In the letter, Mrs Pack underlines that “when making its recommendations, the Parliament consistently stressed the importance it attached to adequate funding for culture and education” while recognizing that ” the Council’s approach to the heading in the multi-annual financial framework which includes the proposed new ‘Creative Europe’ was, indeed, disappointing”.

Mrs Pack also warned that in the current context of negotiations, “it is likely that any increase in funding for Creative Europe will be small” but that her colleagues and herself share our conviction about the need to invest in culture and that “this is the spirit in which [they] shall approach these negotiations“.

Read the letter here (part1, part2).

We will continue our work to defend the Creative Europe budget and, despite the difficulties, we still hope to be able to guarantee an increased budget compared to the current Culture programme.

* Signed by the campaign’s strategic partner the European Cultural Foundation, Culture Action Europe’s members Kunsten 92 and Cultuur-Ondernemen as well as Eurosonic Noorderslag / Buma Cultuur. The letter is also supported by Eric Holterhues, Hoofd Kunst en Cultuur, Triodos Investment Management, Triodos Bank.

In her statement issued earlier today (11 April), Costa publicly supports the we are more – act for culture in Europe campaign. She also stresses that it is essential and urgent for  cultural organisations to make their voices heard and put pressure on relevant ministers on national level (Finance/Budget, Culture etc.) as well as the European Commission to defend the budget for Creative Europe.

Full statement in Italian:

Inaccettabili tagli alla cultura: Appello dell’europarlamentare Silvia Costa per difendere il budget di Europa Creativa

Silvia Costa (Gruppo S&D): “Sarebbe inaccettabile la riduzione di quasi un terzo – da 1.8 a 1.3 miliardi di euro – proposta dalla Commissione sul budget di Europa Creativa, il nuovo Programma europeo 2014-2020, a seguito dei tagli praticati dal Consiglio dei Ministri nella nuova Programmazione pluriennale non condivisi dal Parlamento Europeo”.

E’ quanto ha affermato l’europarlamentare Silvia Costa, intervenendo a Bruxelles alla riunione del Gruppo S&D (Socialist&Democrats) sul Programma multiannuale 2014-2020.

“Ho chiesto a tutto il Gruppo S&D e al relatore Ivailo Kalfin di sostenere con forza un reintegro di questo fondo, considerando l’importanza strategica delle industrie culturali per lo sviluppo, la crescita e l’occupazione, ma anche la coesione territoriale e l’inclusione sociale” – ha proseguito l’europarlamentare.

“In questo senso condivido e ritengo molto importanti gli appelli promossi dal network europeo We are more – Act for Culture in Europe che rappresenta più di 100 organizzazioni e artisti in Europa, nonché dal Forum Cultura di Eurocity.

E’ essenziale che le istituzioni culturali, le associazioni, il settore europeo dell’audiovisivo e della creatività, facciano sentire la propria voce e facciano pressione sul Consiglio dei Ministri e sulla Commissione affinché sia almeno mantenuto il budget previsto per la nuova Programmazione. Sarebbe ben strano infatti e totalmente incoerente con il concetto di cultura come risorsa di sviluppo, ridurre  l’attenzione e il sostegno in Europa per la cultura, il patrimonio culturale e l’audiovisivo nel prossimo bilancio pluriennale europeo” – ha concluso Silvia Costa.

Pressures to cut funds to culture in favor of other policy have grown during the last days and there could be a real risk to see the funds for the Creative Europe programme substantially cut down.

We are using all channels to send clear and strong messages to the European Commission and the European Parliament.

Your voice is urgently needed as well.
 


You find below a letter that will be sent by Monday 8 April as an open letter to the President of the Commission, Mr Jose Manuel Barroso.

Please, on behalf of your organization, sign the letter and authorize us to include your name and function in the list of signatories, by sending an email to  advocate@cultureactioneurope.org  with the following text: I, surname name, function and organisation, subscribe the above letter to the President of the European Commission and authorize to publish my full name in the list of signatories.

Feel free to involve others representative of relevant cultural organization using the same procedure.

Letter to Mr Barroso:

To: José Manuel Barroso,
President of the European Commission

Europe, 8th of April 2013

Dear President Barroso,

At a time of intense financial austerity, the European Commission took, under your direction, a small but significant step by proposing an increase to the cultural budget through the Creative Europe programme. The increase proposed was very small in financial terms but had a high value in signaling a strengthened role for arts and culture in the building of Europe’s future.

Indeed, investing in culture, education and research not only generates prosperity; it is essential to foster both freedom of expression and creative thinking which, in turn, lead to sustainable prosperity. Moreover, cultural exchange brings hope and fosters civic engagement thus contributing to repair torn social fabric. Ultimately, culture means practicing democracy and giving content to citizenship.

Therefore, the step taken by the European Commission in proposing an increased EU budget for culture cannot be totally undone. It is a sum too limited to be an important part of any negotiated budget cuts. And it is an idea too great to be dealt away with too swiftly.

We know that democracy is a slow and delicate process. We know that economic and political compromise is required. We know that there are growing pressures to cut funds for culture but we believe they must be rejected.

