Brussels, 12/05/2015 (Agence Europe) - The Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, Tibor Navracsics, has said that the single market and, more particularly, revision of the copyright framework must be used to create a good environment for creators and entrepreneurs from the cultural and creative industries. On Monday 11 May, the Commissioner took part in the first European creative industries summit in Brussels. During this event he indicated: “I believe that a genuine, open and accessible Digital Single Market will be a great boost for European creativity”.
The creative industries have proved particularly resilient to the economic crisis in Europe, as well is being a source for growth and job creation. Nevertheless, Navracsics pointed out that their potential is still underused. The commissioner thinks that action is needed at a European level in five different areas:
- Skills. Some sectors are experiencing labour shortages in certain technical subsidiaries and crafts because young people are not being attracted enough to apprenticeships in these sectors. More synergies need to be created between the cultural and creative companies and education systems as part of a crossed and permanent training perspective.
- Financing. Access to funding is difficult for creative companies. They are often small in structure and the financial institutions are often reluctant to lend them money due to the specific nature of the goods they produce or the lack of tangible assets. The new EU lending guarantee mechanism for innovative SMEs in the Creative Europe programme is expected to help improve these industries' access to appropriate funding.
- Market access. Globalisation and digital developments are having an impact on the cultural and creative industries and changing the manufacturing sectors, as well as the points of distribution and access to cultural goods. The digital revolution will help create better access to these good for consumers but the single digital market also has to provide benefits to creators and creative entrepreneurs. Speaking on the issue of copyright reform, Navracsics provided assurances that he was “working very hard with my fellow Commissioners to ensure the right balance between the protection of rights-owners and access for users”.
- Internationalisation. Creative businesses require policies promoting internationalisation and smart exports, so that they can operate on the global markets and reach new customers.
- Promoting inter-sectoral aspects. The creative industries will be increasingly called on to function in multidisciplinary environments and interact with entrepreneurs from other sectors. It will therefore be necessary to develop better professional support instruments to facilitate these connections.
Commissioner Navracsics explained: “The Commission is addressing these issues. And we are working with member states on designing the relevant policies”. He also said that he was “personally committed to making Europe the best place for creators” and that he intended “to promote a better business ecosystem for them, in line with our overall strategy to strengthen growth and job creation”. (Isabelle Lamberty)