On September 11, 2018 CUMEDIAE was invited to participate in an exchange hosted by the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) with European stakeholders of the culture and creative industries for a consultation and an exchange of views on questions relating to the next Creative Europe program (2021-2027) and the New European Agenda for Culture. The meeting took place at the CoR headquarters in Brussels
The rapporteur Mr János Ádám Karácsony (HU/EPP), Member of Tahitótfalu Council opened the session for contributions from stakeholders.
Voices emerging during the consultation included Julie Herve, speaking on behalf of EUROCITIES, who highlighted shifting demographics and the evolving preferences and expectations of audience, suggesting that audience development, as an objective should regain its prominence in the agenda from 2021 – 2027. Rosa Perez Monclus, representing Culture Action Europe, the European Network always at the forefront of the advocacy for culture (of which CUMEDIAE is an active member), welcomed the inclusion of education and culture, and the importance of the values of culture included at a curriculum level in schools. Rosa underlined the importance of mainstreaming dimensions of culture, and strongly suggested that the approach be holistic so that it can cover all sectors.
Ignasi Guardans, CEO of CUMEDIAE mentioned the fact that the new Programme fixes as its objectives some important goals that up to now have been dealt with other financial instruments and by other Commission structures. He mentioned two examples: cultural diplomacy and support to quality media. In Ignasi’s opinion, while this may be seen as a positive trend, as it will allow a better coordination between actions with an impact in culture that have been too isolated among them, it also poses the risk of reducing the total funding available.
There was a chorus of voices suggesting strongly that the level of contribution of EU funds for Creative Europe projects be increased from current levels to firstly, facilitate the inclusion of cities, and secondly, reflect the realities of many smaller organisations who are unable to participate with the current levels of contribution.
Representatives of DGEAC and DG Connect expanded on the reasoning for the structure as it was presented, and stressed that the Commission is committed to the importance of the horizontal approach as the main strand of funding, but acknowledged the importance of a sectorial approach for specific sub-sectors such as Music, Design, Books, and News.