SUMMARY
Introduction
The report presents an analysis of the stage of development of the cultural industries with the aim of showing the positive link between culture and socio-economic development in the Europe of Fifteen. The specific objective is to discover the potential, in terms of both society and job creation, of the cultural industries. The cultural sector has the capacity to be both a source of European identity and the setting for the development of innovative activities that boost job creation. European and national political authorities are aware of the need to resolve the unemployment problem which has become of vital importance to European integration. The Treaty of Amsterdam makes employment an issue of common interest and an explicit objective of the Union. With this in mind the European Council adopted guidelines for the future development of European employment strategy at the extraordinary summit on employment and unemployment held in Luxembourg on 20 and 21 November 1997. In the face of this situation the cultural sector is a real driving force behind European development. There is a growing positive correlation between culture and employment. Europe's cultural heritage is a vital aspect of European identity and a source of creativity that can guide future developments in European integration. Cultural potential is however still underestimated. It is with the aim of identifying its real economic and social value that this study has been conceived.
I. The potential of the cultural sector in the European Union
The first part proposes the conceptual framework in which to situate a descriptive and prospective analysis of the cultural industries in relation to employment. The cultural sector covers a very wide range of economic and industrial activities. It includes activities connected with heritage, literature, the press, music, the entertainment arts, the media and the audiovisual sector. Given the recent increase in cultural production and demand, the context industries represent an area of social interaction and economic activity in the present concept of the European Union. The cultural industries are both a driving force behind employment and the catalyst of regional, national and European identity. This dual role of culture in the development of European integration is the starting point for our study. The conceptual framework justifies commitment by the public authorities, which should invest human and financial resources in it since cultural fulfilment is more than compatible with the desire for economic and social cohesion in modern societies. Cultural life may become an economically viable public and private service as well as an identity catalyst and social integrator. The European Union is counting on the economic growth potential and cultural wealth necessary for the development of the cultural industries sector. The Member States of the Union lack neither innovative ideas nor talent to tackle cultural competition at world level. Although the conditions necessary for this approach are already in place, the public authorities should encourage the creation of cultural undertakings. By encouraging individuals to fully exploit their creative energies the cultural industries can offer possibilities for creating new jobs that go well beyond the effects of traditional measures to preserve the cultural heritage. At both economic and socio cultural level the importance of an integrated global approach to the cultural industries is essential. The potential of the cultural industries should not be neglected by the public authorities. In order to support the cultural industries properly, action must be targeted where the possibilities of success seem to be the most promising. If the potential of culture is to become a reality, it is essential to devise a new approach to the specific needs of the sector.
II. The present state of the cultural industries in the European Union
In the second part the present state of the cultural industries in the European Union is analysed. Despite a lack of comparable cultural statistics for the Fifteen, a general objective survey is made of the present situation of the cultural industries. Working documents recently published by the Council of Europe ('In from the margins' etc., ) and the Commission (Culture, the cultural industries and employment' etc., ) and numerous reports by public and private organisations at national and European level are examined. The analysis outlines the general characteristics of the extent and volume of economic activities connected with the cultural sector. In addition, empirical reference is made to the public aid granted to the cultural sector, analysing the initiatives and programmes implemented at national and European level.. The whole is supported by interviews with specialists from the cultural sector and SMUs. The result is a practical and concrete perspective of the work of the cultural industries. Taking stock of the European Union's cultural industries, we see that the range of cultural production and consumption possibilities is very diverse and very promising. Of the different cultural sectors analysed, the activities with the best prospects are projects associated with heritage and activities linked to new technologies, particularly in the audiovisual sector and the information society. Despite the good performance of heritage and craft industries, the public authorities still tend to neglect these sectors which create jobs. Although the Commission is beginning to realise their economic importance, they still do not receive enough support. The new technologies and audiovisual sector are sectors of activity that are being given increasing support by national and European public political authorities both politically and financially. Television and cinema have become powerful democratic suppliers of cultural goods and services although their content is predominantly American rather than European. The industries active in the new technologies should become part of the European Union market. Even though there are obstacles on their path concerning access by the public and liberalisation of copyright, the boom of the advanced technology industries will be encouraged by increasing demand from civil society. The cultural industries are not always well defined: a great variety of economic, cultural and non-cultural activities can be included in this industrial category. The conceptual vagueness of the cultural industries contrasts with the reality of cultural supply which is stimulated by the dynamism of SMUs and affects a series of economic sectors with a positive impact on the labour market. Because of the gradual integration of economies, cultural SMUs and craft industries are subject to international competition. To safeguard the crucial role they play in maintaining employment and local development, they must be given the means to succeed in such an economic environment. Two main areas are suggested: the administrative and fiscal environment of cultural SMUs and the spirit of innovation among businessmen faced with incorporation of the principles of cultural management. If the national authorities introduce machinery to support cultural undertakings that take account of their specificity, the development of the cultural industries will be facilitated. The creativity of the cultural sector and individual initiative have never acted as a brake on the development of cultural undertakings in the European Union. On the contrary, an environment that in relative terms benefits the large undertakings in the cultural sector at fiscal, administrative and financial level is clearly a detriment to the launching and consolidation of cultural SMUs and craft industries. The political authorities of the European Union should continue to intervene financially to give support in the form of programmes intended to supplement national or local funding. Financial aid based on a single integrated instrument should be granted taking account of the prospects of the projects in question. The different proposals should be studied, in terms of added value and economic viability. The future of the cultural industry seems to depend on devising a pragmatic strategy of support and integrating it with the other economic activities.
