Following the initiative of Culture Action Europe, AER, together with over 100 pan-European cultural and creative sector’s associations, co-signs a joint letter calling the European Commission as well as Heads of State and Government, Ministers for European Affairs and Ministers for Culture, to protect culture as part of the coronavirus recovery plans and dedicate at the very least 2% of national Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) budget to culture and creative sectors.
As societies are going through unprecedented turmoil, the efforts call on the EU and its Member States to place culture at the core of each and every recovery plan, which aims at a sustainable, inclusive and future-looking revival of our social and economic life.
Cultural and creative sectors (CCSs) themselves are among the most seriously damaged by the pandemic. Cultural activities are being halted, millions of jobs are frozen or wiped out, micro and small businesses are on the brink of bankruptcy and many talents are forced to leave the sector altogether.
The pan-European community of 110 networks and associations, urges that CCSs are consulted in the design of and integration in the national recovery and resilience plan of their respective countries.
Namely, the signatories ask that at the very least 2% of the national RRF budget is allocated to the CCSs, as called for by the European Parliament in its recent Resolution on the “Cultural Recovery of Europe”, and that culture is an integral part of recovery and resilience plans, that could be also mainstreamed across the flagship initiatives identified by the Commission.