Council conclusions of 24 May 2007 on the contribution of the cultural and creative sectors to the achievement of the Lisbon objectives
Date: 2007-05-24
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EU statistics, competitiveness, cooperation policy, cultural promotion, data collection, economic growth, small and medium-sized enterprises

21.12.2007

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Official Journal of the European Union

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COUNCIL

Council conclusions of 24 May 2007 on the contribution of the cultural and creative sectors to the
achievement of the Lisbon objectives

(2007/C 311/07)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

(1) Having regard to Article 151 of the Treaty establishing the

European Community,

(2) Having regard to the relaunch of the Lisbon strategy at the
Brussels European Council on 22 and 23 March 2005,
placing a focus on economic growth and the creation of
more and better jobs, as well as the European Council
Conclusions of 8 and 9 March 2007 on the particular atten-
tion to be given to stimulating the potential of SMEs,
including in the cultural and creative sectors,
in view of
their role as drivers of growth,
job creation and innova-
tion (1),

(3) Recalling that culture and creativity have multiple social,

political and economic functions,

(4) Noting that the Unesco Convention on the Protection and
Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions under-
lines that cultural activities, goods and services have both an
economic and a cultural nature,

(5) Aware of the study commissioned by the Commission on
the economy of culture in Europe, presented to the public
on 14 November 2006, and in particular its emphasis on
the great importance of the cultural and creative sector for
attaining the Lisbon objectives and of the enormous poten-
tial of European culture,

(8) Aware that the success of the strategy will depend on a firm
operational basis; to that effect a number of urgent actions
could and should be conducted,
in the
following areas: promoting evidence-based policy making in
the field of data gathering and exchange of best practice,
strengthening the link between education,
training and
culture, and making better use of the potential of SMES and
the existing structures and programmes,

in particular

(9) Confirming its intention,

in view of

the positive results
which cooperation between the Member States on specific
issues of relevance to culture and cultural activities under
the Council's Work Plans for Culture 2002-2007 (2) has
produced, to continue that form of cooperation between
Member States and thus to decide, in due course, on a new
Council work plan as from 2008,

NOTES that the results of the above mentioned study on the
economy of culture in Europe provide evidence that:

— cultural creativity and the economic sectors built around it
already make a direct and significant contribution to
economic growth and employment,
sector
experiencing growth higher than that of the economy in
general, and having witnessed a rise in employment higher
than employment in the wider economy,

the cultural

— cultural activities and creative industries, such as visual and
performing arts, heritage,
television and
radio, new and emerging media, music, books and press,
design, architecture and advertising are also playing a critical
role in boosting innovation and technology, and are key
engines of sustainable growth in the future,

film and video,

(6) Convinced, in view of the growing recognition that culture
lies at the heart of the European project in which it has a
unique and indispensable role to play, that the place of
culture and creative activities needs to be strengthened
when developing the Lisbon Agenda,

— in particular, the availability of high quality creative content
is a key driver in the take-up of new technologies, in par-
ticular broadband internet, digital
television and mobile
communication,

(7) Aware that efforts to that end can only form part of a wider
strategy to be debated and defined inter alia in the light of
the forthcoming Commission's Communication on Culture,
which intends to outline the central role of culture and crea-
to advance a
tivity in the European project
European agenda for culture,

in order

(1) Doc. 7224/07, p. 4.

— the

self-employed, micro-enterprises,

and
medium-sized enterprises in the cultural sector play an even
more pivotal role in driving forward its development than
those in other sectors,

small

and

(2) Council Resolution of 25 June 2002 on a new work plan on European
cooperation in the field of culture and Council conclusions of
16 November 2004 on the Work Plan for Culture 2005-2006 (which
has been extended until the end of 2007).

