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

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government, ho<strong>we</strong>ver, <strong>the</strong>y have an increasing opportunity to apply for <strong>EU</strong> funds,also for <strong>cultural</strong> ends.’(ERICarts/Council <strong>of</strong> Europe, 2005)It was reported that Slovenia, directly linked with <strong>the</strong> requirements <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>EU</strong>, <strong>need</strong>ed to introduce12 statistical regions. It is unclear if this regionalization will affect <strong>cultural</strong> development or <strong>cultural</strong>infrastructure (ERICarts/Council <strong>of</strong> Europe ibid). This was a typical example <strong>of</strong> an indirect <strong>impact</strong>that could be incurred by <strong>the</strong> process <strong>of</strong> accession.The so-called `Copenhagen Criteria’, for <strong>the</strong> enlargement <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>European</strong> Union in 2004,introduced specific political criteria for <strong>EU</strong> membership, which had not been requested from thosecountries which had joined <strong>the</strong> Union earlier, such as Austria in 1995. These conditions <strong>we</strong>readditional to <strong>the</strong> <strong>need</strong> for harmonization with <strong>the</strong> acquis communautaire. The Copenhagen Criteria<strong>we</strong>re agreed at <strong>the</strong> <strong>European</strong> Council meeting in Copenhagen in 1993. They defined eligibility for<strong>EU</strong> membership.The Copenhagen Criteria referred, among o<strong>the</strong>r things, to <strong>the</strong> stability <strong>of</strong> institutions, democracy,<strong>the</strong> rule <strong>of</strong> law, human rights and <strong>the</strong> protection <strong>of</strong> minorities, which complicated <strong>the</strong> process <strong>of</strong>accepting new countries into <strong>European</strong> Union membership (Amann 2002). Many <strong>cultural</strong> policyprovisions specifically addressed human rights and protection <strong>of</strong> minorities.The Croatian example sho<strong>we</strong>d <strong>the</strong> relevance <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> inclusion <strong>of</strong> political criteria for <strong>cultural</strong><strong>policies</strong>. Discussions about preparing for <strong>EU</strong> membership highlighted <strong>the</strong> <strong>need</strong> for medialegislation and practices to be aligned with <strong>EU</strong> legislation. In reality, only <strong>the</strong> field <strong>of</strong> audio-visualmedia in Croatia had to be harmonized while <strong>the</strong> remaining demands, especially in <strong>the</strong> field <strong>of</strong>printed media, only called for respect <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> political criteria usually known as `freedom <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>press’ (Perus˘ko C˘ ulek, 1999).O<strong>the</strong>r issues61

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