German presidency priorities: support for CULT request to earmark culture recovery funding
On Tuesday Members of the Culture and Education Committee and representatives of the German presidency debated the EU political priorities in culture, education, media, sports and youth.
The German Government Commissioner for Culture and Media Ms Monika Grütters reassured Members that managing the Covid-19 consequences for culture was a priority for the EU in the coming months. She expressed support for the request of the Culture and Education committee to “earmark” EU recovery funding, in order “to make it possible for 1-2% of EU expenditure to flow into culture and media measures”.
"Culture is not a luxury that we can only afford when times are good. Art and culture are essential when it comes to tackling societal problems (..), fostering innovation and reflection, broadening empathy, creating space for debate”, she stressed.
Another subject that merited attention both by MEPs and German presidency was the fragility of media and media diversity, exposed by Covid-19 and the rise of disinformation. Both sides stressed the need for horizontal EU-wide support for media and journalism.
CULT Members used the opportunity to ask the German presidency to support the EP demands to properly fund Erasmus+ within the next Multi-annual Financial Framework for 2021-2027. Chair Sabine Verheyen (EPP, DE) questioned the stated aims to increase the quality, inclusiveness and volume of the Erasmus+ and Solidarity Corps programmes, while at the same time cutting funding.
“The agreement in Council is not an agreement between two co-legislators. It merely represents the Council’s negotiating basis. We have to see how we can tie the various loose ends”, she said in the conclusion of the debate.
“The purpose should not be to arrive [at an agreement on MFF] as quickly as possible but to make sure we have the right kind of basis to work for the next 7 years. We should not allow ourselves to be pressurised when we’re trying to bring about the best possible future for the next generation”, Verheyen stressed in the conclusion of the debate.
MEPs also called for the Council presidency to focus on accessibility to online learning across Europe, vocational education and training, the future of the sports sector, mobility of apprentices, cultural and language diversity, freedom of expression, the cross-European dimension of cultural and creative projects, and inequality among Member States in their support for culture and media
You can re-watch the full debate here:
Contacts:
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Agnese KRIVADE
Press officer