Action in the field of culture: Culture 2007 programme (2007-2013)

PURPOSE : to establish the Culture 2007 programme (2007-2013).

PROPOSED ACT : Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council.

CONTENT : following its communication on the new generation of Community programmes on youth, culture and civil participation for the post 2006 period, the Commission is proposing to establish a new programme for cultural cooperation 2007-2013 which aims to achieve a common cultural area through the development of cultural cooperation in Europe. This action will thus contribute actively to the development of a European identity from the grass roots.

The specific objectives of the programme are:

- to promote the transnational mobility of people working in the cultural sector;

- to encourage the transnational circulation of works and cultural and artistic products;

- to encourage intercultural dialogue.

The financial framework for the implementation of this programme for the period outlined above is set at EUR 408 million. The programme provides for three levels of intervention, each addressing three different and complementary strata of cultural cooperation and thus responding to distinct but interdependent needs. This is the programme’s main innovation: a global vision taking in the cultural sector as a whole and encouraging synergies.

Specific objectives : the specific objectives identified below offer a real European added value. This means that the pursuit of these objectives by Community actions is fully justified in so far as they could

not be achieved by action at national level. The projects and actions chosen to benefit from Community support will all have to meet at least two of them.

-  Supporting the transnational mobility of people working in the cultural sector: the information provided to professionals on the social, regulatory and tax provisions applicable to a short or long-term stay in another country is still frequently too fragmentary. In order to encourage mobility for these professionals, it therefore appears essential to promote the establishment of networks, move towards greater coordination and promote the dissemination of knowledge and information. Two sorts of mobility will be encouraged by Community action in the field of culture: mobility for the provision or establishment of cultural services (e.g. tours); mobility with the aim of training, experiencing other cultures or artistic practices, exchanging experiences.

- Encouraging the transnational circulation of works of art and artistic and cultural Products: circulating works of art, material or otherwise, and artistic and cultural products beyond national borders involves extra costs for the organiser: transport costs, insurance, prospecting new markets, greater effort to publicise works or artists who may be less well-known abroad, investment of time in getting to know the market (host structures, regulations and administrative formalities, etc.).

- Promoting intercultural dialogue: as an exchange based on openness and equality between cultures, intercultural dialogue leads to mutual enrichment and a common search for shared values and interpretations. It can also play a fundamental role, particularly in integrating new Europeans from a range of cultures.

The new programme is more complete in that it integrates in a single financial instrument the various facets of cultural cooperation. It has three main strands.

- Strand 1: support for cultural actions: it provides direct support for European cooperation projects of varying length and scale which have at least two of the specific objectives defined above. The “cooperation focal points” highlight the sustainable nature of cooperation. Each focal point brings together operators in one or more sectors on various multi-annual activities or projects, sectoral or cross-sectoral in nature but pursuing common objectives. “Cooperation measures” are oriented towards

creativity and innovation and open the way to new cooperation projects, which may in some cases be pursued within cooperation focal points. Lasting not more than one year, they bring together European operators on sectoral or cross-sectoral measures. Finally, “special actions” are characterised by their “symbolic” and federative nature. These events, substantial in scale and scope, should strike a significant chord with the peoples of Europe and help to increase their sense of belonging to the same community as well as making them aware of the cultural diversity of the Member States and of intercultural and international dialogue. The “special actions” include in particular the “European Capitals of Culture” the European dimension of which must be strengthened.

This Strand shall represent 77% of the programme’s annual budget (36% for cooperation focal points; 24% for cooperation measures and 17% for special actions Approx. 17%).

- Strand 2 : support for European organisations active in the field of culture: apart from direct support for cooperation projects, operating aid should be given to organisations working for cultural cooperation or acting as ”ambassadors” for European culture. The new programme is intended to integrate support for these organisations in order to increase the coherence of Community action.

This also covers actions supported for the preservation and commemoration of the main sites

and archives associated with the deportations, symbolised by the memorials which have been

raised on the sites of the former camps and other large-scale martyrdom and extermination

sites, and for keeping alive the memory of the victims at these sites.

This Strand shall represent 10% of the budget.

- Strand 3 : support for analyses and for the collection and dissemination of information in the field of cultural cooperation: it is fundamental to have information and figures on developments in cultural cooperation at European level, particularly with regard to the mobility of players, the circulation of works and intercultural dialogue. This will deepen knowledge of the phenomenon of cooperation and

create favourable conditions for it to flourish. Moreover, the new programme intends to encourage the development of an efficient communication and information tool on the Internet, targeted at the needs of professionals in the field of cooperation. Finally, in order to ensure targeted, effective grass-roots dissemination of practical information on new cultural programme, it provides for support from “culture contact points”. These organs, acting at national level, are established in collaboration with the Member States and on a voluntary basis.

This Strand shall represent 5% of the budget.

Simplified procedures: the new programme is more open in so far as it distances itself from the sectoral approach (by artistic and cultural disciplines). Operators will be free to propose projects corresponding to their interests and aspirations, whether sectoral or cross-sectoral, in so far as they aim for at least two of the objectives set out above. No facet of cultural and artistic activity will therefore be excluded a priori.

- Eligible bodies : all kinds of participants shall be potentially accepted: administrations, networks, cultural associations, cultural cooperation organisations, etc;

- Programme management : management shall be ensured by an executive agency and shall cover 8% of the total budget;

- Participation of third countries: the programme shall be open to a series of countries notably those covered by the neighbourhood policy (COD/2004/0219) and by the pre-accession policy or the Western Balkans. Cooperation with international organisation is equally envisaged.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS : for more information concerning the annual amounts of each action, please refer to COM(2004)0496.

- Policy domain: education and culture.

- Budget lines concerned: 15 04 02 01 (Culture framework programme); 15 01 04 07 (Culture programme-administrative expenditure); 15 01 04 30 (Education and Culture Executive Agency).

- Period of application: 2007-2013.

- Financial reference amount: EUR 408 million in commitment appropriations.

- Multiannual estimations (operational appropriations) : EUR 374.918 million in commitment and payments from 2007-2013:

- Strand 1 : EUR 314.16 million; 

- Strand 2 : EUR 40.358 million;

- Strand 3: EUR: 20.4 million.

An amount of EUR 33.082 is added to cover support expenditure and technical and administrative assistance.

- Financial impact on human resources and other expenditure: EUR 15.678 million representing a total of 16 posts.