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

I am focussing more on the technical aspects of the process as Suteu termed them. It is importantto acknowledge, nevertheless, that any real assessment of results of the so-called technicalaspects of the accession will be evaluated mainly by scrutinizing what impact the enlargementmight have had, politically and in a broader cultural sense, not only on the member states – bothold and new – but also on cultural communication and cooperation with those European countriesthat remain outside the Union.The 2004 enlargement included eight post-socialist countries, whose economies and politicalsystems are in transition. Another two countries of this kind – Bulgaria and Romania – are nowfinalizing negotiations and will soon become full members. Croatia officially became a candidatefor entry in 2004, and began negotiations for full membership in autumn 2005 at the same time asTurkey. This is a large number of countries that are simultaneously going through major reforms.It will be interesting in the future to compare their strategies and achievements and to evaluate thesuccess of their reforms.Concerns about entryDespite their differences and individual features, all these countries embarked on the roadtowards the EU with similar goals and expectations. Initially, most citizens looked at this processwith great enthusiasm. But, as the process continued, they weighed up what they saw as thecosts and benefits of integration; preliminary assessments and the concrete results began tochange people’s general attitudes.Mucica’s discussion of the impact and results of the enlargement asked:How can existing or future structures and policies best address the issues ofenlargement towards the East, while retaining a pan-European perspective?How can enlargement promote and protect national cultural identities as wellas cultural diversity, whilst promoting a European identity? Does enlargementoffer broader access to diverse cultural products and cultural services, as well asmeans of production and distribution? Or will enlargement have another form of ahomogenizing effect on the culture of European countries?(Mucica 2003)In the light of my earlier exploration of the lack of definition of culture and cultural policy, it isarguable that many of these questions remain unanswered precisely as a result of that lack.As there were no targets or elaborated strategies, there were no benchmarks from which toevaluate the results. An overview of the negotiating position of the candidate countries presentedby the national teams before the beginning of negotiations included only technical aspects ofharmonizing with the acquis communautaire and preparation for participation in communityprogrammes; there was no reference to broader targets.While enlargement negotiations were going on, debates about its cultural impact explored muchbroader topics and included discussions about national identity, the position of national culturesin the common European space, cultural cooperation within the EU and beyond, and other issues38Part 2 Cultural issues in the process of EU enlargement