Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on A European agenda for culture in a globalising world
Date: 2007-11-28
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: cultural cooperation, cultural policy, cultural promotion, cultural relations, globalisation

26.2.2008

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 53/25

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on ‘A European agenda for culture in a globalising world’

(2008/C 53/05)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

— underlines that local and regional authorities play a key role in developing and fostering culture, espe-

cially in protecting cultural heritage and promoting artistic innovation;

— highlights that the cultural sector plays an important part in attaining the objectives of the renewed
Lisbon strategy. It draws attention to the tremendous opportunities afforded by cultural tourism for
the economic development of many regions. It nonetheless warns against placing one-sided emphasis
on the purely economic importance of culture. Equally important is the importance of culture in
creating a good and dynamic living environment, a prerequisite for development;

— regrets that,

in establishing a European agenda for culture in a globalising world, the European
Commission makes no reference to the large number of partnerships between cities, local authorities
and regions;

— is critical of the European Commission's failure to provide any information in its communication on

how the very ambitious objectives to be pursued under the agenda for culture are to be funded;

— would like to open a constructive discussion on the European Commission's plan to use the open
method of coordination in the area of culture. Attention will have to be paid to the sub-national
levels, which are to a large extent responsible for culture, and the added administrative burden
involved will have to be kept to a minimum.

C 53/26

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

26.2.2008

Rapporteur: Mr Gerd HARMS (DE/PES), Plenipotentiary of the Land of Brandenburg for federal and

European affairs and state secretary in the Brandenburg state chancellery

Reference document

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic
and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on a European agenda for culture in a globa-
lising world

COM(2007) 242 final

Policy recommendations

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

1.
explicitly welcomes the European Commission's submis-
sion on a European agenda for culture in a globalising world. The
document rightly sets out the key role of culture in the integra-
tion process and notes the need for appropriate tools to
promote to the full Europe's cultural richness and diversity and
thus achieve the ‘strategic objectives of prosperity, solidarity and
security’ both inside and outside the EU.

This requires increased cooperation among all cultural policy
players at all levels, taking due account of civil society represen-
tatives and their networks.

As moves are made to come up with a new European cultural
agenda in response to globalisation, regional and local cultural
policy is becoming increasingly important. The challenge of
globalisation inevitably means a reawakening of the ‘Europe of
the regions’ — not least in the light of the EU's subsidiarity
principle which is predicated on the idea that culture emerges
from the grassroots level — i.e. from the cities and regions.
Local and regional authorities play a key role in developing and
fostering culture in their respective areas, not least in protecting
the cultural heritage and promoting artistic innovation, as well
as in supporting and assisting not only cultural institutions and
initiatives but also education and training, and in staging festi-
vals and cultural events.

In cross-border regions in particular, the quality and scale of
cultural cooperation is a crucial element in the European inte-
gration process as it faces global challenges;

is pleased that,

in its communication,

the European
2.
Commission for the first time articulates the need for a wide-
ranging cultural agenda in order to develop an effective strategy
that reflects the key role of culture both for relations between
the Member States and their regions and relations with non-EU
countries.

Intercultural exchange should become the cornerstone of
dialogue with candidate countries and part of the Union's neigh-
bourhood policy. The CoR also shares the Commission's view
on the need to foster dialogue between religious communities
and associations;

welcomes

reference both to
3.
Article 151 as the EC Treaty base (Amsterdam — 1997) and to
the subsidiarity principle; the communication stresses that:

the Commission's clear

— Community input into European integration in the area of
‘national and

cultural policy must respect Member States'
regional diversity’;

— cooperation is to be fostered in all cultural areas not only
between the Member States but also with third countries
and the competent international organisations operating in
the sphere of culture,
in particular in collaboration with
Council of Europe;

— the Community must take ‘cultural aspects’ into account in
its activities ‘in particular in order to respect and to

all
promote the diversity of its cultures’; and

— the Community can only act to support and supplement
Member States' cultural policies, not to replace them with its
own measures;

4.
is pleased that the European Commission communication
explicitly highlights the CoR's constructive role in encouraging
the cultural agenda and in involving local and regional authori-
ties and civil society in the process;

