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Language, literature,
performing arts, visual arts, architecture, crafts, the cinema
and broadcasting are all part of Europe’s cultural diversity.
Although belonging to a specific country or region, they
represent part of Europe’s common cultural heritage. The aim
of the European Union is double: to preserve and support this
diversity and to help make it accessible to others. |
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These aims were spelt out in the
1992 Maastricht treaty, which recognised formally for the
first time the cultural dimension of European integration. But
cultural initiatives had begun earlier. For instance, the
successful programme to select each year Europe’s Capital of
Culture was launched in 1985.
Cultural industries in the EU - cinema and audiovisual,
publishing, music and crafts - are important sources of
revenue and of jobs, employing about seven million people. The
Union has an economic responsibility towards this sector and
it aims to ensure the right conditions in which European
industries can compete internationally.
So the EU runs support programmes for certain cultural
industries, encouraging them to grasp opportunities offered by
the single market and digital technologies. It is also
striving to create a dynamic environment for these industries
by cutting red tape, providing easier access to funding,
helping with research projects and encouraging more
cooperation with partners inside and outside the Union.
The Union also includes a cultural dimension in many of its
other policy areas such as education (including
language-learning), scientific research, support for new
technologies and the information society, and social and
regional development. Together, the European Social and
Regional Funds spend up to €500 million a year on projects
with a cultural element.
For example, the European Social Fund supports Italy’s
Arturo Toscanini Foundation which, since the middle of the
1990s, has run training courses for out-of-work musicians.
These training sessions can consist of work with a full-size
symphony orchestra and/or courses given by leading European
and international musicians, teachers and soloists. The
Foundation also offers courses for singers, musicians and
technicians from the world of opera by using new technologies
and virtual reality in a special distance-learning programme.
In its guidelines for the Regional Fund, the European
Commission asks member governments to promote cultural
development in poorer regions to help them assert their
identity, attract tourists and create jobs in areas like
online services and the media. The fund is currently providing
two thirds of the €600 million budget for a seven-year
programme to preserve and enhance Greece’s archaeological
heritage. |
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One of the EU’s flagship programmes, Culture 2000, runs for
six years until the end of 2006 with a budget of €236
million.
- contribute to the establishment of
a European cultural area;
- develop artistic and literary
creation;
- promote knowledge of European
history and culture within the EU and beyond;
- develop heritage sites and
cultural collections of European importance;
- stimulate intercultural dialogue
and social integration.
The European Commission has proposed renewing the programme
for the period 2007-2013 with a budget of €408 million. |
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The Media programme, aimed at making the European
audiovisual sector more competitive, has an even bigger budget
than Culture 2000. The current programme, which runs until
2006 and has a budget of €513 million, is in two parts, Media
Plus and Media Training. Between them, they help to:
- provide training for
professionals;
- develop production projects and
enterprises;
- distribute cinema films and
audiovisual programmes;
- promote European industry at home
and worldwide;
- provide access to funding for
small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in the audiovisual
sector.
The Commission has also proposed renewing the media
programme for the period 2007-2013 with a draft budget of just
over one billion euro. |
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The ‘Capitals of Culture’ programme sets out to highlight
the great diversity of European culture, without forgetting
the common wellspring from which much of it flows.
Each year, one or two cities are selected as cultural
capitals of Europe, thereby qualifying for financial support
under Culture 2000. This money funds exhibitions and events
highlighting the cultural heritage of the city and its region,
plus a wide range of performances, concerts and other shows,
which bring together players and artists from across the EU.
Experience shows the programme has had a long-term impact on
the development of culture and tourism of the cities chosen.
The programme was originally scheduled to end in 2004, but
such is its success that it has been renewed for a further 15
years. The Irish city of Cork was the first capital of culture
of the new series in 2005. The title passed to Patras in
Greece in 2006. |
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Linguistic diversity is a cultural and democratic
cornerstone of the European Union. Language not only opens
doors to other cultures, it also enriches in a practical way
our ability to benefit from cultural contacts when we travel
or work in other Union countries. The long-term aim is to
encourage people in Europe to learn two languages in addition
to their mother tongue.
The Union is also involved in preserving regional and
minority languages in the European Union (Basque, Breton,
Catalan, Frisian, Welsh, and so on). It is estimated that more
than 40 million people in the EU speak a native language which
is not the official language of their country of origin.
Support for linguistic diversity is also one of the EU’s
operating principles. With enlargement in 2004, the number of
official Union languages has risen from 11 to 20. The EU
requires its legislation to be available in all languages and
therefore accessible to all citizens. It also guarantees that
any EU citizens can write to an EU institution or body and
receive a reply in their own language. In the same way, a
member of the European Parliament has the right to represent
his or her voters in their own language when he or she rises
to speak |
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