Protecting artists in exile...especially those from Ukraine. As announced in its programme, the Swedish Presidency of the EU Council is preparing Council conclusions addressing artists displaced by war (see EUROPE 13094/8). These conclusions are beginning to emerge, according to a document obtained by EUROPE.
“Safe havens”
The draft text calls on Member States to develop short-term measures to respond to emergencies, but as part of a long-term strategy.
Countries are therefore not only encouraged to offer refuge to artists in exile, but also to ensure that these artists can continue their activities. This approach is crystallised in the term “safe haven”, defined as “an opportunity provided for artists at risk in their home countries to find protection and, should they so wish, remain artistically active, for a limited period of time in another place”.
Similarly, Member States are invited to “actively promote” the creation of “cities of refuge”, i.e. regions or localities that “offer [long-term, but temporary] shelter to writers and artists at risk, advancing freedom of expression, defending democratic values and promoting international solidarity”.
EU response to the war
Finally, addressing the European Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs, the text calls, among other things, for the preparation of an updated report on European and national bilateral assistance to the Ukrainian cultural sector, as well as for support for transnational cooperation in support of displaced artists.
For the time being, the text remains hybrid in its scope: while it addresses all artists in exile, it focuses primarily on those fleeing Ukraine, and is thus a continuation of the EU’s response to Russia’s war of aggression.
The draft text will be discussed in a working group on Monday 13 February. Stockholm hopes that the final version will be completed in May.
To read the text: https://aeur.eu/f/5al (Original version in French by Hélène Seynaeve)