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

the Draft Treaty Establishing a Constitutionfor Europe, as adopted by the EuropeanCommission in July 2003 and by theEuropean Council in June 2004.39 Art III-181 of the Draft ConstitutionalTreaty40 Art III-217 of the Draft ConstitutionalTreaty41 Term `l’exception culturelle’ firstappeared sometime between 1986 and1994, during the so-called Uruguay roundof prolonged world trade negotiationsabout GATS (General Agreement on Tradein Services). The member states of theEuropean Communities, under strong Frenchinfluence, did not offer to liberalize certainservices in cultural sectors and includednumerous exceptions from the MFN principle(Most Favoured Nation Clause). Europeanstates refused to offer liberalization of audiovisualservices as well as those related tolibraries, archives and museums. However,it is important to note that in fact exceptionof culture does not really exist as such. TheEU has agreed in December 1993 thatculture is a part of GATS but did not makecommitments.43 At the Informal Council of EU Ministersof Culture and Audio-visual in May 2003, itwas stressed that the enlargement togetherwith the discussion on the future of Europeare two developments which raise the issueof the European cultural identity as a basisfor the operation of the internal market in thesectors of culture and audio-visual and thequestion of the position of culture and culturalpolicy in the future European Constitution.The ministers also established a clear linkbetween the discussion on the Europeancultural identity after the 2004 enlargementand the functioning of the economy of leisure,the tourist market and the cultural industries.They recognized also a direct link betweenthe need for protecting and promoting theidentity of member states with the discussionon the institutional and political image andperspective of the EU, as well as its positionin the world.However, even though they recognizedthat existing measures for the promotionof European culture are necessary butnot sufficient and that there is a needfor more active cultural policy, they onceagain concluded that they insisted on therespect of their primary competence in thefield of culture, and thus turned once againexclusively towards increasing the communitybudget distributed in the field of cultureand audio-visual as well as towardsimprovement of existing instruments inthe audio-visual sector.42 In the final chapter of this study, whenreflecting on current and future developmentof the European cultural policy, I will furtherexplain why I believe that this approachcannot offer a solution for major challenges ofcontemporary cultural policies in the long run.44 Draus F, (2001)`Est-Ouest, le dit et le non dit.’, Sociétal, no 32.82Notes