Adoption: 12/02/2020
Commission: Commission for Social Policy, Education, Employment, Research and Culture (SEDEC-VI)
Culture in a Union that strives for more: the role of regions and cities
SEDEC-VI/054
Capitalise on and promote the use of cultural resources, particularly by young people, with a view to securing developments in society, the economy and jobs;
Give Europeans a bigger role in cultural growth by giving them the tools they need to be active participants;
Plead for a culture which looks beyond the preservation and protection of heritage and helps us understand society’s dynamic and constantly changing nature;
Promote the culture of remembrance through an approach which takes a clear look at the past and emphasises its unique features, even in terms of its differences, and so bolsters a sense of common heritage in Europeans and young people in particular;
Ensure that cities and regions are aware of the role that they could play through a pluralist and innovative approach to culture by supporting peaceful integration based on consensus.
Give Europeans a bigger role in cultural growth by giving them the tools they need to be active participants;
Plead for a culture which looks beyond the preservation and protection of heritage and helps us understand society’s dynamic and constantly changing nature;
Promote the culture of remembrance through an approach which takes a clear look at the past and emphasises its unique features, even in terms of its differences, and so bolsters a sense of common heritage in Europeans and young people in particular;
Ensure that cities and regions are aware of the role that they could play through a pluralist and innovative approach to culture by supporting peaceful integration based on consensus.
Adopted at the Plenary session in February 2020, at a very difficult moment when the COVID-19 pandemic has started to affect all aspects of our lives, the Opinion had a very short window of opportunity to achieve impact. However, it contains some very powerful ideas and key messages that remained valid even today. Together with the subsequent CoR own-initiative Opinion on "Restart of cultural and creative sectors" (COR-2020-04616-00-01-AC-TRA) and the CoR Opinion on "New European Bauhaus. Beautiful, Sustainable, Together" (COR-2021-05640-00-01-AC-TRA), they form a formidable package in support for culture and cultural heritage, providing a valuable blueprint for achieving the full potential for these policy fields and put them to good use for contributing to the development of a prosperous and resilient Union.
The CoR call on the Commission to "include culture as one of the political priorities to be pursued in the new term" was welcomed in the follow-up provided by the said Institution to the CoR Opinions adopted in the Plenary session of February 2020 (90th Report), with a reference to the mission letter of Commissioner Gabriel. Without establishing a direct causal link with a major subsequent initiative in this field, it is worth mentioning that in the 2020 State of the Union, Commission President von der Leyen announced the "new European Bauhaus – a co-creation space where architects, artists, students, engineers, designers work together to make that happen." Moreover, the ideas put forward in the CoR Opinion for "increased investment in culture and in plans to bring aspects of cultural heritage, including those which have been neglected or abandoned, into use, under interactive and sustainable management within the new 2030 Urban Agenda" goes in the same direction and they echo very much the principles embedded in "A Renovation Wave for Europe - greening our buildings, creating jobs, improving lives" of October 2020.
In addition, the importance of "capitalising on digital opportunities to promote culture in an interactive way and attract all groups of society, especially young people, as the future custodians and promoters of cultural heritage" was further recognised and the 2022 European Year of Youth had a noticeable cultural dimension. The preparatory action ‘DiscoverEU’ (2018-2020) had a strong cultural dimension too.
The CoR call on the Commission to "include culture as one of the political priorities to be pursued in the new term" was welcomed in the follow-up provided by the said Institution to the CoR Opinions adopted in the Plenary session of February 2020 (90th Report), with a reference to the mission letter of Commissioner Gabriel. Without establishing a direct causal link with a major subsequent initiative in this field, it is worth mentioning that in the 2020 State of the Union, Commission President von der Leyen announced the "new European Bauhaus – a co-creation space where architects, artists, students, engineers, designers work together to make that happen." Moreover, the ideas put forward in the CoR Opinion for "increased investment in culture and in plans to bring aspects of cultural heritage, including those which have been neglected or abandoned, into use, under interactive and sustainable management within the new 2030 Urban Agenda" goes in the same direction and they echo very much the principles embedded in "A Renovation Wave for Europe - greening our buildings, creating jobs, improving lives" of October 2020.
In addition, the importance of "capitalising on digital opportunities to promote culture in an interactive way and attract all groups of society, especially young people, as the future custodians and promoters of cultural heritage" was further recognised and the 2022 European Year of Youth had a noticeable cultural dimension. The preparatory action ‘DiscoverEU’ (2018-2020) had a strong cultural dimension too.
THE EUROPEAN COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS
- considers it necessary to put in place a broad understanding of culture and Europe's cultural diversity that goes beyond solely the conservation and protection of tangible heritage and helps to understand the social and cultural changes taking place across European society;
- calls on the Commission to include culture as one of the political priorities to be pursued in the new term, and on the Council to support within the framework of the next MFF the allocation of adequate resources devoted to fostering regional and local promotion, management, use and development of cultural heritage;
- invites regions and cities in Europe, as well as regional cultural heritage organisations and networks, to draw inspiration from the framework in developing wide-reaching and effective actions and strategic plans on promoting and capitalising on cultural heritage;
- considers it necessary, at European level, to strengthen initiatives fostering knowledge of and access to Europe's cultural heritage, as an essential part of consolidating European citizenship and promoting individuals' sense of belonging to Europe;
- calls for increased investment in culture and in plans to bring aspects of cultural heritage, including those which have been neglected or abandoned, into use, under interactive and sustainable management within the new 2030 Urban Agenda. This will entail capitalising on innovative initiatives promoted by the municipalities and cooperation initiatives promoted by regional stakeholders;
- is aware of the importance of capitalising on digital opportunities to promote culture in an interactive way and attract all groups of society, especially young people, as the future custodians and promoters of cultural heritage;
- considers it necessary to put in place a broad understanding of culture and Europe's cultural diversity that goes beyond solely the conservation and protection of tangible heritage and helps to understand the social and cultural changes taking place across European society;
- calls on the Commission to include culture as one of the political priorities to be pursued in the new term, and on the Council to support within the framework of the next MFF the allocation of adequate resources devoted to fostering regional and local promotion, management, use and development of cultural heritage;
- invites regions and cities in Europe, as well as regional cultural heritage organisations and networks, to draw inspiration from the framework in developing wide-reaching and effective actions and strategic plans on promoting and capitalising on cultural heritage;
- considers it necessary, at European level, to strengthen initiatives fostering knowledge of and access to Europe's cultural heritage, as an essential part of consolidating European citizenship and promoting individuals' sense of belonging to Europe;
- calls for increased investment in culture and in plans to bring aspects of cultural heritage, including those which have been neglected or abandoned, into use, under interactive and sustainable management within the new 2030 Urban Agenda. This will entail capitalising on innovative initiatives promoted by the municipalities and cooperation initiatives promoted by regional stakeholders;
- is aware of the importance of capitalising on digital opportunities to promote culture in an interactive way and attract all groups of society, especially young people, as the future custodians and promoters of cultural heritage;