MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the cultural recovery of Europe
9.9.2020 - (2020/2708(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 132(2) of the Rules of Procedure
Tomasz Frankowski
on behalf of the PPE Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B9-0246/2020
B9‑0249/2020
European Parliament resolution on the cultural recovery of Europe
The European Parliament,
– having regard to Article 6 and Article 167 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and Article 3 of the Treaty on European Union,
– having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, in particular Article 22 thereof,
– having regard to the Commission communication of 22 May 2018 entitled ‘A New European Agenda for Culture’ (COM(2018)0267),
– having regard to its resolution of 13 December 2016 on a coherent EU policy for cultural and creative industries[1],
– having regard to its resolution of 17 April 2020 on EU coordinated action to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences[2],
– having regard to its resolution of 19 June 2020 on transport and tourism in 2020 and beyond[3],
– having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1295/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 establishing the Creative Europe Programme (2014 to 2020) and repealing Decisions No 1718/2006/EC, No 1855/2006/EC and No 1041/2009/EC[4],
– having regard to the European Council conclusions of 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21 July 2020,
– having regard to Rule 132(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas culture is a strategic sector for the European Union, forms an important part of our economy, reflects our common European values, and is rooted in Judaeo-Christian traditions, history and way of life;
B. whereas European cultural and creative players preserve and promote cultural and linguistic diversity in Europe and contribute to the strengthening of a European identity at all levels; whereas these players represent an invaluable force for sustainable economic growth in the European Union and its Member States, and are an important source of global competitiveness;
C. whereas according to Eurostat, the European cultural and creative sectors (CCSs) account for approximately 4 % of European gross domestic product (GDP) and for 8.7 million jobs in Europe;
D. whereas culture plays a major role in promoting tourism in Europe; whereas, according to Eurostat, two thirds of Europeans believe that the presence of cultural heritage has an influence on their choice of holiday destination; whereas Europe remains the most popular and important cultural tourism destination in the world;
E. whereas European cultural and creative operators have been among the most severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic; whereas the shutdown of the CCSs has had a spill-over effect on other sectors such as transport and tourism;
F. whereas the CCSs operate on the basis of specific economic models, comprising players of various sizes, but are mainly composed of small structures – such as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the self-employed – and often have irregular and mixed incomes coming from public subsidies, private sponsoring, audience-based revenue and copyright, and have a higher average percentage of youth employment than most industries, which makes them particularly vulnerable in times of crisis;
G. whereas the COVID-19 crisis has already had and will continue to have a lasting negative effect on cultural and creative content production and consequently income, and will therefore have a negative impact on European cultural diversity;
H. whereas theatres, cinemas, festivals, concert halls, museums and heritage sites were among the first to close their doors due to measures to contain the virus, and have been among the last to reopen; whereas many cultural and artistic events such as fairs, festivals, concerts and performances have been cancelled or postponed to a much later date; whereas the health and safety measures brought in to prevent a new outbreak will not allow venues to operate at full capacity for the foreseeable future and will hinder the creative process of many events, resulting in a further loss of income;
I. whereas during the pandemic, many Europeans have found themselves in a situation of isolation, meaning that opportunities to access online cultural offer have multiplied, making culture more accessible and often free of charge; whereas the essential contribution of culture to people’s health and wellbeing is all the more pertinent in troubled times;
J. whereas the successive budget proposals for the Creative Europe programme under the next multiannual financial framework (MFF) clearly live up to neither the sector’s nor Parliament’s expectations, and the latter has called for a necessary doubling of its funding compared to the level allocated in the 2014-2020 MFF;
K. whereas the cultural and creative industries will need to remain properly funded, be identified as safe investments and be ready for the transition towards a carbon-neutral continent, as outlined in the European Green Deal;
1. Expresses its sincere solidarity with the artists, creators, authors, publishers, their companies and all other workers and players in the European CCSs, who have been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and pays tribute to their actions during the difficult times experienced by millions of Europeans;
2. Considers it fundamental to combine the historic economic measures taken by the European institutions with wide-ranging and swift action to support Europe’s cultural and creative forces;
3. Welcomes the Commission’s and the European Council’s efforts in drawing up the ‘Next Generation EU’ recovery plan, in particular the creation of REACT-EU, which sets out to provide additional funding to much affected economic sectors, including culture; is alarmed, however, at the fact that no specific amount has been clearly earmarked to directly benefit the CCSs; insists, in this context, that cultural and creative operators should be a clear focus of the Member States’ targeted actions and should benefit widely and quickly from the funds and instruments made available by the European Economic Recovery Plan (EERP);
