MEPs on the European Parliament Committee on Culture and Education do not want the planned European Bauhaus to encroach on the already reduced European culture budget. In an exchange with Mariya Gabriel, the Commissioner for Culture, on Tuesday 27 October, they obtained guarantees that this project to establish the Green Deal will not be funded by the Creative Europe programme.
“Taking money from the Creative Europe programme is out of the question. We already know that the budget is lower than we wanted and the industry is currently in a difficult position. I don't think this is the right message to be sending and I am committed to ensuring that this does not happen”, said Gabriel, although she did not say how the project would be funded.
She noted that the project would be carried out in three phases, so there was time to clarify these issues (see EUROPE 12581/22). She did, however, mention the Horizon Europe programme and also the ERDF, which could be of relevance, depending on which projects are selected. She said that the intention was that one of the five projects would focus on cultural innovation. She also expressed support for the resolution adopted by the European Parliament on 17 September, which calls for “at least 2% of the Recovery and Resilience Facility to be set side for the cultural and creative industries, according to their specific needs”.
The impact of Covid
During the exchange, French Green MEP Salima Yenbou criticised the fact that the European Bauhaus was “the only initiative the European Commission has presented to provide a medium-term stimulus to the cultural industries” and that the Commission has not presented a strategy for the second wave of the pandemic. Her compatriot Laurence Farreng (Renew Europe) criticised the fact that only three countries out of 27 - Italy, France and Germany - have so far presented their strategies for providing support for the cultural sector.
Michaela Šojdrová (EPP, Czech Republic) welcomed a number of flexibilities with regard to the impact of Covid-19 on European programmes. She did, however, call for an increase in the refund rate, which is currently set at 35%. “I will discuss this straight after this meeting with my team. I think increasingly we’re going to have to take this reality into account and adjust”, said Gabriel.
She also placed great emphasis on the new mechanism to support the circulation of works within the EU, as part of Creative Europe, which is about to be launched. She explained that a consortium of European networks would be setting up a platform to facilitate the physical and virtual distribution of theatre, dance, circus and street arts performances throughout Europe.
The Commissioner also supported calls to name at least one street in every European country after Samuel Paty as a tribute to the French teacher who was murdered for defending freedom of expression. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)