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

In its common position, the Council substantially modified the structure of the Commission's amended proposal although it remained faithful to the general spirit of the proposed text. The main amendments related to the following points: . structure of the proposal: Action 1 in the common position corresponded to the contents of Action 2 in the initial proposal; Actions 3 and 4 (provisions relating to projects including training and access to culture) had been combined under Action 1. For each of the actions, adjustments were made in relation to the support to be provided: - Action 1: increase from ECU 30 000 to ECU 50 000 in support for jointly organised cultural events and projects, flexibility in the contribution procedure; - Action 2, large-scale European cooperation actions: the same conditions applied as for Action 1 but they should involve more than five Member States instead of three and were eligible for more than ECU 50 000 over three years, certain actions were nevertheless left in the background (Baroque Orchestra, Europe Day on 9 May); - Action 3, involvement of third countries, corresponding to former Action 5 as outlined by the Commission; - Action 4, European city of culture and European cultural month, which were included under a separate heading of their own; - Action 5, specific measures: new heading enabling the Commission to provide support for a small number of limited actions (studies/meetings) up to a limit of ECU 50 000 for each project; . comitology: the Council opted for a mixed committee: management committee for some issues and advisory committee for others; . duration of the programme: the Council stipulated that the programme should run for three years rather than the five initially proposed, with the programme being assessed two years after it had been brought into operation. If necessary, the Commission could put forward a proposal for a new programme after 1 January 1999; . financial framework: ECU 26.5 million (reduced since the programme was to run for three years instead of five); the Council determined the allocations for the various actions: Action 1: 60%, Action 2: 20%, Action 5: maximum of 10%. However, the Council did not take over six of the amendments adopted by the EP at first reading: . reference to greater involvement in the programme of young people in less-favoured circumstances and professionals in the cultural sector living in rural, remote, mountainous or island regions; . priority for cultural networks promoting access to culture for the least-favoured sections of the population; . removing large-scale actions and the European city of culture; . funding communication and translation costs under Action 2. �