4. Urges the Member States to consider the CCSs as strategic sectors that are a priority under the EERP, and to identify a clear budget associated with swift and concrete action dedicated to the recovery of this sector, which should benefit all of its stakeholders; asks the Member States to ensure that the specific domestic social, fiscal and economic rules usually applied to CCS players can be extended during and after the crisis; requests that the Member States include CCS SMEs in their national SME recovery plans that they have already implemented; requests that the Member States consider offering financial support to cultural venues and events as they implement new health and safety measures;
5. Calls on the Commission to continue to back the Member States in their support for the CCSs; welcomes the Commission’s efforts in promoting the CCSs, for example through campaigns such as the #creativeEuropeAtHome campaign;
6. Welcomes the creation of the EU’s instrument for temporary support to mitigate unemployment risks in an emergency (SURE), which is intended to support the short-time working measures put in place by the Member States, in particular those concerning SMEs and the self-employed; believes that this instrument can enable CCS players to remain in their field of activity while compensating for their loss of income; calls, in this context, on the Member States to provide adequate guarantees so that SURE can be operational as soon as possible;
7. Stresses the crucial role of the Creative Europe programme, its MEDIA sub-programme and its culture and cross-sectoral strands in ensuring a fair degree of stability in the sector by providing access to EU funding until the cultural market recovers; recalls that Parliament has called for a necessary doubling of the budget allocated to this programme for the next MFF; calls on the Commission to mainstream the cultural and creative industry (CCI) throughout the MFF; strongly reaffirms, therefore, its position regarding the allocation of the MFF to this end, and to other European programmes supporting CCSs and cultural workers; considers it of the utmost importance that programmes are finalised and adopted as soon as possible in order to ensure a smooth transition from their predecessors;
8. Calls on the Commission to work together with the European Capitals of Culture to help them to limit, as much as possible, the disruption caused by the pandemic, in particular those cities holding the title in 2020 and 2021, through an in-depth dialogue with the organisers; declares its readiness to move forward quickly so as to find a new, balanced and adapted agenda;
9. Calls on the Commission to identify a wide range of mixed funding sources that can benefit CCSs; considers that the future Knowledge and Innovation Community dedicated to CCSs within the European Institute of Innovation and Technology should play a leading role in this context; calls on the Commission to include Horizon Europe funding for the CCSs active in cultural experimentation, innovation and artistic research;
10. Welcomes the new support measures under the Cultural and Creative Sectors Guarantee Facility (CCS GF), which set out to improve access to affordable debt financing for SMEs in the CCSs; calls for the enforced deployment of the CCS GF under InvestEU, and in order to provide more flexibility for CCIs;
11. Calls on the Commission to ensure that cultural and creative SMEs will benefit from increased support in terms of debt financing via the future guarantee facility instruments under the 2021-2027 InvestEU Programme;
12. Calls on the Commission to take action to mitigate the ever-worsening impact of the crisis on CCSs, at a time when the continued cancellation of major festivals and cultural events is having disastrous financial consequences, particularly for the performing arts sector; believes that European digital platforms dedicated to performing arts should be established in order to share as much European cultural content and creative products as possible; requests that such platforms be designed with the fair remuneration of artists, creators and companies in mind;
13. Reminds the Member States that other measures can be used to help the CCSs recover from the crisis, such as reduced VAT rates for all cultural goods and services, the improved valuation of intangible assets and tax credits for cultural production;
14. Points out that tourism accounts for 10.3 % of EU GDP, 40 % of which is linked to cultural offer; considers that the gradual recovery of tourism is an opportunity to actively promote European culture and heritage while laying the foundations for sustainable European tourism; calls, in this regard, for the launch of an annual European heritage value creation programme that reflects European cultural diversity; requests that the structural funds include, as much as possible, cultural preservation and artistic creation in the projects they support;
15. Considers that we should seize this opportunity to promote European cultural content worldwide by encouraging European production and developing European broadcasting networks; calls on the Commission to cooperate with the Member States so that the relevant legislation can be transposed as smoothly as possible, such as the revision of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive[5], the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market[6] and the Satellite and Cable Directive[7];
16. Calls on the Commission to preserve and promote collective mechanisms to ensure the adequate protection of individual creators in the implementation of previous legislation and forthcoming legislative proposals;
17. Calls on the Commission to propose an ambitious and inclusive communication and promotion policy for culture in Europe, which would enable European cultural content, events and venues to enjoy a both a’ European and global reach; calls on the Commission to build on the positive results of the European Year of Cultural Heritage and devise a similar initiative dedicated to culture and its role in Europe;
18. Considers that the cultural dimension needs to be taken into account when engaging in dialogue with citizens, in particular during the upcoming Conference on the Future of Europe;
19. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.
- [1] OJ C 238, 6.7.2018, p. 28.
- [2] Texts adopted, P9_TA(2020)0054.
- [3] Texts adopted, P9_TA(2020)0169.
- [4] OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 221.
- [5] OJ L 303, 28.11.2018, p. 69.
- [6] OJ L 130, 17.5.2019, p. 92.
- [7] OJ L 248, 6.10.1993, p. 15.