What does the EU do for Culture?

Last month, we celebrated our annual Culture Night, or Oíche Chultúir as Gaeilge, across the country. More than 1,700 events took place in various Irish towns and cities, from queer céilithe to language lessons. Culture Night seeks to “actively promote the belief that culture is alive, treasured and nurtured in people’s lives”. But what about on the European Union level – is there such thing as a European culture? What policies does the EU have in place to promote cultural activities, and what funding is available for innovative cultural initiatives?  

As the winter months draw closer and autumn leaves begin to fall, we will start to cling closer to our culture comforts such as the cinema, a good book, an exhilarating concert, a new tv series, or a trip to the theatre. In this Just the Facts, the EMI team gets their creative juices flowing and examines what the EU can do for culture. 

Why is culture important in the EU? 

The EU’s motto is “United in Diversity” and at the heart of this phrase is cultural and linguistic diversity. Culture plays a fundamental role in our lives. It gives us a sense of identity and belonging at the local, regional, national and European level. It can also foster local and regional development and enhance citizens’ wellbeing. Cultural heritage is an important aspect, which is expressed, for example, through cultural sites and museums. However, it can also be about the books we read, the films we see, and the games we play.  

Along with its intrinsic value, culture also provides important social and economic benefits to the EU. Together, the arts, culture and creative sectors contribute about 4.2% to the EU’s GDP. According to Eurostat, “cultural employment” accounted for about 7.8 million people in the EU in 2021, representing about 3.8% of total jobs across the EU, and 3.2% of Ireland’s total employment.  

Supporting cultural policies is vital for social cohesion in the EU as it fosters inclusion, while preventing marginalisation, averting conflict, and providing a sense of community. Between 2021 and 2027, the EU’s Cohesion Fund aims to distribute almost €400 billion among EU regions and a part of these funds will go towards the cultural sector. Despite these benefits, culture is one of the most “complex and contested fields of European integration”. This is because it is difficult to define a common “European” culture, history or public space when the EU consists of 24 official languages, and 27 separate countries, each with its own distinct history, and cultural heritage. 

Definition and legal basis 

UNESCO’s Universal Declaration of Cultural Diversity defines culture as “a set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual, and emotional features of society or a social group, and that it encompasses, in addition to art and literature, lifestyles, ways of living together, value systems, traditions and beliefs”. However, it is true that the definition of culture is by nature fluid and ever evolving. There is no strict definition of what culture is in any of the founding Treaties of the EU and so it is open to Member States as to define it.  

In its policy framework, Culture 2025, the Irish government sets out its approach for the cultural sphere, including definitions for the terms “arts”, “creative industries”, “cultural heritage”, and “creativity”.  

The EU only has supporting competency in the area of culture, as set out in Article 6 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). This means that any initiatives that the EU takes in this area can only support, coordinate or compliment the cultural policy of Member States. 

As set out in various articles of the TFEU, the EU has a significant role in the field of audiovisual and media. This includes ensuring the smooth functioning of the single market, promoting cultural diversity, and supporting the competitiveness of the European audiovisual industry.   

CULT-ural development  

As with any EU policy area, culture is discussed and debated within the European Parliament. Policies pertaining to culture are negotiated by the Committee on Culture and Education (CULT). The CULT Committee consists of 30 MEPs as full members and 30 substitute members and is responsible for a range of sectors, including culture, education, media, youth and sports policy.  

The constitutive meeting of the new CULT Committee took place on 23 July, with German MEP Nela Riehl (Greens/EFA) elected as Chair for a two-and-a-half-year term. Currently, Ireland has no MEP serving as a full or substitute member of the CULT committee. However, the full list of serving MEPs and their contact details can be found here.  

ILiana Ivanova  is currently the Commissioner responsible for the EU’s cultural and creative sectors and the Commission department in charge of culture is the Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (DG EAC). However, there are also other Commission departments working on issues connected to the cultural and creative sectors, including DG CONNECT, DG GROW, and DG RTD. The Commissioner-designate, who is due to take over this portfolio for the next Commission mandate (2024-2029), is Glen Micallef. His prospective role is titled “Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport”. 

The Council of the EU also contributes to the EU’s cultural policies through its Education, Youth, Culture, and Sport (EYCS) Council configuration. The EYCS Council consists of ministers from all EU member states who are responsible for education, culture, youth, media, communication, and sport. It is the platform where cooperation regarding cultural policy between the Commission and EU Member States takes place, and it also helps set strategic priorities for the sector. 

