Brussels, 09/07/2007 (Agence Europe) - This weekend, Commissioner for Education, Training, Youth and Culture Jan Figel took part in the events surrounding the 60th Avignon Festival (France). On Sunday, Mr Figel and French Culture Minister Christine Albanel took part in a debate, “What is the use of a culture policy in Europe?”, a debate under the aegis of former Vice-President of the European Parliament Catherine Lalumière. “Cultural initiatives today account for 0.03% of the Community budget. Not great,” she regretted. This situation could change for the better thanks to the brand new European strategy for culture, the first of its kind, presented on 10 May. This strategy seeks to promote cultural diversity and facilitate mobility for performing artists and works within and into the European Union (see EUROPE 9424). “A few years ago, putting culture policy on the agenda in Brussels was almost taboo. Thanks to this policy manifesto, culture cannot be considered marginal,” Mr Figel said. “Culture has not been one of the great fundamentals of European integration, but we are seeing a slight increase in its power at the moment,” said Ms Albanel, and she highlighted France's desire to see more funding being allocated to culture in budgets. The impact of the culture sector on tourism and employment is not inconsiderable. According to the Commission, in 2003 the creative arts and cultural industries sector had a turnover of €654 million, 2.3% of European GDP, and employed at least 5.8 million people, or 3.1% of the population. (il)