White paper on creativity - ebla center

Chapter 2interest”. Thus since 2002 the Councilof the European Union has invitedMember States to co-operate to enablethe Commission to assess theapplication of article 151. The Councilitself then appealed to Member Statesand the Commission to treat culture asan essential element in Europeanintegration.When we move on to consider theforms of EU action in the sector, wediscover that so far they have consistedof a series of financial actions forcultural activities: firstly, throughspecific programmes concerning theart-historical heritage (especiallyprogrammes in the sectors ofaudiovisual co-operation, research andtechnological development for theconservation of the cultural heritage)and, secondly, through programmes inthe framework of social and regionalpolicies.From the first point of view, theactions were connoted in apromotional key: improving knowledgeand the spread of culture and thehistory of European countries, supportfor non-commercial cultural exchanges,and encouragement of artistic andliterary creation. The projectsimplemented so far have aimed toencourage European co-operation inthe sector, developing specific actionsand supporting cultural initiatives tofavour cultural exchanges and eliminateobstacles to citizens’ access to culture.From the second point of view,through structural funds, projects werepromoted with the aim of developingthe cultural heritage in depressed areasor in areas undergoing deep economicdecline.Moreover, the Treaty establishing aConstitution for Europe introduced aclause (article 1-3), whereby the Unionaims to respect cultural and linguisticdiversity (the so-called “culturalexception”) and to monitor thesafeguarding and development of theEuropean cultural heritage, especially inthe case of agreements (in the sector ofexchanges of cultural and audiovisualservices) liable to undermine thecultural and linguistic diversity ofMember States.As far as cultural policies areconcerned, the Treaty confirms theguidelines of the EC Treaty not onlyon encouraging co-operation betweenMember States and supporting actionsto develop the spread of knowledgeabout peoples’ culture and history butalso in terms of state aid.On the strength of this legal basis, theprocess of expanding the role ofculture went through a number ofdistinct stages.The first came in March 2000 when theEuropean Council of Lisbon and theheads of state and government of theMember States agreed on the objectiveto make the European Union the mostdynamic and competitive knowledgeeconomy worldwide by 2010. In thiscontext the interest in the themeshown by the Commission washighlighted by the linkage betweenculture, capacity for innovation and theWHITE PAPER ON CREATIVITY 43