Resolution of the Council of 16 November 2007 on a European Agenda for Culture
Date: 2007-11-16
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EU action, cultural cooperation, cultural policy, cultural transmission, economic and social cohesion

29.11.2007

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Official Journal of the European Union

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I

(Resolutions, recommendations and opinions)

RESOLUTIONS

COUNCIL

RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL

of 16 November 2007

on a European Agenda for Culture

(2007/C 287/01)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

recalling
Community, in particular by Article 151 of the Treaty;

the objectives

assigned

to the

European

referring to the provisions of the Unesco Convention on
the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural
Expressions;

having regard to the Commission's Communication of
10 May 2007 on a European Agenda for Culture in a
Globalizing World (1);

recalling its Conclusions of 24 May 2007 on the contribu-
tion of the cultural and creative sectors to the achievement
of the Lisbon objectives (2);

into

account

from
taking
planning and implementing the Council's 2002-2004 and
2005-2007 work plans (3);

experience

derived

the

taking into account the results of the First Cultural Forum
for Europe, held in Lisbon on the 26 and 27 September
2007;

convinced that culture and its specificity, including multi-
lingualism are key elements of the European integration
process based on common values and a common heritage
— a process which recognizes, respects and promotes
cultural diversity and the transversal role of culture;

(9)

sharing the view that the role of culture should be better
recognized in the Lisbon Agenda in the new cycle which it
will enter into in 2008;

(10) considering that culture should play an important role in
the EU's external relations as a means of enhancing inter-
national cooperation;

(11) underlining the strong link between culture and develop-
ment, and welcoming a more pro-active role by Member
States and the European Community in the context of
their respective external assistance, in order to foster the
emergence of a dynamic cultural sector in developing
countries, and taking note of
the suggestion by the
Commission to enhance mobilization and diversification
of funding in favour of increased access of local popula-
tion to culture, and of cultural goods of those countries to
European markets;

(12) stressing

the

intercultural
importance of deepening
dialogue at the international level, including with countries
in a situation of fragility, and involving non-governmental
actors in order to promote greater knowledge and under-
standing,

EUROPEAN AGENDA FOR CULTURE

(8)

stressing that culture and creativity are important drivers
for personal development,
social cohesion, economic
growth, creation of jobs, innovation and competitiveness;

(1) Doc. 9496/07 and accompanying working document listing Com-

munity actions in the field of culture (Doc. 9496/07 ADD 1).

(2) Doc. 9021/07.
(3) OJ C 162, 6.7.2002 and doc. 13839/04.

1. WELCOMES

the Commission's proposal

a
European Agenda for Culture, perceived as an important
step towards further developing cooperation in the cultural
field and increasing the coherence and visibility of European
action in this field, while at the same time strengthening
the transversal role of culture;

to define

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Official Journal of the European Union

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Strategic objectives

C. AS REGARDS CULTURE AS A VITAL ELEMENT OF

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS:

2.

in the
ENDORSES the three strategic objectives set out
Commission's Communication with a view to shaping the
shared European Agenda for Culture, i.e.:

(a) promotion of

cultural diversity

and intercultural

dialogue;

(b) promotion of culture as a catalyst for creativity in the
framework of the Lisbon Strategy for growth, employ-
ment, innovation and competitiveness;

(c) promotion of culture as a vital element in the Union's

international relations;

Specific objectives

— enhancing the role of culture in the EU's external

relations and development policy,

— promoting the Unesco Convention on the Protec-
the Diversity of Cultural
tion and Promotion of
Expressions and contributing to its implementation
at international level,

— fostering

intercultural dialogue

and interaction
between civil societies of EU Member States and
third countries,

— encouraging further cooperation between cultural
institutions of EU Member States, including cultural
institutes, in third countries and with their counter-
parts in those countries;

3. AGREES that those three strategic objectives are to be speci-

fied as follows:

Subsidiarity and flexibility

A. AS REGARDS PROMOTION OF CULTURAL DIVER-

SITY AND INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE:

4.

— encouraging the mobility of artists and other profes-

sionals in the culture field,

— promoting cultural heritage, namely by facilitating
the mobility of collections and fostering the process
of digitisation, with a view to improving public
access to different forms of cultural and linguistic
expressions,

— promoting intercultural dialogue as a sustainable
process contributing to European identity, citizen-
ship and social cohesion, including by the develop-
ment of the intercultural competences of citizens;

B. AS REGARDS PROMOTING CULTURE AS A CATA-

LYST OF CREATIVITY:

— promoting better use of synergies between culture
and education,
in particular by encouraging art
education and active participation in cultural
activities with a view to developing creativity and
innovation,

— promoting the availability of managerial, business
and entrepreneurial
training capacities specifically
tailored to professionals in the cultural and creative
fields,

— fostering a favourable environment for the develop-
ment of cultural and creative industries,
including
the audiovisual sector, thus maximizing their poten-
tial, in particular that of SMEs, namely by making
better use of existing programmes and initiatives
and by stimulating creative partnerships between the
cultural sector and other sectors,
including in the
context of local and regional development;

