“Culture is what links us together, what makes Europe profoundly human. With this ‘Compass’, we are giving a clear direction: a Europe for culture and a culture for Europe”, declared the European Commissioner for Youth, Culture and Sport, Glenn Micallef, when presenting the ‘Culture Compass for Europe’ on Wednesday 12 November.
This roadmap should guide the European Union’s cultural policy in four main directions.
The defence of cultural values and rights, the strengthening of the status of artists, the contribution of culture to competitiveness and cohesion and the international influence of the EU will serve as guidelines for this new European political vision, which places culture at its heart, in the words of the Executive Vice-President responsible for Social Rights and Skills, Roxana Mînzatu.
The ‘Compass’ also provides for a Joint Declaration between Parliament, the EU Council and the Commission, an EU Artists’ Charter for fair working conditions, a report on the state of culture in the EU, a structured dialogue with stakeholders, a European cultural data centre and a strategy on artificial intelligence applied to the cultural and creative sectors.
Despite the political ambition, there are still question marks over the resources to be deployed, and these were highlighted at the press conference.
Glenn Micallef stated that the new financial framework will “simplify, accelerate and strengthen access to funding” claiming that it is “the largest budget ever devoted to European culture and media” (see EUROPE 13683/5).
Roxana Mînzatu added that the European Commission was committed to mobilising all existing instruments - cohesion funds, national plans, European programmes such as Erasmus+ or Agora EU - and to encouraging partnerships with private players in order to “amplify the impact of each euro invested”.
With regard to support for artists, and in particular the possibility of promoting schemes inspired by the base income for artists that has been tried out in some Member States, Glenn Micallef pointed out that the future ‘EU Artists Charter’ will establish common principles of protection and equity, while leaving Member States free to define their own models.
Finally, on the subject of the role of artificial intelligence in creation, copyright protection and the fair remuneration of creators, the Commissioner stated that the future strategy will aim to “ensure the ethical and fair use of AI, while ensuring that creators remain in control of their content”.
The Commission is now inviting the European Parliament and the EU Council to co-sign the Joint Declaration to turn this ‘vision’ into real commitments.
The first structured dialogue with cultural stakeholders is scheduled for 2026, before the publication of the first State of Culture report and the establishment of the European Data Centre by 2027.
To read the Commission communication: https://aeur.eu/f/je2 (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)