With regard to the main objectives of the communication

5.
highlights the direction of the objectives set out in the
communication and endorses these objectives, prioritised as
follows:

— promotion of cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue;

— promotion of culture as a vital element in international rela-

tions;

— promotion of culture as a driving force for the creative

industry (Lisbon strategy);

6.
welcomes the fact that the Commission highlights the key
role of culture and the creative economy in generating growth
and creating jobs. Culture is a European growth industry. The
cultural sector thus plays an important part in attaining the
objectives of the renewed Lisbon strategy. Encourages therefore
the European Commission to better assess the impacts of the
cultural and creative sector on regional and local economies;

26.2.2008

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 53/27

7.
notes in this regard the special role played by cultural
tourism. The CoR calls for a stepping-up of European-level
exchanges of experience with the cultural
tourism industry,
cultural associations and other cultural players and regional
representatives. The CoR would draw attention to the tremen-
dous opportunities afforded by cultural
the
economic development of many regions, but also to the risks
involved for cultural heritage, especially through inappropriate
use;

tourism for

8.
despite its wholehearted support for the Lisbon objectives,
would nonetheless warn against placing one-sided emphasis on
the purely economic importance of culture in this context.
Equally important is the importance of culture in creating a
good and dynamic living environment, a prerequisite for devel-
opment. The CoR urges that the Community should first and
foremost meet its remit under the Treaty to foster ‘non-commer-
cial cultural exchanges’ (Art. 151(2), third indent, EC Treaty);

The Committee would like it made clear that the Lisbon objec-
tives can only be successfully pursued if the European Union
focuses its cultural efforts on the importance for society of the
intangible values of culture. The CoR feels that cultural educa-
tion and cultural cooperation must be fostered if society's crea-
tive resources are to be tapped and the cultural industry is to
flourish. Culture exists without a cultural industry, but a cultural
industry cannot exist without culture;

9.
Related to the above is the intrinsic value of culture and
CoR wants to highlight the importance of promoting quality.
One objective of a European agenda for culture should be to
achieve a dynamic cultural development and to present cutting
edge culture in Europe; and in a global context;

10.
would therefore urge that steps be taken to strengthen
and foster international cultural exchanges, the acquisition of
intercultural skills and multilingualism among the EU public;

11.
feels that the plan propagated by the Amsterdam-based
European Cultural Foundation and currently being pursued by
the European Parliament and the European Commission's Direc-
torate-General for Education and Culture to establish an Erasmus
for Culture pilot project
is a sound and worthwhile way of
fostering cultural cooperation by building on the strengths of
the regions and regionally based organisations and institutions
with a high cultural profile. The CoR will be a willing partner in
this initiative;

12.
confirms the effectiveness of the current Culture 2007
(2007-2013) programme and other schemes, particularly those
designed to promote cultural development in rural areas ‘in
view of enhancing the attractiveness of regions’.

The CoR is critical of the continued inadequacy of the resources
made available by the EU and Member States for this purpose;

is

13.
the European Commission's almost
complete failure to take account of recent developments in the

surprised at

most attractive EU cultural project — the European Capital of
Culture scheme — to which it would appear to attach no stra-
tegic importance. This scheme is the most popular of all the
European cultural projects, and is quickly gaining importance in
the cultural development of cities and regions, as witnessed by
the increasing number of national competitions to secure the
title (eight UK contenders for the 2008 award; eighteen German
and eleven Hungarian contenders for 2010; eight Finnish
contenders for 2011; and seven contenders already in the
running for the Spanish title in 2016). Particular momentum is
generated here by the fact that, under the Capital of Culture
scheme for the years 2007 to 2011, culture is understood and
thus
treated as an engine and tool
making a major contribution to European added value;

for social development,

urges therefore that the European Commission should be
14.
alert to new developments in the European Capital of Culture
scheme, studying them closely and giving them its backing.

