Speak with a strong voice in support of the cultural and creative sectors (CCS), seriously affected by the COVID-19 crisis, and call for a culture of solidarity in the recovery phase;
Ensure that cities and regions are aware of measures and initiatives put in place for CCS in the EU, and make practical suggestions on how CCS can better participate in the latest proposals for Creative Europe, Horizon Europe, REACT EU, SURE, CRII+, the European Guarantee Fund, etc;
Argue for special attention to be paid to culture and cultural heritage in the next programming period to ensure that CCS are considered a priority at national level and allow for synergies with other policies and structural funding;
Propose a continuous dialogue with CCS organisations in the development of easy-to-use support schemes for CCS and mobilise innovation and education within a dynamic territorial ecosystem;
Promote culture as a key driver for strengthening the European identity and argue for it to have a more prominent place in the discussion on the Future of Europe.
The adoption of the CoR Opinion on the Restart of Cultural and Creative Sectors (CCS) benefitted from the political debate with Commissioner Gabriel at the CoR Plenary in February.
The CoR own-initiative Opinion rightly identified the challenges faced by these sectors heavily impacted by the pandemic and called for commensurate support and strong assistance throughout the restart and recovery phases. The European Commission launched a dedicated platform CreativesUnite to provide information about cultural and creative sector initiatives responding to the coronavirus crisis, relevant also for actions at local and regional level.
In June, the European Commission also published EU guidelines for the safe resumption of activities in the cultural and creative sectors - COVID-19 and the Recovery and Resilience Facility also plays an important role in supporting investment and restructuring in all the cultural and creative sectors.
But while the CCS benefitted from the EU support during the pandemic, the CoR Opinion insists that more efforts are needed to ensure recovery. One specific proposal, namely the elaboration of a "Status of European artist", has also gained traction in the European Parliament, a report being adopted in this sense. Elements from the idea put forward by the CoR to "Ensure a Status for the European artists!" have been taken on in the Final Refort of the Conference on the Future of Europe. Proposal 48. Culture and exchanges asks: "Take steps to ensure that cultural professionals are sufficiently protected at EU level, particularly in any future crises, by adopting a legal statute at European level."
The CoR members and their regions contributed actively to the design phase of the New European Bauhaus initiative, while a very successful high level event on 14 April 2021 with the participation of both Commissioners Gabriel and Ferreira was jointly organised with the CoR and included Mayors of European Capitals of Culture (ECoC) and Innovation (iCapitals). The Communication "New European Bauhaus. Beautiful, Sustainable, Together" already includes the proposal by the CoR to establish a NEB label on the model of the Seal of Excellence. The JRC will continue to involve the regional and local level in the further development of NEB and counts on the CoR to raise awareness via its members throughout Europe’s regions and cities.
THE EUROPEAN COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS
- points to the need to inform local and regional governments even more effectively of the measures and initiatives put in place for the CCS in the EU, establishing during this period greater monitoring of the CCS at local and regional level and recognising local and regional competences in the field of cultural policy;
- would like to see the promotion of EU calls for proposals that, among other things, provide more support for projects promoting the social role of culture, experimentation, and innovation in contemporary visual arts, aimed at the regeneration of peripheral, rural or vulnerable urban areas;
- welcomes the decision to facilitate participation of small-scale cultural projects in the Creative Europe Programme by achieving substantial simplification of bureaucratic procedures, mostly in the application stage; recommends furthermore integrating investment from the various EU funds in culture, simplifying the procedures involved and increasing, where provided for, the possibility of co-financing to up to 80% for projects undertaken by small players, opening up the possibility of foundations, banks and institutions covering the remainder;
- calls for the inclusion of the CCS in REACT-EU and the EU’s instrument for temporary support to mitigate unemployment risks in an emergency (SURE), thus preventing the costs of culture weighing on the budgets of cities and regions, which have already suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic;
- stands ready to contribute to the elaboration of a "Status of European artist", in cooperation with the European Parliament, paying particular attention to the mobility of artists in the remotest European regions.
- welcomes with interest the new European Bauhaus initiative, considering it necessary to nurture a new European aesthetic based on a societal need for beauty, on the interlinkages between existing realities, regeneration and the environment, and on the development and implementation of environmentally sustainable materials, taking as an example the work done by the Superstudio Group in Milan.