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— given its close links with a specific cultural and linguistic
environment and strong regional roots, the production of
goods and services in the culture sector is not easily transfer-
able and thus forms a stable and sustainable base for local
and regional strategies for economic growth and social cohe-
sion;

UNDERLINES that the cultural and creative sectors make a special
and multi-faceted contribution towards strengthening Europe's
global competitiveness, bearing in mind that:

— Europe's rich cultural life enhances the attractiveness of its
cities and regions as global centres of economic activity,

— Europe's cultural wealth, heritage and diversity make it an
attractive destination for cultural tourists from all over the
world,

— cultural content and creativity will play an increasingly

important role for Europe's global competitiveness;

RECOGNISES THAT:

— there remains a lack of

solid comparable evidence at
Member State and Community level which would enable the
economic contribution of the cultural and creative sectors to
the EU's economy,
in particular as a result of policy
measures, to be properly assessed,

— there is a lack of information, specialised training and advice
to help creative and cultural professionals develop their crea-
tive output into successful economic products and services,

— insufficient attention given to the cultural and creative
sectors in the implementation of major Community support
programmes and initiatives could jeopardise progress in
achieving the objectives of the Lisbon agenda,

— within the internal market obstacles still stand in the way of
the free movement of creative people, cultural activities and
the digital distribution of products and services,

INVITES

A. WITH A VIEW TO PROMOTING EVIDENCE-BASED POLICY

MAKING

the Commission to:

— strengthen its work, building on the work undertaken in
the framework of Eurostat as a follow-up to the Council
Resolution of 20 November 1995 on the promotion of
statistics on culture and economic growth (1),

— pursue work in the field of cultural statistics in terms of
definitions and methodologies and assess
the work
already done, with a view in particular to informing the
implementation of the cultural element of the proposed
Community statistical programme 2008 to 2012 (2),

— co-operate, as appropriate, with other relevant interna-

tional institutions;

the Member States to:

— lend their full support to data gathering efforts, especially
through the efficient
formulation
where appropriate of data collection methodologies,
while avoiding imposing an added administrative burden
on companies and organisations,

implementation or

— develop case studies and impact studies, as necessary;

the Member States and the Commission to:

— decide on further priorities and identify new areas of
data collection to measure the contribution of culture
and creative industries to the Lisbon Agenda,

— promote and ensure the regular exchange of best practice
in the field of the economy of the cultural and creative
sectors.

B. WITH A VIEW TO STRENGTHENING THE LINK BETWEEN
EDUCATION, TRAINING AND THE CULTURAL AND CREATIVE
SECTORS

— SMEs in the cultural and creative sectors continue to be
faced with a number of difficulties e.g. in terms of access to
financing;

the Member States to:

TAKES NOTE OF:

specific questions

the activities at expert level started in the first half of 2007 to
related to the
assess
contribution of the cultural and creative sector to economic
growth and employment,
involving the relevant professional
actors/stakeholders.

including statistics

— assess whether the management aspects are sufficiently
addressed in cultural and heritage studies and training
schemes and promote the availability of managerial,
business and entrepreneurial training capacities specifi-
cally tailored for professionals in the cultural and creative
industries, and strengthen the cultural dimension in
economics and business studies;

(1) OJ C 327, 7.12.1995, p. 1.
(2) Commission proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of
the Council on the Community statistical Programme 2008 to 2012,
doc. 15536/06.

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the Member States and the Commission to:

— promote contacts and cooperation between the creative
sector and the business world in order to increase the
awareness of the latter regarding the potential of the
cultural and creative sector,

— promote synergies between culture and education with a

view to developing creative skills.

C. WITH A VIEW TO MAXIMISING THE POTENTIAL OF SMALL
AND MEDIUM SIZED ENTERPRISES IN THE CULTURAL AND
CREATIVE SECTORS

the Member States and the Commission to:

— stimulate activities aimed at maximising the economic
fostering

potential of culture and creativity by SMEs,
their cooperation and the development of networks,

— facilitate access of SMEs to financing,

— enhance balanced mutual exchanges of cultural goods
and services with third countries, with a view to
promoting cultural diversity and enhancing intercultural
dialogue,

— ensure protection of intellectual property rights and step
up the fight against counterfeiting and product piracy in
the cultural and creative sectors internationally.

D. WITH A VIEW TO MAKING BETTER USE OF EXISTING STRUC-

TURES, PROGRAMMES AND INITIATIVES

the Commission to:

— strengthen the coordination of activities relevant

to
culture and the creative industries as these are being
conducted in the EU's different policy fields with a view
to maximising their impact on the Lisbon Agenda and
ensuring that the cultural and creative sectors are fully
taken into account,

— place greater emphasis on the cultural and creative
sectors in the context of other Community programmes
and initiatives,

— better assess how various Community programmes and
initiatives impact on the cultural and creative sectors;

the Member States and the Commission to:

— use the Cohesion Fund and the Structural Funds more
efficiently in order to optimise support to SMEs in the
cultural and creative sectors.