, together with the Member
States, is planning to set up information and contact
points to promote the ‘Culture 2000’ programme, to
encourage the participation of professionals and to
guarantee the necessary coordination between the vari-
ous institutions providing aid to the cultural sector in
the Member States so that the measures taken by
the Member States complement the ‘Culture 2000’
programme. The COR agrees fully with these objectives
but believes that decentralizing information points
and support mechanisms through the involvement of
regional and local authorities would be a much more
effective way of ensuring that the Community’s cultural
programmes reach European citizens and that relations

(1) CdR 306/97 fin — OJ C 180, 11.6.1998, p. 57.

3.1.7. E v a l u a t i o n

3.1.7.1.
The COR is interested in taking part in
programme evaluation and in contributing with its
experience from the local and regional level, where the
largest proportion of all cultural work, including cultural
cooperation within the Community, will take place.

3.1.7.2.
The Committee believes that an assessment
of the impact of the programme for regional and local
authorities should be carried out before the end of the
year 2002 and its results taken into account for the
purpose of possibly amending the programme, as pro-
vided for under Article 6 of the Commission proposal.
The COR likewise calls for an analysis of the advantages
and merits of projects from the point of their impact on
local and regional culture, both in terms of selection
criteria and follow-up mechanisms.

In the COR’s view, completed projects which
3.1.7.3.
no longer receive EU funding need to be followed up.
Those projects which result in networks and lasting
partnerships should receive support. Similarly, national,
regional and local policies should strive to promote and
facilitate their continued operation.

3.2. Comments on the explicit integration of cultural

aspects into community policies

3.2.1.
The COR firmly supports the Commission’s
proposal to lay down a framework for 2000-2004
designed to ensure that the objectives and means of
those general Community policies that impinge on
cultural matters are more compatible with the objectives
and means of the Community’s cultural action proper.
The reason why this proposal is so important is because
the influence of some Community programmes on
culture is more powerful than the Community’s specific
cultural action.

The COR applauds the measures taken by the
3.2.2.
Commission to create a legislative framework favourable
to culture. It regards as particularly necessary the
Commission’s decisions on the prevention of illicit trade
in cultural goods in the single market, the protection
of the national treasures of the Member States, the
voluntary application by the Member States of a reduced
rate of VAT to specific cultural goods and services, and
the harmonization of aspects relating to the problems
of copyright. However, the COR would draw the
Commission’s attention to the 1992 copyright directive
which provides for the introduction of a lending right
fee in libraries. Exemptions should be possible for
libraries so as to encourage reading among the general
public, especially in disadvantaged areas where libraries
are a focus of social integration.

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3.2.3.
The COR also agrees with the Commission on
the need to a) introduce fixed book-price agreements
within homogeneous linguistic areas in Europe, b) apply
a reduced rate of VAT to records, multimedia supports
and the conservation and restoration of monuments, c)
recommend that Member States introduce favourable
tax incentives for the company sponsorship and patron-
age of cultural activities, and d) submit proposals
on removing obstacles to the free movement and
cross-border mobility of artists and those working in
the field of culture.

3.2.4.
The COR also endorses the Commission’s
intention to identify Community programmes which
have a major impact on culture. This means on the one
hand programmes linked to telecommunications, such
as the Telematics Applications Programme (TAP),
Advanced Communication Technologies and Services
(ACTS), Multilingual Programmes (MLPA and MLIS),
TEN-Telecom and INFO 2000. On the other hand it
means programmes falling within the future Fifth
Framework Programme for Research and Technological
Development (1998-2002), including the thematic pro-
grammes ‘Preserving the Ecosystem’ and ‘Creating a
User-Friendly Information Society’. Thirdly it means
looking at the new Structural Funds (2000-2006) and
particularly the operational programmes of the Euro-
pean regions, the Community Initiative Programmes
and the European Social Fund. Cooperation between
the Structural Funds and the new framework programme
for culture is particularly necessary. Culture, as an asset
in local and regional development, should be accorded
a higher profile in projects receiving Structural Fund
aid. Last but not least, there is the educational and
training policy which the Community will be developing
through the future Socrates II, Leonardo Da Vinci II and
Youth for Europe IV programmes.

Since it is important for European institutions
3.2.5.
to develop a horizontal policy on culture along the lines
of what is happening for example in the environment,
the COR considers that it is necessary to devise a
mechanism which will ensure that cultural aspects are
taken into account in all Community programmes. In
any such mechanism there would have to be a place for
the Committee of the Regions whilst each individual
Community programme would have to include oper-
ational objectives, a budget, and mechanisms for evaluat-
ing the extent to which cultural objectives are met.

