A continued support for CCS in the (new) MFF

April 21, 2020, 12:40 pm

The European Parliament backs the call coming from the cultural and creative sectors for an increased support to tackle the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and sends a strong message to the EU’s Heads of States and governments, which will meet again on Thursday 23 April on the bloc’s common response to the coronavirus outbreak. 

European Cultural and Creative Sectors (CCS) are among the most hit by the current crisis and will struggle to recover as lockdowns ease. However, the ongoing pandemic is showing us the great value of culture to forge resilient societies and increase our sense of community and well-being during challenging times of isolation at home, as we have stressed in our letter “Remaining Together in Times of Crises” addressed to the EU leadership. 

In its recent joint resolution on EU coordinated action to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences, the European Parliament urged to provide support, both at Union and national level, to CCS. The amendment on CCS was approved by more than 85% of MEPs, who have voted remotely for the second time since the start of the containment measures.  

The resolution also pays attention to some specific features of the CCS, such as the presence of intermittent freelancers and self-employed workers whose income has reduced dramatically and unexpectedly and who struggle in receiving support from the (national) social security systems. 

In the same text, the Parliament calls on the Commission to propose a massive recovery and reconstruction package for investment to support the bloc’s economy after the crisis, which should be part of the new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). Indeed, lights are back on the EU’s long-term budget, as a new video-meeting of the European Council approaches.

The pledge shared by the MEPs echoes that of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who has been stressing on the need of a post-coronavirus “Marshall Plan for Europe” financed by an increased MFF. The debate on the future of an ambitious EU seven-year financial envelope is back and is here to stay. Figures have still to be agreed by leaders of the 27 EU Member States, who did not manage to reach a common position last February. Now, the European Commission intends to propose targeted modifications to the MFF under negotiation to make a deal viable by the end of the year and avoid a contingency budget for 2021

Some of the challenges that already exist may have been reinforced by the COVID-19 crisis, while new ones emerge. A reshuffled MFF will better align with the priorities of the new Commission – notably, for a greener and more digital Europe -, and will address the fallout of the coronavirus outbreak. This is why supporting European cultural sector is more important than ever before. We must make sure that the acknowledgment of the role of culture and the arts to help build a more resilient EU amid this unprecedented crisis is translated into significant and sustainable sectors-wide support in the post-2020 (reformed) MFF. 

In a Facebook live chat organised by the European Parliament on 21 April, the Chair of the CULT Committee Sabine Verheyen has recalled the need for doubling the funding of the Creative Europe programme, which needs to remain a priority also in light of the socio-economic impact of COVID-19, while keeping the mainstreaming of culture in other multiannual programmes.

Cultural and creative sectors need to be vigilant and monitor that the next multiannual programmes are well resourced and equipped to be real game-changers for culture, creativity and the arts. 

Follow Culture Action Europe’s #actforculture #double4culture #cultureneedsmore hashtags to join our advocacy campaigns.

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