On Tuesday 26 September, an informal meeting of EU culture ministers will be held in Cáceres, Spain. Organised by the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU, the conference will aim to ensure that culture is recognised as a public good and to encourage Member States to sign the Cáceres Declaration.
An “essential” public good
For example, Madrid wants to “lead a process that brings together all Member States around the same objective: for culture to be recognised as an essential public good and a global public good”.
As the Presidency explains, the aim is to make culture a “true State policy”, thereby consolidating its role in the development of citizenship and in economic growth.
Therefore, the ministers will devote their morning to debating different aspects of cultural policies. In particular, they will address the issue of universal access to culture and the need to promote sustainable cultural heritage management.
Defending culture
The Spanish Presidency hopes that these discussions will culminate in the ministers endorsing the Cáceres declaration, “a document that sets out the commitment to promote culture through common public policies in each of the territories”.
Madrid explains that this declaration is also intended to complement the work carried out by previous Council presidencies, in particular on the promotion of the mobility of artists, the protection of heritage, the development of the sector's capacities and the mobilisation of culture in international relations.
Ultimately, the aim would be to include a cultural objective in the EU's post-2030 Sustainable Development Programme .
The informal meeting will be chaired by the Spanish Minister for Culture, Miquel Iceta. (Original version in French by Hélène Seynaeve)