CULT-ivating policy initiatives 2019-2024 

The EU aims to mainstream culture in all its policies, including in education, research, social policy, regional development and external relations.  

The last European Parliament and European Commission mandate (2019-2024) was very active in terms of legislative output, and many key policy initiatives were taken in the field of culture. This period was also characterised by a context of polycrisis, including the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the energy crisis, and the challenges faced by the EU to respond to migration and integration in a humane and effective manner.  

European Agenda for Culture 

The main strategic document for EU cultural policy remains the New European Agenda for Culture, adopted by the Commission in  2018. The Agenda is currently implemented by the Resolution on the EU Work Plan for Culture (2023-2026) adopted by the Council in 2022. It sets out the high-level strategic objectives for the sector, as well as improved working methods for EU countries and state-level stakeholders, while the Resolution sets out specific priority areas for cooperation in EU policymaking.  

Creative Europe Desk in Ireland 

Creative Europe is a programme specifically dedicated to promoting the diversity and competitiveness of the cultural and creative sectors. It was first launched in 2014 for seven years and was relaunched in 2021 until 2027 with a €2.44 billion budget. It brings together several initiatives, namely Creative Europe CULTURE, Creative Europe MEDIA, as well as a Cross-sectoral strand which incorporates Creative Europe Desks. The Creative Europe Desk in Ireland has an accessible website, as well as CULTURE and MEDIA Offices, located in Dublin and in Galway, where the team provides support on Creative Europe funding calls to the Irish audiovisual and cultural sectors. 

The Creative Europe programme also gave rise to Europa Cinemas, the first network of cinemas focusing on European films. The network currently comprises a total of 1,279 cinemas across the EU and beyond. You may have noticed its label before watching a film in Ireland, for example in the Lighthouse in Dublin or in Pálás in Galway.  

Other Cultural Initiatives 

European Capitals of Culture 

European Capitals of Culture (ECOC) is one of the EU’s best-known and most successful cultural initiatives. It was set up in 1985 and has since been awarded to 60 cities across the EU and beyond. There are three European Capitals of Culture for 2024: Bad Ischl (Austria), Bodø (Norway) and Tartu (Estonia).Ireland has held the European Capital of Culture three times: Dublin (1991), Cork (2005) and Galway (2020). 

Lux Award 

The EU’s cultural policy supports various prizes in the fields of cultural heritage, architecture, literature and music. However, one prize worth highlighting is the European Parliament’s LUX Audience Award.  

The award recognises outstanding European cinema and aims to foster dialogue on key societal issues such as freedom of expression and the rule of law, further engaging the broader European public. This year five unique films have been nominated and you can vote for your favourite here.  

Looking Ahead 

Under the Irish government’s 2025 budget, the arts and culture sector will be allocated funding of €380m and a further €328 will be allocated to the media sector. It is evident that culture plays a key role in Irish society and this sector continues to benefit from a wide range of EU policies, including funding and legislative protection.  

Looking forward, there are many areas that could be focused on during the next European Parliament and Commission mandate. The role that the culture and creative sectors play regarding European social cohesion and integration should not be underestimated and yet its potential is not yet fully explored in social and economic terms in Europe.  

As the EU shifts to focusing on improving its competitiveness, the culture and creative sectors should be fully integrated as sectors for innovation, similar to technological and economic innovation. Furthermore, future EU funding must plan for increased longer-term and more sustainable funding for cross-sectoral and cross-border collaboration in order to prepare the sector for future crises or disruptions. Lastly, the AI Act is set to be fully implemented in the coming years (by August 2026) and these emerging technologies will also strongly affect the culture sector. Therefore, the full application of the AI Act, including the effective regulation of AI technologies should be closely monitored, with artists and culture actors’ rights taking centre stage. 

In the current European socio-political environment marked by increasing xenophobia, extremism, Euro-scepticism and electoral disenchantment, culture can play an essential role through promoting inclusion, diversity and social cohesion. Culture thrives on diversity as it offers a space where difference can be asserted and maintained in a positive way. 

Famously, one of the EU’s “pioneers”, Jean Monnet, was wrongly quoted as saying, “If we were to do it all over again, we would start with culture”. Later, the quote was attributed to Jack Lang, the French Minister of Culture in the early 1980s. However, regardless of the source, it is a quote which should ring true for the next EU mandate as culture shapes our future. 

Further reading

Read more about the future perspectives of EU culture policy

Apply for funding opportunities via Creative Europe Desk Ireland (creativeeuropeireland.eu) 

Read European Movement International’s position on culture policy: The Unifying Role of Culture and Cultural Heritage in European Integration – European Movement 

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