European Commission and CoR agree on importance of recovery of cultural and creative sectors

This was discussed earlier today at a remote meeting as part of CoR’s 142nd Plenary session

Today was another busy day for representatives at the European Committee of Regions (CoR). This was the third day, out of the four-day long 142^nd Plenary Session, which is taking place entirely online. On the agenda this morning the representatives had the opportunity to talk recovery of the cultural and creative sectors with Commissioner Mariya Gabriel whose portfolio includes Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth.

The representatives expressed their anxieties caused by the vulnerability of the cultural industries in the wake of strict lockdown restrictions and the subsequent impact that has caused on related industries, such as tourism and heritage. Commissioner Gabriel heard their concerns and shared her commitment to see the recovery of the relevant sectors with the help of the dedicated EU programmes.

Not only recovery but a sustainable recovery with emphasis on partnership

The online debate also centred on the new European Research Area as a platform for more confident and streamlined policies in education, research and innovation. Commissioner Gabriel agreed that innovation has and will play a central role in the recovery process and its benefits will have to be such that they also boost the cultural industry, which has shown to be especially vulnerable during the pandemic despite its traditional importance in European life.

“We need to emphasize the exchange of information and good practices, including through networking. Many opportunities are provided by the programs in my portfolio with an ambitious budget,” wrote Commissioner Gabriel on her Facebook page in a summary of the debate.

As concrete examples, she made references to the different EU programmes which are under her portfolios, such as Horizon Europe (95.5 billion euros), Erasmus+ (26 billion euros) and Creative Europe (2.4 billion euros).

She was also in full agreement about the need to better synergize efforts among the different levels of authorities on the continent, from EU institutions down to municipal administrations. Here, she cited the European Bauhaus initiative as the ideal example of a policy which combines sustainability, innovation with cultural and artistic output and urged representatives to do their part in promoting it in their respective regions.