Debate: Cultural recovery of Europe
Date: FRIDAY, 10 JULY 2020
Speaker: Margaritis Schinas
Language: EN

Culture is part of Europe’s DNA. Our rich and vibrant cultural and creative scene is one of the greatest gifts Europe has to offer and it must be preserved at all costs. We all know how much the sector has suffered. The cultural and creative sectors have been hit by the pandemic in an unprecedented way. 95% of the sector are small businesses, small enterprises, independent artists and freelancers who are highly vulnerable and often work under very precarious conditions. The Commission has had a regular exchange with Member States, the European Parliament and the sector itself over these past months to come up with solutions. Let me first start by what we could call the emergency solutions. One of the first actions we have adopted was to mobilise Cohesion Policy funds to respond to the rapidly emerging needs through the Corona Response Investment Initiative. These packages provided Member States with liquidity and exceptional flexibility to reallocate financial resources in the areas of greatest need, which of course also includes cultural and creative industries. Second, another vital emergency initiative was the new instrument for temporary Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency, also known as the SURE programme, worth up to EUR 100 billion. This is a scheme designed to protect jobs and workers affected by the pandemic and, here again, it is for Member States to make the best possible use of this instrument and money and bring the much needed relief to creators, artists and writers. Third, we have, as you know, enacted the Temporary Framework for State aid measures to support the economy in the pandemic, and culture was specifically included as one of the sectors particularly hit by the crisis together with transport, tourism, hospitality and retail. Many Member States, if not all of them, have already used this instrument for the creative and cultural sectors. But, beyond the emergency measures we have also taken many specific actions. Some cultural actors have indeed developed their own promising initiatives to overcome the crisis and through this dialogue and synergies between Member States, the sector, the Commission, Parliament and others, we want to bring about specific initiatives. One of the best examples was the European Cultural Foundation that set up a new Culture of Solidarity Fund. Another platform for and by the sector was the so—called Creatives Unite initiative set up through the pilot project Finance, Learning, Innovation and Patenting for Cultural and Creative Industries (FLIP). This is an initiative that offers a common space for all cultural and creative sectors in Europe and beyond, giving access to a multitude of existing resources and relevant networks to work on. A few weeks ago, a conference with representatives from the Commission, the Parliament, the Council President and the sector was precisely organised through this platform of Creatives Unite. Let me now come, of course, to our flagship programme Creative Europe. There again we applied maximum flexibility within the existing regulatory context for ongoing and planned actions. We extended a number of deadlines to facilitate the finalisation of obligations under these difficult circumstances and we also planned specific measures for cinemas, for instance, with a EUR 5 million supplementary allocation of funds in the form of vouchers for cinemas most severely affected by the lockdown. And we redirected the work of the Support scheme for the cross—border dimension of performing arts works towards digital culture and virtual mobility. And beyond the Creative Europe programme we will very soon launch a targeted support to the disproportionately hit music sector through the Music Moves Europe initiative and there we plan to shift about EUR 2.5 million in this year to help the sector become more sustainable after the crisis. We are also exploring how to adapt and reinforce the cultural and creative sectors through the Guarantee Facility that would be used in a specific situation to allow for even more flexibility, credit holidays or guarantee cover to individual loss. Let me now quickly come to the recovery and the Next Generation EU chapter. As you know, next week we’re having a landmark meeting of our heads of state and government in what I want to believe would be a path towards an agreement on the much needed recovery and Next Generation EU package as proposed by the Commission. For culture and creative sectors, support will be available, not only through the Creative Europe programme, but also through other programmes, such as REACT—EU, the new Cohesion Policy, InvestEU, Digital Europe Programme, just to name a few. So, I think it should be wrong to see Creative Europe as the only pathway, the only avenue for recovery in the years to come. We have a multitude of instruments in the new package and we can use it effectively. But beyond the recovery package – and that’s how I wanted to conclude this initial presentation – one should not forget that we also have possibilities coming from different avenues, like, for example, Horizon Europe, where we have a Cluster 2: Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society programme, which has fantastic opportunities for the sectors. And we should also keep in mind the so—called Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs), which for the first time will be dedicated to cultural and creative industries through our European Institute for Technology, based in Budapest, Madam President, if I may remind. So, all these tools will converge into having a strong new start after the difficult pandemic sectors without forgetting tourists. You remember that a few weeks ago, last month actually, we presented a comprehensive tourism and travel package and cultural tourism accounts for 40% of all European tourists, so we have to make sure that at the beginning of this summer tourist season, Europe will not lose its focus on its cultural tourism privilege. Honourable Members, Madam President, in these difficult times culture is not a luxury, it is becoming a necessity. Culture is part of our heritage. Culture is our European way of life. To preserve it, defend it and promote it, we must unite and work together to make this new future as bright as possible. I count on your support so that we keep supporting, helping, assisting our dynamic communities of artists and creators.