Conclusions of the Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, on the promotion of cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue in the external relations of the Union and its Member States
Date: 2008-12-16
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: cultural pluralism, cultural relations, democratisation, governance, multilingualism, sustainable development, third country

C 320/10

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

16.12.2008

Conclusions of the Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States,
meeting within the Council, on the promotion of cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue in the
external relations of the Union and its Member States

(2008/C 320/04)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE REPRESENTA-
TIVES OF THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE MEMBER STATES, MEETING
WITHIN THE COUNCIL,

1. HAVING REGARD TO:

— the Treaty establishing the European Community,

— the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promo-
the Diversity of Cultural Expressions of

tion of
20 October 2005 (1),

— the UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting
and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of
Ownership of Cultural Property of 14 November 1970,

— Decision No 1983/2006/EC of the European Parliament
and of the Council of 18 December 2006 concerning the
European Year of Intercultural Dialogue (2008) (2).

2. WELCOMING:

— the Presidency conclusions of the European Council

in
Brussels on 19 and 20 June 2008 (3), whereby cultural
cooperation and intercultural dialogue are regarded as
integral parts of external policies as a whole.

3. REFERRING TO:

— the Council Resolution of 16 November 2007 on a

European Agenda for Culture (4),

— the Council conclusions of 21 May 2008 on Intercultural

Competences (5),

— and the conclusions of the Council and of the Represen-
the Member States,
tatives of
meeting within the Council, of 21 May 2008, on the
Work Plan for Culture 2008-2010 (6).

the Governments of

4. WELCOMING WITH INTEREST:

— the Commission Communication of 10 May 2007 on a
European Agenda for Culture in a Globalising World (7).

(1) Council Decision 2006/515/EC of 18 May 2006 on the conclusion of
the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of
Cultural Expressions (OJ L 201, 25.7.2006, p. 15).

(2) OJ L 412, 30.12.2006, p. 44.
(3) 11018/08.
(4) OJ C 287, 29.11.2007, p. 1.
(5) 9021/08.
(6) OJ C 143, 10.6.2008, p. 9.
(7) COM(2007) 242 final.

5. WHEREAS:

— intercultural dialogue can help to bring individuals and
peoples
conflict
prevention and the process of reconciliation, especially in
regions which are facing politically precarious situations,

together, and help towards

closer

— cultural exchanges and cultural cooperation, including in
the audiovisual sphere, can help to establish relations
based on partnership, strengthen the place and the role
of civil society, foster processes of democratisation and
good governance and promote human rights and funda-
mental freedoms,

— culture, an essential component of the knowledge-based
economy, is also a sector with strong economic potential,
in particular with respect to cultural and creative indus-
tries and sustainable cultural tourism,

— Europe's place in the world, from an artistic, intellectual
and scientific point of view, depends to a considerable
extent on the dynamism of its cultural creative work and
on its cultural exchanges with third countries,

— cultural ties between Europe and the other regions of the
world can be important for the development of intercul-
tural dialogue and the setting up of common cultural
projects; moreover, the Union has to ensure the promo-
tion of its cultural and linguistic diversity.

6. CALL ON THE MEMBER STATES AND THE COMMISSION,
WITHIN THEIR RESPECTIVE SPHERES OF COMPETENCE AND
WITH DUE REGARD FOR THE PRINCIPLE OF SUBSIDIARITY, TO:

A. Pursue the following policy objectives:

1. strengthening the place and the role of culture in the
policies and programmes conducted within the frame-
work of external relations and promoting cooperation
with third countries and international organisations
with responsibility in the field of culture, in particular
UNESCO and the Council of Europe,
in order to
improve the quality and diversity of the cultural activ-
ities carried out, and, more generally, contribute to the
attainment of external policy objectives and to sustain-
able development;

2. promoting the UNESCO Convention on the Protec-
the Diversity of Cultural

tion and Promotion of
Expressions of 20 October 2005 by:

— encouraging the ratification and implementation
of this Convention, which is a central element in
the cultural relations of the Union and its Member
States with third countries and one of the pillars
of global governance,

16.12.2008

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 320/11

— taking full account in its external relations of the
specific nature of cultural activities, goods and
services, which have a dual nature, economic and
cultural,

— entering into or pursuing a political dialogue with
third countries, particularly on legislative and
in order to develop the
regulatory frameworks,
place of culture in their policies,