In doing so, the Commission should pay particular attention to:

— the strong and effective cooperation between the 2007 to

2011 European Capitals of Culture;

— the cooperation under way between the joint 2010 Capitals
of Culture — the Ruhr, Pécs and Istanbul — covering not
only the innovative potential of sustainable, culture-based
urban development and but also the particular opportunities
thereby afforded to engage in dialogue with Islam;

— the 2010 Cultural Cities Network, which for the first time
brings
from
together more than 20 towns and cities
Hungary, Germany and Turkey to work together on the
development of their own European cultural objectives, to
join the Capitals of Culture in their preparations for 2010
and to present their projects simultaneously at a wide range
of different locations;

15.
will, for its part, address the potential for development
and integration which, as noted in the 2005 Budapest declara-
tion of
is
inherent in cultural cooperation schemes undertaken by and for
the benefit of Europe's regions and cities;

the Hungarian and German Capitals of Culture,

16.
regrets that, in establishing a European agenda for culture
in a globalising world, the European Commission makes no
reference to the large number of partnerships between cities,
local authorities and regions which, with their origins in Europe,
have spread throughout the world since the end of the Second
World War. Such structured partnerships between cities and
regions have had — and continue to have — a stabilising effect
on society and have made a major contribution to peaceful
development and to overcoming the division of Europe. The
CoR would therefore ask the European Commission, when
drawing up its programmes, to take due account of the cultural
potential of urban and regional partnerships — which are so
important for society as a whole — and to take on board new,
qualitative developments;

C 53/28

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

26.2.2008

confirms

17.
for Europe
programme and its impact on regional and local cultural devel-
opment, and calls for this programme to be broadened;

the importance of

the Citizens

18.
expects practical proposals for action under the 2008
European Year of Intercultural Dialogue and anticipates CoR
involvement in the process. Encourages therefore DG Education
and Culture to maintain the focus on intercultural dialogue after
2008 by promoting specific policies and by working together
with other Directorate-Generals;

is critical of

the European Commission's

19.
failure to
provide any information in its communication on how the very
ambitious objectives to be pursued under the agenda for culture
are to be funded, noting that funding cannot under any circum-
stances be provided from the meagre resources available under
the Culture 2007 programme. In this regard, the CoR would
underscore the key role of the Structural Funds in promoting
infrastructure and preserving cultural heritage, and
cultural
supports the European Commission's plan in future to incorpo-
rate cultural projects
into other Community programmes.
However, the CoR expects more specific information on this
point;

shares

the European Commission's

20.
the
UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the
Diversity of Cultural Expressions, which entered into force in
March 2007, is a key tool of cultural policy and international
law that is of major importance for the Community and the
Member States and will also have a regional impact.

view that

Therefore calls upon the European Commission, without preju-
dice to the principle of subsidiarity, to take steps to introduce
this global agreement;

21.
would again point out that a common external cultural
policy agreed on by the Member States can only be developed
and put into effect if support is given to the cooperation initia-
tives and activities of Member State players who cultivate rela-

Brussels, 28 November 2007

tions with non-EU countries. The Committee of the Regions
would therefore explicitly propose to the European Commission
that initiatives such as EUNIC (European Union National Insti-
tutes for Culture) should be strengthened and supported;

22.
is pleased at that, as things stand, the Council conclu-
sions on a reform treaty for Europe are taking on board the
firm foundations
in the sphere of culture agreed by the
European Convention;

23.
is critical of the absence of any reference to the Berlin
Declaration on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the
signature of the Treaties of Rome, which stresses not only the
economic but also the cultural importance of integration and
highlights the key role of the regions in this regard;

24.
would like to open a constructive discussion on the
European Commission's plan to use the open method of coordi-
nation in the area of culture. The CoR reminds in this context
that attention will have to be paid to the sub-national levels,
which are to a large extent responsible for culture, and the
added administrative burden will have to be kept
to a
minimum. The CoR recommends making also use of the multi-
farious opportunities afforded by setting up and fostering
European platforms and networks. In particular, the Committee
feels that stepping up support for joint, multinational projects
and fostering exchanges between cultural professionals offers a
promising way of accelerating and intensifying European inte-
gration;

backs

25.
the European Commission's plan to stage a
European Cultural Forum every two years involving cultural
players and practitioners at every level;

26.
explicitly welcomes in this regard the European Commis-
sion's plan to submit a cultural policy progress report every two
years which should, above all, provide information on the
European Commission's application of the cultural compatibility
clause (Article 151(4) of the EC Treaty) in other policy areas.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Michel DELEBARRE