STRESSES that action pursuant to these objectives should
have a real European added value and be carried out with
full respect for the principle of subsidiarity, and that these
common guidelines at EU level do not preclude the defini-
tion and implementation by Member States of their own
national policy objectives;

5. UNDERLINES that these objectives should be considered as a
flexible framework for guiding future action in the cultural
field;

WORKING METHODS

Dialogue with the cultural sector

6. AGREES that a continuous, multi-layered and flexible
dialogue with cultural stakeholders and in consultation with
regional, national and
(local,
the sector at all
European)
is essential to both the development and the
implementation of a European Agenda for Culture;

levels

7. WELCOMES the Commission's intention to identify represen-
tative interlocutors from the sector and to undertake a
mapping of
in order to set up channels of
communication and to structure dialogue with stake-
holders;

the sector,

8. AGREES in view of the positive impact of the first Cultural
Forum held in Lisbon on 26 and 27 September 2007 that
interaction with and within civil societies at both national
and European level
is a major element in gathering the
views of stakeholders in the context of the regular reporting
exercise;

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tarily provided by Member States pursuant to the prin-
ciples laid down in 10a and b above;

(f) in order to enhance the general awareness and visibility
of cultural cooperation at European level, cultural
actors and the public at large will be informed about
the objectives and priority actions of the work plan;

11. AGREES, in accordance with paragraph 10c, that the work
plan for the period 2008-2010 will concentrate on the
priority areas for action set out in the Annex;

12. The Council may,

in cooperation with the Commission,
review the application of the OMC in the cultural field
in the light of progress made, and having regard to
the reporting and evaluation exercise mentioned in para-
graph (e) above;

13. The European Parliament,

the European Economic and
Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions will
be kept informed of the implementation of the work plans;

Horizontal aspects

14.

INVITES the Commission to pursue its work in the field of
cultural statistics in terms of definitions and methodologies
with a view to achieving comparability of statistical data to
support evidence-based policy-making and actions;

15. WELCOMES

the

creation by the Commission of

an
inter-service group to better ensure that cultural aspects are
taken into account in its action under other provisions of
the Treaty, as laid down by Article 151(4) of the EC Treaty;

16. RECOMMENDS, that the interface between cultural aspects
and other Community policies be strengthened, through
coordination between relevant Council configurations on
matters that have an impact on culture and through the
creation of an effective and coherent mechanism for regular
reporting on and following up cultural aspects under other
provisions of the Treaty;

17.

INVITES the European Council to endorse these conclusions
providing a framework for a European Agenda for Culture.

Open method of coordination

9.

CONSIDERS that
the new approach proposed by the
Commission for cooperation in the field of culture, namely
using the open method of coordination (OMC) in a specifi-
cally adapted way and taking into account the specificities
of the sector, will provide a flexible and non-binding frame-
work for
structuring cooperation around the strategic
objectives of the European Agenda for Culture and fostering
exchanges of best practices;

10. DECIDES that:

(a) the OMC will be applied using a flexible approach
field, while fully respecting
suited to the cultural
Member States' competences,
including those of their
regional and local authorities and in accordance with
the principle of subsidiarity. Participation of Member
States in the actions and procedures concerned will be
voluntary;

(b) when implementing the OMC, special attention will be
paid to the need to minimise financial and administra-
tive burden upon the different actors,
in accordance
with the principle of proportionality, as set out in the
EC Treaty (1);

(c) the objectives of the European Agenda for Culture will
be implemented through triennial work plans covering
a limited number of priority areas, which the Council
determines as suitable for the OMC framework in the
corresponding time period. On the basis of
those
priority areas, the Commission will propose specific
actions for
the work plans that will be discussed,
supplemented, updated and, where necessary, endorsed
by the Council of Ministers;

(d) the Council, in cooperation with the Commission, will
play a central role in ensuring continuity and follow-up
of the priority areas for action and maintaining the
momentum of the process;

(e) after consulting the competent Council body (the
the Commission will
Cultural Affairs Committee)
to be submitted to the
prepare a progress report
Council on the basis inter alia of the information volun-

(1) Article 5 of the EC Treaty thereof as interpreted by Protocol No 30 on
the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality
annexed to the Treaty establishing the European Community, namely
its Point 9.

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Official Journal of the European Union

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ANNEX

PRIORITY AREAS FOR ACTION FOR THE PERIOD 2008-2010

In accordance with the provisions of paragraphs 10c and 11 above, the following priority actions will be pursued in the
context of the strategic objectives of the European Agenda for Culture:

— improving the conditions for the mobility of artists and other professionals in the cultural field,

— promoting access to culture, in particular through the promotion of cultural heritage, multilingualism, digitisation,

cultural tourism, synergies with education, especially art education, and greater mobility of collections,

— developing data, statistics and methodologies in the cultural sector and improve their comparability,

— maximising the potential of cultural and creative industries, in particular that of SMEs,

— promoting and implementing the Unesco Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural

Expressions.