Brussels, 11/04/2007 (Agence Europe) - At the meeting of the European Parliament culture and education committee meeting on Monday 10 April, Claire Gibault (ALDE, France) presented her draft report on the status of artists in the European Union. The aims that the MEP has set for her initiative are to support the performing arts, to bring back audiences and to democratise access to culture. To this end the draft report seeks to give artists the same social rights and, more especially, the same security as all European workers; make it easier for European and non-EU artists to be mobile within the European Union; and to have artistic education taught in schools.
Noting that artists are often unaware of the legislation operating in the various member states and how to use them, Ms Gibault calls for a practical guide for European artists and the appropriate authorities in the countries, resuming all the arrangements on illness, unemployment and retirement benefits at both national and European levels. Ultimately, she would like artists to have a legal and institutional status that applied throughout the EU. With regard to mobility, Community regulation could provide for temporary visas specifically for European and non-EU artists. The draft report also envisages the creation of an artist's “professional European passport” with the bearer's status, the type and duration of his/her contracts and the contact details of his/her employers or service providers employing him/her.
To support these proposals, Ms Gibault presented a flagship measure, which does not appear in the draft report, but which will be included in the own initiative report as an amendment. Using Directive 2001/29/EC on royalties, Ms Gibault proposes to create a European fund for artists, which would provide some insurance against the uncertainties of the profession (illness, accidents, unemployment etc.). Finance would come through levies on royalties and on the use for commercial purposes of copyright-free works. These levies would be the responsibility of member states and ad hoc national bodies would be set up for the purpose of administering them. This measure would be a clear signal of member states' desire to support the performing arts and a demonstration of solidarity among European artists.
This latest initiative, in an area largely the responsibility of member states, was greeted with some scepticism by the other MEPs. As Doris Pack (EPP, Germany) said, “Each country has its own system”. The best option would be, in her opinion, to take the best practice from across the EU, then to consider making a recommendation to the other member states. (gc)