We believe that the moment for clear positions has come: we urge you to stand strong with the Creative Europe proposal and safeguard the proposed budget allocation despite any short‐sighted criticism. It is a necessary sign of commitment to the future of European citizens as well as a necessary condition to continue building bridges and trust between the cultural sector and the European institutions.

Furthermore, culture designs new narratives for Europe, narratives that you have personally supported and nurtured.  Unjustified cuts to the Creative Europe programme will not only undermine this endeavor but will also be incomprehensible to the cultural sector.

We supported the Commission’s proposal for increased funding for culture and education and we publicly acknowledged its significance. We will definitely further support decisions ensuring that European culture, and the narrative for Europe that it underpins, continues to thrive and we ask that no choice be made that might undermine this.

Signed



Firstname, name, role and organisation

Internship 1: Culture Action Europe is looking for a communications intern
We are currently looking for a full-time communications intern, preferably for a period of 6 months (or minimum 3 months), ideally available to join our team in May the latest, or as soon as possible.

The main task of the intern would be to help develop Culture Action Europe’s new strategic communication plan in line with the new direction that the organisation is taking, including a business plan as well as an elaborated proposal for how to re-structure CAE’s communication tools in a way that capitalize on the web-/social media tools and knowledge that have been generated by the ‘we are more – act for culture in Europe’ campaign (www.wearemore.eu). The task would be carried out in close collaboration with the CAE staff and would also include consulting CAE members.

The internship would also include administrative tasks and support to the CAE secretariat’s ongoing tasks such as policy monitoring, membership management and office management.

If you feel that you’ve got the right communications background (students with an EU policies/cultural studies background are welcome to apply but please note that this internship position targets communication students specifically) and profile to carry out the task described above, enjoy thinking out of the box and have a good command of English and French, then we’d love to hear from you!

Please send your application, consisting of your CV and motivation letter, by e-mail to: advocate@cultureactioneurope.org mentioning your name and “Communications intern” in the subject line. Deadline for applications is the 10th of April 2013

A modest financial contribution towards costs linked to the execution of the internship could be provided upon receipt, but the ability to source additional own funding is an advantage.

Due to a high number of interested candidates, we are able to respond to successful candidates only, thank you for your understanding.

Internship 2: Culture Action Europe is looking for a web design intern
We are currently looking for a full-time, highly motivated web design intern, preferably for a period of 6 months (or minimum 3 months), ideally available to join our team in May the latest, or as soon as possible. The internship will provide a talented web design student with the opportunity to develop his/her skills and experiences in a creative environment!

The main task of the intern would be to develop a new design for and re-structure CAE’s website based on the new direction that the organisation is taking, in a way that also capitalizes on the web-/social media tools and knowledge that have been generated by the ‘we are more – act for culture in Europe’ campaign (www.wearemore.eu). The task would be carried out in close collaboration with the CAE staff and would also include consulting CAE members.

We are looking for someone who:
•    Is a good coder in one or several programming languages (we are currently using Joomla! and WordPress)
•    Has solid knowledge of the most commonly used communications- and social media-tools (we are currently using Mailchimp, Facebook, Twitter and Vimeo)
•    Has demonstrable typography, layout and design skills
•    Likes to think out of the box
•    Has good oral and written communication skills (we work in English and French)
•    Is an energetic team player
•    Has a demonstrable interest in Culture Action Europe’s work

If you feel that you’ve got the right background and profile for this internship, then we’d love to hear from you!

Please send your application, consisting of your CV and motivation letter, by e-mail to: advocate@cultureactioneurope.org mentioning your name and “Web design intern” in the subject line. Deadline for applications is the 10th of April 2013

A modest financial contribution towards costs linked to the execution of the internship could be provided upon receipt, but the ability to source additional own funding is an advantage.

Due to a high number of interested candidates, we are able to respond to successful candidates only, thank you for your understanding.

The President of the European Parliament, Mr Martin Schulz, made the following statement following the adoption in EP plenary of the resolution on the negotiating mandate on the EU budget 2014-2020:

 ”This important resolution paves the way forward for possible negotiations with the Council on the long-term EU budget 2014-2020. The European Parliament cannot accept the proposal from the Member States without the fulfilment of certain essential conditions.  There must be maximum overall flexibility and an ambitious agreement on own resources.  The European Parliament also demands a compulsory, legally binding and comprehensive revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework decided by qualified majority in the Council.  Parliament will not even start negotiations until all unpaid payment claims for 2012 are covered.  These issues are of fundamental importance for the Parliament.  The European Parliament will not accept the proposal from the Member States unless there is movement from the Council on all of these issues.”

Read Martin Schultz’ full statement here:

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/the-president/en/press/press_release_speeches/press_release/2013/2013-march/press_release-2013-march-7.html

Read more in this EUobserver article:

http://euobserver.com/institutional/119406

Designed as a set of stimulating conversations, the outcomes of the 2013 European Debates will be recapped during CAE’s annual conference towards the end of the year. The first debates will be hosted by the spring conference organized by Opera Europa and RESEO in Vienna (on the theme of ‘Engaging citizens in the creation process in times of social and economic instability’, April 4-7) and IETM’s Spring Plenary in Dublin (as part of their ‘Big debate: How to trust and be trusted’, April 11-14).