Kaleidoscope: Community action programme 1996-1998 to support artistic and cultural activities with a European dimension

The rapporteur stated that the changes the Council had made in its common position to the Commission proposal, following Parliament’s vote at first reading, were unacceptable, in particular: the reduction in the duration of the programme from five years to three years; the reduction in the budget from ECU 68 million to ECU 26.5 million; the replacement of the single committee with a double committee (advisory and management); and the elimination of specific measures for access and continuing training. The rapporteur added that it was likely that adoption of this programme would involve conciliation. As regards the choice of the European city of culture, which the parliamentary committee had wanted to remove from the Kaleidoscope programme for budgetary reasons, Mr AUGIAS supported the decision to appoint 15 cities for the year 2000 but regretted that this decision would be adopted by the Council as part of the intergovernmental procedure even though Parliament was already involved in allocating budgetary appropriations to this programme under the codecision procedure provided for in Article 128. As far as Kaleidoscope was concerned, the rapporteur hoped that Parliament would adopt it as it stood at first reading. Commissioner GRADIN welcomed the fact that through the AUGIAS report Parliament was seeking to implement an ambitious cultural policy for the European Union. She, too, did not share the reservations expressed by the Council on the duration of the programme in particular, but she felt that conciliation between Parliament and the Council was possible.