The European Parliament is mobilising on behalf of those cultural and creative sectors that have been badly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a resolution adopted on Thursday 17 September, MEPs are disappointed that Next Generation EU has not earmarked any specific amount to support these sectors; they are calling for at least 2% of the Recovery and Resilience Facility to be set aside for them. This is equivalent to EUR 13.45 billion.
“The Covid-19 pandemic highlights the Achilles heel that was already present in the cultural and creative sectors, namely the precarious income of artists and cultural professionals and the impunity of many cultural institutions”, said MEPs in the recitals.
According to the European Commission's estimates, these sectors will have probably lost 80% of their turnover in the second quarter of 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 crisis and ensuing measures to limit the spread of the virus.
In this context, the text emphasises the fact that “the European Commission's revised EU budget proposal foresees a reduction of 20% for the European Solidarity Corps, 13% for Creative Europe and 7% for Erasmus+ compared to the Commission's 2018 MFF proposal”. It notes that MEPs want the budget for Creative Europe — “the only EU programme that provides direct support to cultural and creative sectors across Europe” — to be doubled to €2.8 billion.
The resolution was adopted by 598 votes in favour, 42 against and 46 abstentions. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)