Culture Action Europe’s Contribution to the Culture Compass call for evidence
The Culture Compass will serve as a strategic framework for EU cultural policy. It aims to improve the consistency of EU policies and strengthen coordination between funding and policy. This initiative will give visibility to EU action in support of Europe’s diverse culture and its rich cultural heritage, improve working conditions of artists and cultural professionals, and unlock the competitive potential of the cultural and creative sectors. The European Commission is holding a call for evidence until 30 May 2025.
Culture Action Europe has submitted its contribution and encourages its members to do the same. As you’ll see, we used the Democracy-Competitiveness-Security structure from our Ask, Pay, Trust campaign (we already have more than 600 signatures; please endorse if you haven’t already!) We also added more evidence-based content from our research papers. Feel free to use our submission as inspiration, but please avoid copy-pasting. The Commission does not consider explicitly coordinated responses.
There’s a character limit of 4000 (including spaces). You can also attach documents; we attached a list of our policy briefs, position papers, and reports.
Culture contributes to the EU’s key priorities: competitiveness, democracy, and security. But to do so effectively, it needs dedicated policy and funding that give artists the freedom and means to respond creatively and independently to challenges.
Culture Action Europe (CAE) proposes the following logic for the Compass:
1) Strengthen culture as a sector through a standalone Creative Europe programme.
2) Recognise culture across other policy areas as a vector: instrumental, but not instrumentalised. As shown in our State of Culture report, instrumentalisation does little to improve sector conditions.
- Competitiveness
Evidence: Culture is a major EU economic sector that enhances global competitiveness and drives innovation. Each €1 invested in EU cultural action can yield up to €11 in GDP. Yet cultural workers report precarious working conditions; over two-thirds of them lack adequate social protection. 96% of sector representatives support a European status for artists to ensure fair pay and social rights.
Generative AI also threatens creators by using their content without consent or compensation. For example, Meta has scraped data from piracy sites to train its AI systems.
If Europe wants to remain competitive, it must ensure fair conditions for artists, value creativity in innovation, and protect space for experimentation and critical reflection. Our vision of competitiveness is values-based.
CAE recommends:
– Establish an EU-wide definition for cultural professionals and set minimum standards for fair working conditions.
– Recognise artistic research as a valid knowledge production method in EU research and competitiveness funding.
– Ensure AI regulation protects creators from unauthorised use of their content and guarantees fair remuneration.
- Democracy
Evidence: Cultural participation builds democracy and cohesion (Porto Santo Charter). It increases civic engagement and strengthens empathy and trust. However, artistic freedom is under threat: 34% of respondents in our Creative Pulse survey reported limitations on their autonomy. Recent examples from Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, etc. show political interference in culture: dismissals, budget cuts, and censorship. At the same time, the EU lacks tools to intervene and allocates just 0.2% of its budget to culture (disproportionately to the sector’s value).
CAE recommends:
– Allocate at least 2% of the MFF 2028–2034 to culture via a strong standalone Creative Europe programme.
– Integrate artistic freedom into the EU Rule of Law Report.
– Recognise cultural democracy and socially engaged arts as priorities in the Culture Compass and next EU Work Plan for Culture.
- Security
Evidence: Autocratic regimes weaponise culture. In 2024, Russia spent over €1 billion on cultural propaganda—three times the Creative Europe budget (€335 million). As of March 2025, Russia has damaged 1419 cultural heritage sites and 2233 cultural facilities in Ukraine. China also extends influence through Confucius Institutes, Belt and Road cultural exchanges, TikTok, and media.
CAE believes that investing in cross-border European cultural cooperation rooted in democratic values is a strategic defence against disinformation and hybrid threats.
CAE recommends:
– Include culture in the European Democracy Shield, Internal Security Strategy, and ReArm Europe as defence against disinformation and psychological warfare.
– Integrate culture into the EU Preparedness Union Strategy and mental health policy to strengthen resilience.
– Allocate 2% of Russia’s frozen assets to Ukraine’s cultural recovery.