III. The prospects for the cultural industries in the European Union
The third part deals with future prospects. Cultural tourism is seen as an area that could become the starting point for strengthening the cultural industries. Support for cultural tourism would make it possible to consolidate and increase traditional economic activities that are related to the cultural heritage. A revival and redefinition of cultural tourism could serve as the basis for innovative measures linked to new technologies and the media. This development would promote the creation of new undertakings with good expansion possibilities. It is for these reasons that cultural tourism is identified as an 'entrepreneurial' area of development with major possibilities of promoting economic, social and cultural cohesion in the regions in decline. Considering the benefits of cultural tourism there is a need to give the sector strong political support. At the same time cultural tourism energises employment and exploits European culture. However, such public action should also take account of the damage that unintegrated cultural tourism could cause to a region's socio-economic balance. Steps must be taken to ensure that an influx of tourists increases an area's income by exploiting local, regional and national idiosyncrasies. 'High culture' and new technology activities could begin by concentrating on tourist sites visited by a public that is attracted by interactive cultural activities. In 'high culture' sectors of activity the link between cultural tourism and visits to heritage sites will engender demand for other cultural activities. As regards advanced technologies, multimedia- and audiovisual-based cultural tourism will tend to be the two most successful sectors of activity. The second chapter of this part identifies some potential action (at educational level and at national and European political-administrative level) that could open an integrated political debate on the cultural industries. Giving the cultural sector greater political visibility and specifying the shortcomings of the cultural industries is the best way of supporting a promising socio-economic sector of activity in an effective and lasting fashion. The European institutions and national authorities alike could use it as a reference point for giving greater support to the development of the cultural industries in general and cultural tourism in particular. The cultural industries can blossom if a broader concept of heritage is integrated into a horizontal cultural tourism strategy. Such a strategy focuses on traditional and modern means of communication. The tourist attraction of cultural sites will facilitate contact between the goods and services offered by the different cultural undertakings and a public that is interested and culturally active. The action proposed can stimulate the political debate on the cultural industries. For lack of a common policy on the different cultural sectors we must give all the Member States a common vision of the future, take stock of the situation and decide to go in a specific direction. The principle of subsidiarity and the restrictive framework of Article 128 of the EC Treaty mean that we cannot hope for over-zealous intervention by the European Union in the cultural field. Nevertheless the cultural industries should be given the political visibility they deserve in order to trigger the measures they need.
Conclusion
The multicultural area of the European Union is a major asset. Its cultural wealth is undeniably remarkable but it also is of interest to the public authorities in another way: with its wealth the innovative and promising cultural industries can help to create jobs and at the same time be a means of strengthening the feeling of community in Europe. The challenge is to combine culture as a means of asserting European identity with the development of new sources of lasting and independent employment compatible with the market economy. The potential of the cultural sector in general and the cultural industries in particular is largely unrecognised and under-exploited by the public authorities. The cultural industries constitute a field of activity that will undoubtedly encourage the introduction of new technologies. They are also the ideal means of transmitting information given the globalisation of cultural exchanges and the resurgence of nationalism. Both the risk of loss of identity and of standardisation of the globalisation process and the desire to increase knowledge of one's own culture are fostered by the development of the cultural industries. Cultural reality is that the cultural industries are in accordance with the present development of new technologies and with the requirements and needs of the most significant sociocultural movements. To benefit fully from the development of the cultural industries, this sector of economic and cultural activity would need specific support. European, national, regional and local authorities should be capable of creating a legal and administrative environment that is favourable to its launch and consolidation in the market. It is up to the Member States, the regions and local authorities to make specific commitments on the basis of a concrete strategy to encourage employment in the sector. The socioeconomic fabric would then have a greater desire and guarantees in reaction to this new field of action. An overall strategy must be devised to increase the possibilities of creating jobs in the cultural sector in general. The cultural sector must evolve and include a friendly legislative framework: the evolutionary nature of the cultural industries must be backed up by legal instruments that correspond to the progress of reality. This study depends on integration of the cultural dimension into the other Community policies without neglecting the need to strengthen specifically cultural Community action. The Community authorities should continue to support and sponsor exchanges of experience and systems of cooperation between the Member States. The European Union should continue its support for networks of local and regional communities since they have proved to be the most active political bodies in the cultural field. Today regions and communes appear to be the initiators of a new cultural policy in a new international context. Alongside problems of legal development and administrative organisation the importance of education and artistic-cultural training of the European population is evident. As regards education, the matter should be dealt with from the point of view of equal access to culture since that is the way through which each person can receive the common cultural heritage. The European citizen must be given the opportunity to know his own culture and that of other nations as well as a desire to increase basic knowledge through constant contact with the world of culture. In the case of training, the first step is to train executives that are effective given the requirements of the market and the profile of the public targeted; cultural demand in tomorrow's society must be sustained, extended and rekindled by educating young people and training executives specialised in cultural management. The blossoming of the cultural industries would then be guaranteed by the existence of increasing demand in which the public would find a message and a cultural product that would be transmitted freely, naturally and sustainably. The synergy between culture and economic development looks promising. It is possible to promote innovative cultural activities based on cultural tourism which will be capable of revitalising culturally rich areas experiencing difficulties in emerging from economic decline. Such activities tend to be based on decentralised interregional cooperation between public authorities and local economic actors. Local economic development depends on the involvement of and cooperation between communities, which guarantees access to other communities working together for an overall project. The intention of the study was to serve as the basis for thought and discussion on the potential of the cultural industries in contributing to the future development of a more integrated Europe. If the cultural industries have a formative dimension when they strengthen the cohesion of a region with their socioeconomic development and an identity dimension since they consolidate the cultural identities of the peoples of Europe, the Community political authorities should be capable of exploiting the potential of the sector by translating it into political action.
© European Parliament: 10/1999
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