At its first meeting of this new legislative cycle on Wednesday 4 September, the European Parliament’s Committee on Culture and Education (CULT) launched discussions on the European Union’s cultural priorities for the period 2024-2029. The representatives of the European Commission, Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen, Director-General for Education and Culture, and Roberto Viola, Director-General for Communication Networks, Content and Technology, presented the broad guidelines for the next legislature.
Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen praised the successes of programmes such as Erasmus+ and Creative Europe, but highlighted the impact of recent crises, such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. “Education is now at the heart of our ambition for Europe”, she said.
In the light of these crises, she called for greater support for educational mobility and digital skills.
In her view, these priorities are central to making the EU more competitive and resilient in the face of global challenges.
Roberto Viola reiterated the importance of protecting media freedom in Europe, explaining in particular that the growth of digital platforms sometimes threatens professional journalism.
He presented the new Media Freedom Act which he said would “guarantee a free and pluralistic environment for content creators”.
In response, MEPs have raised a number of issues, particularly concerning the funding and implementation of these programmes. Hannes Heide (S&D, Austrian) warned that “we are constantly short of funding for programmes as crucial as Erasmus+”, stressing the importance of allocating additional resources to ensure the inclusion of more young people.
Zoltán Tarr MEP (EPP, Hungarian) asked what the EU was doing to prevent a brain drain to find better opportunities elsewhere.
Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen acknowledged the complexity of the problem, explaining that the Commission aims to encourage balanced mobility, not brain drain, by offering more career and research opportunities within the EU.
She stressed that programmes such as Erasmus+ and initiatives to encourage local innovation are levers to encourage young graduates to stay in the EU.
Sandro Ruotolo MEP (S&D, Italian), for his part, stressed the central role of sport in social inclusion, citing the example of neighbourhoods in Italy where sport helps to divert young people from crime. In his view, “sport and culture are not simply leisure activities, but essential tools for inclusion and social cohesion”.
The debate was fuelled by the presentation of the report by the European Union’s Directorate-General for Internal Policies (DG IPOL) (see EUROPE 13468/9), partly drafted by Isabelle De Voldere, Sylvia Amann and Heritiana Ranaivoson, who were present. This report analyses the EU’s past cultural actions and highlights that, despite progress, culture and the creative sectors are still poorly supported.
It highlights the problems of short-term funding and precarious working conditions for culture professionals, and calls for the creative sectors to be fully integrated into European strategies for the green and digital transitions. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)