3.2.6. With regard to the third axis, i.e. the Com-
munity’s general policy on culture in the context of
external relations, the COR supports the Commission’s
proposal and underlines the role of culture in the
Community’s external relations policy and enlargement
process. This is consistent with the line taken in ‘Agenda
2000’.

and takes the view that such statistics will in future
facilitate the follow-up to and evaluation of Community
action in the cultural field.

4. Conclusions

The Committee of the Regions:

welcomes the proposal for a single framework
4.1.
programme and observes with pleasure that the Com-
mission has framed a cultural policy for the Community
which highlights and clarifies cultural issues;

4.2.
considers that the programme can make a valu-
able contribution to the enlargement process since it is
also open to the applicant countries. Participation in
projects fosters understanding and interest in other
cultures, builds networks and stimulates cooperation
and exchanges within the cultural sphere, with the result
that the new Member States’ accession to the EU will
be made easier;

4.3.
considers that the cultural sector provides the
opportunity of employment creation but would call for
more intensive efforts to be made to quantify and analyse
its impacts and to address the weaknesses and threats
which may prevent the cultural sector from maximising
its employment creating potential;

4.4.
would emphasize the need to earmark resources
for programmes open to children and young people and
which seek to support and foster their individual creative
powers and give them the opportunity to understand
and respect other cultures;

4.5.
would point out that action to promote equality
needs to receive special attention and that the programme
must provide scope for projects designed to stimulate
women’s distinctive creativity;

4.6.
calls for attention to be given to the additional
costs involved in cultural projects focusing on people
with disabilities;

4.7.
feels that the programme’s practical working
methods should be framed to allow a large number of
people to be active protagonists and share responsibility
for projects;

underlines the need to cut redtape and streamline

4.8.
formalities for applications;

3.2.7.
Finally, the COR approves the Commission’s
proposal to include comparable Community cultural
statistics for the five year period between 1998 and 2002

4.9.
calls on the Community to include among its
priorities support for projects involving cultural and
linguistic minorities — relating both to specific cultural
action and Community programmes in general;

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4.10.
calls on the Community to make it possible for
regions and municipalities, particularly those with full
responsibilities for culture, to take a more active part in
European cultural programmes;

4.11.
stresses that as guarantors of local and regional
culture local and regional authorities should be included
in the advisory committee set up to assist the Commission
in the implementation of the programme;

4.12.
underlines that Regional and local authorities,
particularly those which exercise their cultural responsi-
bilities, must be regarded as full members in respect of
European cultural cooperation projects and in respect
of the Specific Projects falling under the ‘Culture
2000’ programme, provided that they can guarantee
interactions by virtue of representing
cross-cultural
diverse cultures within the confines of their own particu-
lar Member State;

4.13.
proposes that the contact points providing
information and support for the implementation of the
‘Culture 2000’ programme be decentralized and put in
the hands of local and regional authorities and that
existing information points are used wherever possible;

4.14.
proposes the compilation of a report analysing
the impact of the ‘Culture 2000’ programme from the
point of view of local and regional authorities. It

Brussels, 19 November 1998.

also considers that this impact should be taken into
consideration when drawing up selection criteria and
preparing follow-up measures for cultural projects;

4.15.
considers that ‘eye-catching visibility’ cannot
be the sole criterion, nor even the foremost criterion,
in the Community’s cultural action. It suggests that
one-third of the appropriations earmarked for major
actions, along with a share of the funding allocated
to cooperation agreements, be transferred to specific
actions;

considers that the funds allocated to the ‘Culture
4.16.
2000’ programme from 1 January 2000 to 31 December
2004 (ECU 167 million) are absolutely insufficient;

4.17.
considers that it is necessary to devise a mechan-
ism which will ensure that cultural aspects are taken
into account in all Community programmes. In any such
mechanism there would have to be a place for the
Committee of the Regions whilst each individual Com-
munity programme would have to include operational
objectives, a budget and mechanisms for evaluating the
extent to which cultural objectives are met.

4.18.
The COR calls for the Structural Funds’ regu-
lations to make specific mention of culture with a view
to supporting regional and local cultural policies, in
particular those contributing to spatial planning and
employment promotion.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Manfred DAMMEYER