A new strategy for culture in Europe

On 10 May 2007, the European Commission proposed a new strategy for culture in Europe: for the first time at the European level, a Community institution has put forward a series of objectives for the Member States, Community institutions and culture sector to work together in all their diversity. The aim is to promote:

• Cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue

• Culture as a catalyst for creativity, within the framework of the Lisbon strategy; and,

• Culture as a vital part of the EU’s external relations.

These objectives, which together form the European agenda for culture, have been welcomed by Member States at the highest political level. Indeed, the European Council itself, in its report of December 2007, recognised the relevance and importance of pursuing the ambitious aims of the Lisbon strategy. A first!

For the first time, shared objectives

The strategy is all about “shared” objectives, therefore each of the parties involved – Community institutions, Member States, local authorities and even representatives from the fields of culture or civil society – must work at their own level of competence to achieve tangible results in the mid-term.

In order to accomplish this, Member States have expressed a wish to work within the frame of an Open Method of Co-ordination (OMC). This approach allows for the exchange of best practices and for everyone to learn how to better develop efficient strategies at all levels of governance to achieve objectives set out from above.

Making the culture sector better heard on major European issues

To ensure that all efforts are heading in the same direction, it is also essential to relate the culture sector more closely to those major European issues which are of key importance. This is why the agenda proposes to bring together the sector, in all its diversity, at the centre of a major cultural forum.

The first such forum was successfully held in Lisbon in September 2007, under the auspices of the Portuguese presidency. The objective is now to transform this trial project into a permanent dialogue which will allow the sector to become a real agent of change.