Letter to the European Commission on behalf of Europe’s Cultural and Creative Sectors

Dear President von der Leyen,
Vice-President Schinas,
Commissioners Hahn, Gabriel, Breton,

Culture has always been a vibrant social resource, able to heal wounds in times of crisis. Culture carries tremendous intrinsic value and contributes significantly to the economy, with 4.2% of the EU GDP and 7.4 million jobs created. Culture is a vital component of the European integration and solidarity. It unites the European multitude of mentalities and histories in all their diversity, and shapes a common space for Europeans to develop a shared identity.

As our societies are going through an unprecedented turmoil, we call on the EU and its Member States to make sure that culture is placed at the core of each and every recovery plan, which aims at a sustainable, inclusive and future-looking revival of our social and economic life.

Cultural and creative sectors (CCSs) themselves are among the most seriously damaged by the pandemic. Cultural activities are being halted, millions of jobs are frozen or wiped out, micro and small businesses are on the brink of bankruptcy and many talents are forced to leave the sector altogether.

On top of that, we are at the beginning of a second wave in Europe that will undoubtedly increase the impact of the pandemic crisis on the CCSs.

This unprecedented uncertainty prevents the CCSs from bouncing back, devising viable short and medium term plans and imagining a different future. There is a risk that citizens will not find their vibrant cultural life back in the post-pandemic world. This would be a huge loss in terms of social cohesion, communities' empowerment, individual well-being, and the economic revival of the EU.

While it has started addressing these concerns with some concrete measures in the past months, the European Commission also clearly included culture as one of the 14 priority ecosystems to repair, when presenting the recovery package for Europe, back in May. However, we regret that the European Commission has not integrated clear and strong references to culture in the “Guidance to Member States Recovery and Resilience Plans.” Now that the dialogue with the Member States on the design of their national recovery and resilience plans has kicked off, it is crucial that CCSs are fully included in the attainment of the main RRF objectives.

Therefore, we, the pan-European community of 110 networks and associations, call on the European Commission to encourage Member States to fully integrate culture in their national recovery and resilience plans, allocating at the very least 2″% of the RRF budgets to the CCSs, as called for by the European Parliament in its recent resolution on the “Cultural Recovery of Europe”.

This should be monitored and stimulated, inter alia, through the Commission’s assessment of the national recovery and resilience plans.

It is our common duty to preserve culture in these challenging times, and we hope you will do everything possible to safeguard the diversity, vibrancy and richness of Europe.

SIGNATORIES:

Amateo - Europe’s Network for Active Participation in Culture | Arty Farty | Association de Producteurs de Cinéma et de Télévision (Eurocinema) | Association des Centres Culturels de Rencontre (ACCR) | Association Européenne des Conservatoires, Académies de Musique et Musikhochschulen (AEC) | Association of European Performers’ Organisations (AEPO-ARTIS) | Association of European Radios (AER) | b.creative network | Biennale des Jeunes Créateurs de l'Europe et de la Mediterranée (BJEM) | BOZAR - Centre for Fine Arts | Centre Européen de Musique (CEM) | Centre of the Picture Industry (CEPIC) | Circostrada - European Network for Circus and Street Arts | Coalitions Européennes pour la Diversité Culturelle (CEDC) | Confédération internationale des cinémas d'art et d'essai (CICAE) | Culture Action Europe (CAE) | De Concert! Fédération Internationale de Festivals | European Association of Archaeologists (EAA) | ELIA - globally connected European network of higher arts education | ESNS (Eurosonic Noorderslag) | EU National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC) | Europa Cinemas | Europa Distribution - The European Network of Independent Film Publishers and Distributors | Europa Nostra | Europavox | Europe Jazz Network (EJN) | European and International Booksellers Federation (EIBF) | European Arenas Association (EAA) | European Association for Music in Schools (EAMS) | European Association of Independent Music Companies (IMPALA) | European Audiovisual Production (CEPI) | European Children’s Film Association (ECFA) | European Choral Association - Europa Cantat (ECA-EC) | European Composer & Songwriter Alliance (ECSA) | European Concert Hall Organisation (ECHO) | European Council of Associations of Literary Translators (CEATL) | European Creative Business Network (ECBN) | European Creative Hubs Network (ECHN) | European Cultural Foundation | European Dancehouse Network (EDN) | European Fashion Heritage Association (EFHA) | European Federation of Fortified Sites (EFFORTS) | European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) | European Federation of National Youth Orchestras (EFNYO) | European Festivals Association (EFA) | European Games Developer Federation (EGDF) | European Grouping of Societies of Authors and Composers (GESAC) | European Historic Thermal Towns Association (EHTTA) | European Music Council (EMC) | European Music Exporters Exchange (EMEE) | European Music School Union (EMU) | European network for live music associations (Live DMA) | European Network for Opera and Dance Education (RESEO) | European Network of Cultural Centres (ENCC) | European Network on Cultural Management and Policy (ENCATC) | European Publishers Council (EPC) | European Route of Industrial Heritage (ERIH) | European Theatre Convention (ETC) | European Union of Music Competitions for Youth (EMCY) | Europeana Foundation | Europeana Network Association | Eurozine | Fédération européenne des écoles de cirque professionnelles (FEDEC) | Federation of European Publishers (FEP) | Federation of European Screen Directors (FERA) | Federation of Screenwriters in Europe | Future for Religious Heritage (FRH) | ICMP - The global voice of music publishing | IFPI – representing the recording industry worldwide | IN SITU, European platform for artistic creation in public space | Independent Music Publishers International Forum (IMPF) | Innovation Network of European Showcases (INES) | Interactive Software Federation of Europe (ISFE) | International Artist Organisation of Music (IAO) | International Association of Art (IAA) Europe | International Association of Music Information Centres (IAMIC) | International Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres (IAML) | International Federation of Actors (FIA) | International Federation of Film Distributors’ Associations (FIAD) | International Federation of Film Producers Association (FIAPF) | International Federation of Musicians (FIM) | International Music+Media Centre (IMZ) | International Network for Contemporary Performing Arts (IETM) | International Video Federation (IVF) | Jeunesses Musicales International (JMI) | Kids REGIO | Literature Across Frontiers (LAF) | Liveurope - the live music platform for new European talent | Michael Culture Association (MCA) |

National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) | Network of European Museum Organisations (NEMO) | News Media Europe | Northern Dimension Partnership on Culture (NDCP) | On the Move | Opera Europa | Pearle* - Live Performance Europe | REMA - European Early Music Network | Res Artis - Worldwide Network of Arts Residencies | SHAPE platform | System Europe | Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques (SADC) | South East European (SEE) Heritage Network | The European Network for Professional Chamber Choirs (Tenso) | The International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations (IFRRO) | The Society of Audiovisual Authors (SAA) | Trans Europe Halles (TEH) | UNI Global Union - media, entertainment & arts (UNI MEI) | Union Internationale de Cinémas (UNIC) | We are Europe | Yourope - The European Festival Association

To find out more or add your signature visit https://cultureactioneurope.org