Why we need European cultural policies: the impact of EU ...

Niedobitek (see page 29) drew attention to the fact that at this point the Commission justifiedits involvement in cultural issues because it had redefined the cultural sector as a socioeconomicframework, in which people produce and distribute cultural goods. In that sense it wasunderstandable that the Commission focussed on economic and social problems related to thecultural field. Niedobitek questioned whether this in itself could be labeled as a cultural policy, orshould rather be explained as a logical consequence of developments in other fields where culturehad become an issue of legitimate interest for the Commission (Niedobitek 1997).In 1976 and 1979,25 the European Parliament adopted two resolutions inviting the Commissionto submit formal proposals for the treatment of culture at the Community level.Up until the present, the European Parliament has remained one of the main advocates of cultureat the European level.In 1982, the first conference of the ministers of culture of the EC adopted a declaration, signed inStuttgart in 1983 (Kaufman and Raunig, 2002). This invited the ministers responsible for culture to:■ explore possibilities for the promotion of cultural cooperation with special emphasis onaudio-visual media■ identify possibilities for cooperation in promoting and protecting cultural heritage■ facilitate contacts between artists and writers in member countries■ work on the promotion of their activities within the Community and beyond■ work on better coordination of cultural activities when cooperating with third countries[by `third countries, the EU denotes nations which are outside the Union]From 1984 until 1986 the European Council adopted a number of resolutions on severaltopics including:■ fighting piracy■ the distribution of European films■ treatment of audio-visual products of European origin■ the resolution establishing the European cultural capital■ networking of libraries■ promoting the participation of youth■ international cultural itineraries■ protection and conservation of heritage■ promoting the translation of literary worksThe year 1987 represented another turning point: the European ministers of culture officiallyestablished the Council of Ministers of Culture and the ad hoc Commission for CulturalIssues. The European Parliament also adopted another important document, Initiating culturalactivities in the EC.26 The Directive on Television without frontiers 27 was first adopted in1989 and in 1991 the first framework programme for the support of theaudio-visual industry, MEDIA I,28 was established. It is worth stressing here that, in thebeginning, the audio-visual sector was not part of the acquis communautaire. However, thepowers of the Community were introduced gradually, some resulting from decisions of the32Part 2 European Union, culture and cultural policy: the impact of EU enlargement