Brussels, 25/11/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 25 November in Brussels, ministers for culture asserted that the creative industries were an important factor for growth and jobs but were not being sufficiently taken into account at national and European levels.
The ministers for culture, chaired by the Italian minister for cultural goods and tourist activities, Dario Franceschini, held an orientation debate on the contribution made by the cultural and creative sectors to attaining the EUROPE 2020 Strategy objectives. They all highlighted the economic potential of these sectors that are resisting the crisis well. Franceschini pointed out “we (ministers for culture, Ed) are convinced of it. This is reflected in our choices made at national level… but it is the other decision-makers we need to convince about the importance of these sectors”.
The cultural and creative sectors are not directly mentioned in the EUROPE 2020 Strategy but ministers demonstrated that they could generate strong growth, as well as job creation. The sectors resisted the economic and financial crisis well and continue to create value and protect jobs. At the same time, they took advantage of the opportunities provided in the digital transition, by creating new business models, such as online music platforms and video order services, explained ministers. Nonetheless, access to finance for these businesses remains too low.
Different opinions emerged about directly linking culture to the EUROPE 2020 Strategy, a question posed by the Italian presidency. Some countries believe that there are other ways of developing the economic potential of culture (United Kingdom, Netherlands and Denmark), whilst others, on the contrary, think that including culture more directly into the EUROPE 2020 Strategy would create genuine added value (Germany, Poland, Malta and the Czech Republic).
Ministers also discussed the need to revise the regulatory framework on copyright, so that it is more adapted to the digital revolution. A balance must be found between access to culture and the fair remuneration of authors and content creators.
Some delegations highlighted other points: Germany and Austria, supported by Romania, called for the introduction of a specific clause into the TTIP that underlined the specific character of culture. France called for a revision of the tax framework, to ensure that it is better adapted to the digital revolution and referred to the tax benefits US multinationals such as Google benefit from. (IL)