On the second day of the informal meeting of EU Culture Ministers, held in Warsaw on Tuesday 8 April, discussions focused on the integration of young artists and professionals from the cultural and creative sector into the world of work.
The ministers described the mechanisms in place in their countries, particularly in terms of grants, start-up subsidies, tax measures and access to social security.
According to a press release issued by the Polish Presidency of the EU Council, these exchanges will enable a catalogue of best practices to be drawn up. It notes that “programmes of artistic education do not sufficiently address issues related to the economy, contractualisation, taxation, etc.” and that there is “a clear need to implement measures that will facilitate the entry of young artists into the labour market”.
The Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport, Glenn Micallef, praised the richness of the discussions.
He noted the role of the EU’s Creative Europe framework programme, which notably funds Culture Moves Europe, with the aim of supporting the mobility of young artists.
He also announced the organisation, before the summer, of a high-level round table on working conditions in the cultural sectors.
“It is very important that our work is focused on people in these industries. They are the foundation of our cultural and creative sectors, and we must make sure that they have decent and good working conditions”, he said. He added that “culture must pay the rent”.
According to a working paper consulted by Agence Europe, young artists and cultural professionals encounter a variety of problems that hinder their integration into the employment market. Income insecurity, irregular contracts, ill-defined work status, bogus self-employment and a lack of training regarding the administrative management of their business are all limiting factors.
In 2023, more than 1.4 million people will be working in the cultural and creative sectors, representing 18.1% of all cultural jobs in the European Union.
Taken into account in the resolution adopted in December 2022 (https://aeur.eu/f/gcb ) for a work plan for culture 2023–2026, these reflections tend to strengthen the resilience of the cultural sectors, although the working paper does note that young artists are still not specifically taken into account.
At the end of the two-day meeting, the Polish Minister for Culture and National Heritage, Hanna Wróblewska, reiterated the commitment of the European Union and its Member States to this issue. “This was an informal council, but we meet much more often (...) It’s constant work”, she declared. She also affirmed her wish to see the conclusions on young artists adopted at the next formal Council meeting in mid-May. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)