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

65 See Annex 1 for a copy of thequestionnaire.66 This is line with Sedelmeier whoindicated that one of the challenges lies in theneed to assess the vast policy-making processregardless of the fact that it is continuouslychanging and developing (Sedelmeier, inWallace and Wallace [eds] [2000]).67 Two slightly different versions ofthe questionnaire were sent out to therespondents in the eight new member statesfrom central and eastern Europe and to therespondents in Rumania and Bulgaria.68 Eleven respondents included sixresearchers, four public servants and onecultural activist.69 This is an opinion shared by severalrespondents.70 Progress reports can be found at theEC website.71 This is particularly interesting for postsocialistcountries because they have notyet completed the process of structuralchanges and have barely begun to adjusttheir cultural markets to the new rules of themarket economy (Mucica 2003). Mucicastressed that the adjustment of existinginstruments regulating culture or draftingnew legislation, which are the most importantgoals of the reform of cultural sectors, cannotbe assessed without taking into account thereform of public administration, tax systemsor initiatives for decentralization, whichhave not necessarily been aimed at culture,but have been fundamentally changing thecultural sector. She also emphasized that it isvery difficult, if not impossible, to draw a linebetween the changes that are happening inpost-communist countries as a consequenceof the enlargement and those that areconsequences of the transition to a marketeconomy or adjustments to requests for theliberalization of trade.72 Negotiations on Chapter 20 wereopened between 1998 and 2000 andwere provisionally closed with most of thecountries in 2002, without any `transitionalarrangements’ (meaning that matters wereadministered in a straightforward way, andthere was no need for delay in applyingspecific laws or policies).http://europa.eu.int/comm/enlargement/negotiations/chapters/chap20/73 This was not reported by any of therespondents. Usually this kind of assessment/evaluation comes from outside. In this case,it was the opinion of the Commission, whichconstantly stresses that the harmonization isan ongoing process.74 Such as: European Conventionon Cinematographic Co-production(ETS No.147, 2 October 1992); the Fundfor funding co-productions, `Eurimages’(1988), and the European Convention onTransfrontier Television (ETS No.132, 1998).Progress reports on the pre-accessionNotes85