News

The Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) is finally set in motion. The joint declaration on the Conference was officially signed on 10 March by President Sassoli for the European Parliament, Prime Minister Costa of Portugal – who is holding the rotating EU presidency – on behalf of the Council and Commission President von der Leyen. The first formal…

Today, the world celebrates International Women’s Day. Despite considerable progress, gender disparity in the cultural and creative sectors continues to persist. Works of women artists are underrepresented in the permanent collections in Europe and the US. Auction sales are no different – female artists’ works sell with a remarkable discount compared with men’s. Women artists still face significant difficulties to…

“Given the exceptional nature of the crisis, […] if the rule of law is not upheld, then the public health emergency risks becoming a human rights disaster, with negative effects that will long outlast the pandemic itself,” said Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, at the early beginning of the pandemic in 2020. Nothing far from reality.  Worldwide,…

Cultural and Creative Sectors (CCSs) have been among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, severely impacting the economic and social situation of the sector. The containment measures have largely affected the venue- and visitor-based sub-sectors such as the performing arts and heritage and have further worsened the already existing vulnerability and precariousness of many non-standard workers in the CCS,…

The debate is developing on the main features of the New European Bauhaus (NEB), the latest initiative launched by the European Commission to “bring the Green Deal closer to the European citizens.”  During her first State of the Union speech, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that the Green Deal is also a cultural project and announced the…

With the advent of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) meant to curb the effects of the pandemic in the EU Member States, uncertainty still hangs over if and how these funds will reach the cultural and creative sectors.  Last Tuesday night, the European Parliament gave go-ahead to €672.5  Recovery and Resilience Fund (RRF), the biggest building block of the…

One month away from the commemoration of the lockdown anniversary in European countries, the long-standing and renewed debate on participation in and access to culture as a fundamental human right persists. Notwithstanding a budgetary increase of Creative Europe, the only EU programme specifically dedicated to supporting European cultural and creative sectors and cultural cooperation, European cultural and creative sectors (CCSs)…

The Digital Single Market (DSM) directive, voted in April 2019 by the European Parliament, is to be transposed into the national laws of Member States by June 2021. Recognizing the weak position of authors in the contractual relationship, the European Union set minimal standards so that authors get fairer conditions as to their remuneration and the exploitation of their works….

Cultural heritage is back in the European spotlight this week. Both the Parliament and the Commission held votes and open debates on the subject, including funding schemes for cultural heritage, and its role for peace and security. New and old challenges lay ahead for funding opportunities for cultural heritage within the European Union. A two-day workshop dedicated to complementary funding…

Almost one month in Brexitland, a litany of new headaches has just begun for the cultural workers on both sides of the Channel. While many were relieved that a trade and cooperation deal was finally struck on Christmas’ Eve, adjustments to the new life outside the bloc are causing pain and raising questions and doubts in the United Kingdom, with…