Decision No 508/2000/EC of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

Decision No 508/2000/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council

of 14 February 2000

establishing the Culture 2000 programme

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular the first indent of Article 151(5) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(1),

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions(2),

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty, in the light of the joint text approved by the Conciliation Committee on 9 December 1999(3),

Whereas:

(1) Culture has an important intrinsic value to all people in Europe, is an essential element of European integration and contributes to the affirmation and vitality of the European model of society and to the Community's influence on the international scene.

(2) Culture is both an economic factor and a factor in social integration and citizenship; for that reason, it has an important role to play in meeting the new challenges facing the Community, such as globalisation, the information society, social cohesion and the creation of employment.

(3) With a view to meeting the needs of the cultural dimension in the European Union, the Community has to take cultural aspects into account in its action under provisions of the Treaty other than Article 151, in particular in order to respect and to promote the diversity of its cultures; in this context, the Commission should encourage the dissemination of information about the opportunities for the cultural industries in the Structural Funds, in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general provisions on the Structural Funds(4), and undertake studies to that end.

(4) In view of the growing importance of culture for European society and the challenges facing the Community at the dawn of the 21st century, it is important to increase the effectiveness and consistency of Community measures in the cultural field by proposing a single guidance and programming framework for the period 2000 to 2004, bearing in mind the need for the Community policies concerned to take greater account of culture; in this respect, the Council Decision of 22 September 1997 regarding the future of European cultural action(5) calls on the Commission to make proposals with a view to establishing a single instrument for programming and financing aimed at the implementation of Article 151 of the Treaty.

(5) If citizens give their full support to, and participate fully in, European integration, greater emphasis should be placed on their common cultural values and roots as a key element of their identity and their membership of a society founded on freedom, democracy, tolerance and solidarity; a better balance should be achieved between the economic and cultural aspects of the Community, so that these aspects can complement and sustain each other.

(6) The Treaty confers responsibility on the European Union for creating and ever-closer union among the peoples of Europe and for contributing to the flowering of the cultures of the Member States, while respecting their national and regional diversity and at the same time bringing the common cultural heritage to the fore; special attention should be devoted to safeguarding the position of Europe's small cultures and less widely-spoken languages.

(7) The Community is consequently committed to working towards the development of a cultural area common to the European people, which is open, varied and founded on the principle of subsidiarity, cooperation between all those involved in the cultural sector, the promotion of a legislative framework conducive to cultural activities and ensuring respect for cultural diversity, and the integration of the cultural dimension into Community policies as provided for in Article 151(4) of the Treaty.

(8) To bring to life the cultural area common to the European people, it is essential to encourage creative activities, promote cultural heritage with a European dimension, encourage mutual awareness of the culture and history of the peoples of Europe and support cultural exchanges with a view to improving the dissemination of knowledge and stimulating cooperation and creative activities.

(9) There is a need, in this context, to promote greater cooperation with those engaged in cultural activities by encouraging them to enter into cooperation agreements for the implementation of joint projects, to support more closely targeted measures having a high European profile, to provide support for specific and innovative measures and to encourage exchanges and dialogue on selected topics of European interest.

(10) The Kaleidoscope, Ariane and Raphael cultural programmes set out, respectively, in Decision No 719/96/EC(6), in Decision No 2085/97/EC(7) and in Decision No 2228/97/EC(8) of the European Parliament and of the Council marked the first positive stage in the implementation of Community action on culture; however, the Community's cultural endeavours should be simplified and reinforced on the basis of the results of the evaluation and achievements of the abovementioned programmes.

(11) In accordance with the Commission's communication ‘Agenda 2000’, the effectiveness of measures at Community level should be increased, notably by concentrating the resources available for internal policies, including cultural action.

(12) Considerable experience has been acquired, particularly through the evaluation of the first cultural programmes, the wide-ranging consultation of all interested parties and the results of the Cultural Forum of the European Union held on 29 and 30 January 1998.

(13) The Community's cultural activities should take account of the specific nature, and hence the specific needs, of each cultural area.

(14) The conclusions of the European Council at Copenhagen on 21 and 23 June 1993 called for the opening of Community programmes to the countries of central and eastern Europe which have signed Association Agreements; the Community has signed, with some third countries, Cooperation Agreements which contain a cultural clause.

(15) This Decision therefore establishes a single financing and programming instrument for cultural cooperation, entitled the ‘Culture 2000 programme’, for the period from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2004.

(16) This Decision lays down for the entire duration of the programme a financial framework constituting the principal point of reference, within the meaning of point 33 of the Interinstitutional Agreement between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission of 6 May 1999 on bugetary discipline and improvement of the budgetary procedure(9).

(17) The measures necessary for the implementation of this Decision should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission(10).

(18) In accordance with the subsidiarity and proportionality principles established by Article 5 of the Treaty, as the objectives of this action cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States, they can therefore, by reason of the scale or effects of the proposed action, be better attained by the Community; this Decision is limited to the minimum required for the attainment of those objectives and does not go beyond what is necessary to that end.

(19) The Culture 2000 programme should be the only programme operating from the year 2000 in the field of culture; therefore Decision No 2228/97/EC should be repealed,

HAVE DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

(1)

OJ C 211, 7.7.1998, p. 18.

(2)

OJ C 51, 22.2.1999, p. 68.

(3)

Opinion of the European Parliament of 5 November 1998 (OJ C 359, 23.11.1998, p. 28), Council Common Position of 28 June 1999 (OJ C 232, 13.8.1999, p. 25) and Decision of the European Parliament of 28 October 1999 (not yet published in the Official Journal). Council Decision of 24 January 2000 and Decision of the European Parliament of 3 February 2000.

(4)

OJ L 161, 26.6.1999, p. 1.

(5)

OJ C 305, 7.10.1997, p. 1.

(6)

OJ L 99, 20.4.1996, p. 20.

(7)

OJ L 291, 24.10.1997, p. 26.

(8)

OJ L 305, 8.11.1997, p. 31.

(9)

OJ C 172, 18.6.1999, p. 1.

(10)

JO L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.