Investing in Europe’s next generation by investing in culture

As the EU has started discussing the proposed recovery plan, 94 organisations from across Europe’s cultural and creative sectors are uniting their voices to alert EU leaders: our sector needs strong and systemic support measures to recover from this crisis. 

As it is now well understood, the cultural and creative world is one of the first and hardest hit by the crisis. According to the Commission’s own estimates, some parts of our sector – which accounts for €509bn in value added to GDP and over 12 million full-time jobs - are expected to lose up to 80% of their turnover in the 2nd quarter of 2020. 

We have a higher than average percentage of self-employed workers, freelancers, micro-businesses and youth employment, which makes us particularly vulnerable in times of crisis.

As the European economy is slowly restarting, it is far from business as usual. Cultural actors are gradually resuming their activities, but all have to implement strict safety rules which means they won’t be operating at full capacity for the foreseeable future and are therefore facing challenging economic decisions. From individual creators and creative workers all the way to big production and media companies, the whole value chain is impacted.

And yet the recovery package announced by the Commission on 27 May does not reflect the reality of the cultural and creative sector, despite the encouraging messages by the Commission and the strong position taken by the European Parliament. The proposal on the table falls way short of our sector’s expectations:

• Despite being identified as one of 14 of the hardest hit ecosystems, there is neither a sector specific instrument for culture, nor a clear indication on whether or how we can benefit from different instruments. The section on REACT-EU in the Commission’s Communication1 refers to culture, but there is no guarantee that we will receive appropriate support.
• As for Creative Europe, the EU’s only programme specifically dedicated to the cultural and creative sector, the Commission’s announcement is a missed opportunity and a real disappointment. Along with the budget dedicated to education and youth, the budget dedicated to culture is the only one to decrease compared to the Commission’s own 2018 proposal, and it is a far cry from the European parliament’ position. Quite ironic for a recovery plan named “Next Generation EU”.

To bring the EU’s support for our sector to a level that is commensurate with its contribution to the EU’s economy and its citizens’ wellbeing, we call on Member States and the European Parliament:

• To push for a substantial increase of the Creative Europe budget. We fully support the European Parliament's proposal for a budget of €2.8bn.
• To guarantee that the entire sector can benefit appropriately from the recovery plan’s various instruments.

Let’s invest in culture to show the EU’s #NextGeneration that we really care about their future!

1. AEPO ARTIS – Association of European Performers’ Organisations
2. AER – Association of European Radios
3. Animation Europe
4. BOZAR - Centre for Fine Arts Brussels
5. CALLIAS Foundation
6. CEDC – European Coalitions for Cultural Diversity
7. CEM – Centre Européen de Musique
8. CEPI – European Audiovisual Production
9. CEPIC – Centre of the Picture Industry
10. CICAE – International Confederation of Arthouse Cinemas
11. CIRCOSTRADA – European Network for Circus & Street Arts
12. De Concert!
13. EAS - European Association for Music in Schools
14. ECSA – European Composer and Songwriter Alliance
15. EDN – European Dancehouse Network
16. EFA – European Festivals Association
17. EFFORTS – The European Federation of Fortified Sites
18. EFJ – The European Federation of Journalists
19. EFNYO – European Federation of National Youth Orchestras
20. EFP – European Film Promotion
21. EGDF - European Games Developer Federation
22. EHTTA - European Historic Thermal Towns Association
23. EIBF – European and International Booksellers Federation
24. EJN – Europe Jazz Network
25. ELIA - Globally Connected European Network of Higher Arts Education
26. EMC – European Music Council
27. EMCY – European Union of Music Competitions for Youth
28. EMEE – European Music Exporters Exchange
29. EMMA - European Magazine Media Association
30. EMMA – European Music Managers Alliance
31. EMU – The European Music School Union
32. ENCATC – European network on cultural management and cultural policy
33. ENCC – European Network of Cultural Centres
34. ENPA - European Newspaper Publishers Association
35. EOFed – European Orchestra Federation
36. EPC – European Publishers Council
37. ERIH – The European Route of Industrial Heritage
38. ESNS - Eurosonic Noorderslag
39. ETC – European Theatre Convention
40. Eurocinema
41. Europa Distribution – The European Network of Independent Film Publishers and Dis-tributors
42. Europa International – the network of European sales agents
43. Europavox : music online media & festivals
44. ECA - European Choral Association – Europa Cantat
45. EVA – European Visual Artists
46. EWC – European Writers’ Council
47. FEDEC – European Federation for Professional Circus Schools
48. FERA – Federation of European Film Directors
49. FEP – Federation of European Publishers
50. FIA – International Federation of Actors
51. FIAD – The International Federation of Film Distributors’ Associations
52. FIAPF – International Federation of Film Producers Associations
53. FIM – International Federation of Musicians
54. FSE – Federation of Screenwriters in Europe
55. GESAC – European Grouping of Societies of Authors and Composers
56. GIGMIT
57. IAMIC – International Association of Music Information Centres
58. IAML – International Association of Music Libraries, Archives, and Documentation Cen-tres, member of EMC
59. IAO – International Artist Organisation of Music
60. ICMP – The Global Voice of Music Publishing
61. IETM – International Network for Contemporary Performing Arts
62. I FJ – International Federation of Journalists
63. IFPI – International Federation of the Phonographic Industry
64. IFRRO – International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations
65. IGCAT - International Institute of Gastronomy, Culture, Arts and Tourism
66. IMMF - International Music Managers Forum
67. IMPALA – The Independent Music Companies Association
68. IMPF – The Independent Music Publishers International Forum
69. IMZ – IMZ International Music + Media Centre
70. In-Situ – European Platform for Artistic Creation in Public Space
71. INES – Innovation Network of European Showcases
72. ISCM – International Society for Contemporary Music on behalf of the
73. ISFE - The Interactive Software Federation of Europe
74. IVF – International Video Federation
75. Live DMA – European network for live music venues & festivals
76. Liveurope – The live music platform for new European talent
77. KEA European Affairs
78. MCA – Michael Culture Association
79. NAMM – National Association of Music Merchants
80. NEMO – The Network of European Museum Organisations
81. News Media Europe
82. On the Move
83. Pearle* – Live Performance Europe
84. REMA – European Early Music Network
85. Res Artis – Worldwide Network of Arts Residencies
86. SAA – Society of Audiovisual Authors
87. SEEHN - South East European Heritage Network
88. SHAPE – Sound, Heterogeneous Art and Performance in Europe
89. Sistema Europe – The Sistema Europe Association
90. Tenso Network Europe
91. UNI MEI – UNI global union – media, entertainment & arts
92. UNIC – International Union of Cinemas
93. We Are Europe
94. Yourope – The European Festival Association