The European Ministers of Culture and Sport once again discussed the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on their sector at their virtual meeting on Tuesday 1 December. At the end of the event, a small section of which was public, German Media Minister Monika Grütters said that the conclusions on gender equality had not received the expected support.
“We had a very intense discussion about the need to have women in key positions, because we are very behind on that”, she said.
In the end, only 24 of the 27 Member States supported the draft conclusions on gender equality in the field of culture, which highlight the lack of access, participation and visibility of women in this field (see EUROPE 12596/19). This vote “has less to do with the text of the conclusions than with structural problems”, the minister explained, citing a concern regarding competences for certain Member States. As a result, the text - which has still not been published - is in the form of German Presidency conclusions, rather than EU Council conclusions.
For the rest, the Ministers of Culture held an in camera discussion on how to revive culture and the media affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. They also took note of other conclusions, adopted by written procedure on 25 November, on a free and pluralistic media landscape. They have also been invited by Italy to set up a ‘European Reading Alliance’.
“We need this kind of initiative. And with the European Education Area and the Creative Europe programme, we will look into how best to support this initiative”, European Commissioner Mariya Gabriel reacted at a press conference.
See conclusions on free and pluralistic media: https://bit.ly/37t4zLQ
The world of sport also affected by the pandemic
On Tuesday afternoon, Sport Ministers discussed the impact of Covid-19 on international sporting events, with the participation of the Executive Director of the International Basketball Federation, Kamil Novak, the President of the European Olympic Committees, Niels Nygaard, and the President of the International Cycling Union, David Lappartient.
On the same day, the President of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), Aleksander Čeferin, and the President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, underlined the important role that European football plays in achieving social and societal goals. UEFA and the European Parliament will cooperate to promote social inclusion and preserve solidarity in European football, as part of the EU action plan against racism for 2020-2025. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)