— promoting external cultural policies that encou-
rage dynamism and balance in the exchange of
cultural goods and services with third countries,
particularly emerging economies,
to
preserve and promote cultural diversity in the
world and to contribute to the vitality of
the
European economy of culture,

in order

— strengthening the

culture

contribution of

to
sustainable development and furthering coopera-
tion and solidarity with developing countries in a
in particular in order to
spirit of partnership,
increase the capacity of those countries to protect
and promote the diversity of cultural expression,
including cultural
industries and contemporary
creative work;

3. promoting intercultural dialogue through the pursuit
of specific projects, awareness-raising activities and
exchanges of good practice carried out successfully in
the Member States and outside the Union in the
Intercultural
framework of
Dialogue (2008),
the
stock-taking exercise on that Year that will be carried
out by the Commission.

in particular in the light of

the European Year of

B. Define comprehensive and consistent approaches:

— drawing up a European strategy for incorporating
culture consistently and systematically in the external
relations of
the Union and contributing to the
complementarity of the Union's activities with those
of its Member States,

— establishing specific strategies with regions and coun-
tries outside the Union with a view to clarifying
objectives and approaches in the area of cultural rela-
tions; these strategies will in particular be tailored to
the features and sustainable development prospects of
their
cultural
exchanges with the Union and to their economic and
social situations,

state of

cultural

to the

sectors,

— these specific strategies could be defined, in accord-
ance with the distribution of powers established in
the Treaty, at the end of processes involving expertise
and consultation with the regions and countries
concerned.

C. Strengthen, in this framework, support for:

— cooperative cultural activities undertaken with third
countries at local, regional or national level, in par-

and mobility of

ticular with a view to promoting cultural and artistic
exchanges and co-productions, contributing to the
training
cultural
the
professionals, and strengthening,
development capacities of the cultural sectors of the
partner countries, especially through the exchange of
expertise,

and
if necessary,

artists

— the international promotion of European cultural
including those of an
activities, goods and services,
audiovisual nature,
audiovisual
such as
services, and the mobility of European artists and
cultural professionals outside the Union,

external

— multilingualism — especially

translation and the development of

through language
learning,
the
to develop
potential of all European languages
cultural and economic dialogue with the rest of the
world — and the development of intercultural skills,

— the mobility of young people under appropriate Com-
munity initiatives and programmes, their cultural and
artistic education — including media literacy — and
their access to artistic expressions in all their diversity,

— the protection of copyright and related rights and
the prevention of and fight against counterfeiting and
piracy at
in the framework of
level,
the relevant bilateral and multilateral agreements and
third
political
countries,

cooperation with

international

dialogue

and

cooperation,

— the protection, preservation and promotion of
cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible, and
international
including through the
exchange of experience in the light of the above-
mentioned UNESCO Convention of 1970, in the field
of the prevention of and the fight against theft and
illicit trafficking of cultural goods, in particular those
illicitly
excavations or
pillaging of monuments.

acquired through illegal

D. Accordingly develop the following working methods

and instruments:

— have recourse to analysis of the cultural sectors of
third countries, including their development prospects
and their regulatory frameworks, in order to contri-
bute to a better definition of the strategies and activ-
ities to be undertaken; the Commission, in coopera-
tion with Member States and third countries, will
contribute to this analysis,

— use the experience of the Member States, encourage
synergies with a view to contributing to the comple-
mentarity of the activities undertaken by the Union
with those of its Member States and initiating more
activities and joint cultural projects at international
level; the open method of coordination for culture
can play a role here,

C 320/12

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

16.12.2008

— ensure that,

in the framework of existing financial
instruments, operational programmes are defined and
tailored to the characteristics of the culture sector, in
particular to small production and distribution struc-
tures, and to the specific local features of the Member
States and partner countries: better access by profes-
sionals to information on support programmes and
activities, simplification of procedures for obtaining
grants, registration of long-term financial assistance,
etc.,

— take into account the strategies put in place with each
of the Union's partners in the negotiation of interna-

tional agreements with regional organisations or third
countries,

— encourage the involvement of artists, cultural profes-
sionals, and, more broadly, civil society,
in both
Member States and partner countries, in drawing up
and implementing external cultural policies,

— lastly, promote wider
institutions of

cooperation between the
cultural
the
the Member States of
Union in third countries, including cultural institutes
and their equivalents in those countries in particular
through the constitution of networks.