Culture Guides

Up one level

Guidelines on collective agreements of self-employed people - guide by EUbusiness — last modified 29 September 2022, 22:24 CET

The European Commission adopted on 29 September Guidelines on the application of EU competition law to collective agreements ('‘Guidelines') regarding the working conditions of solo self-employed people.

European Bauhaus prizes 2022 by EUbusiness — last modified 20 January 2022, 17:24 CET

The EU opened applications for the 2022 New European Bauhaus prizes on 18 January. The 2022 edition will celebrate new inspiring examples of the transformations the initiative wants to bring about in our daily lives, living spaces and experiences.

DiscoverEU - background guide by EUbusiness — last modified 15 January 2020, 22:59 CET

Around 20,000 18-year-olds are receiving a travel pass under the fourth and latest round of DiscoverEU, which attracted some 75,000 applications from across Europe.

Culture at heart of EU international relations by EUbusiness — last modified 09 June 2016, 12:17 CET

A new strategy to put culture at the heart of EU foreign policy adopted on 8 June is in line with the European Commission's priority to make the EU a stronger global actor. Culture can play a crucial role in strengthening international partnerships.

A profile of current and future audiovisual audiences by EUbusiness — last modified 11 February 2014, 11:20 CET

Nearly 70% of Europeans download or stream films for free, whether legally or illegally, according to a new European Commission study on audience behaviour. It also finds that 40% of smartphone owners and more than 60% of tablet owners watch films on their devices. The study finds that this is not surprising because, while the public takes a lot of interest in films as a whole, the nearest cinema is often some distance from them and the choice on screen is frequently rather limited. It suggests that the European film industry can increase revenues by exploiting different types of profit-making online platforms to increase the availability of films and reach new audiences. The audience behaviour study is based on research, analysis and interviews with audiences in 10 Member States - the UK, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Poland, Croatia, Romania, Lithuania and Denmark. Nearly 5 000 people aged from 4-50 were asked about their film habits and preferences.

Directive on collective management of copyright and related rights and multi-territorial licensing by EUbusiness — last modified 04 February 2014, 13:48 CET

New rules on music copyright approved by the European Parliament on 4 February 2014 aim to make it easier for online providers to get licences to stream music in more than one EU country. The Directive on collective rights management and multi-territorial licensing of musical works for online use, already informally agreed with Council, should stimulate the development of EU-wide online music services for consumers and ensure that artists' rights are better protected and that they receive adequate royalties promptly.

Creative Europe funding: EUR 170 m in 2014 by EUbusiness — last modified 12 December 2013, 17:08 CET

Cultural and creative organisations wishing to bid for funding in 2014 through Creative Europe, the European Union's new programme for the cultural and creative sectors, can start to prepare their grant applications from today.

Repatriation of illegally removed national treasures by EUbusiness — last modified 30 May 2013, 17:01 CET

The European Commission is taking new action to help Member States recover national treasures which have been unlawfully removed from their territory.

Consultation on the rapidly converging audiovisual world by EUbusiness — last modified 25 April 2013, 00:06 CET

Millions of Europeans catch up with their favourite TV series on a smartphone on the way to work, watch online content on their living room TV, or put their own user-generated content online. There are more than 40.4 million "connected TVs" in Europe, and they could be in the majority of EU households by 2016. These changes are sweeping away traditional boundaries between consumers, broadcast media and the internet. The Commission wants to explore what this convergence of technology and content could mean for Europe's economic growth and innovation, cultural diversity, and consumers (especially those that may need protection, such as children}.

Orphan works by EUbusiness — last modified 04 October 2012, 20:06 CET

Orphan Works are works which are protected by copyright but whose creators cannot be identified or found. The new Directive on Orphan Works will provide Europe's libraries, archives, film heritage institutions, public broadcasters and other organisations acting in the public interest with the appropriate legal framework to provide on-line cross-border access to orphan works contained in their collections. The Directive is a central element of the Commission's strategy to create an enabling framework for the use of intellectual property announced in its intellectual property strategy adopted in May 2011.

Creative Europe: EC plan to boost cultural and creative sectors - guide by EUbusiness — last modified 23 November 2011, 23:10 CET

Thousands of people working in cinema, TV, culture, music, performing arts, heritage and related areas would benefit from increased EU support under the new 'Creative Europe' programme unveiled by the European Commission today. With a proposed budget of €1.8 billion for the period 2014-2020, it would be a much-needed boost for the cultural and creative industries, which are a major source of jobs and growth in Europe. The new programme would allocate more than €900 million in support of the cinema and audiovisual sector (area covered by current MEDIA programme) and almost € 500 million for culture. The Commission is also proposing to allocate more than €210 million for a new financial guarantee facility, which would enable small operators to access up to €1 billion in bank loans, as well as around €60 million in support of policy cooperation and fostering innovative approaches to audience building and new business models.

Recommendation on the digitisation of cultural material and its preservation online - guide by EUbusiness — last modified 29 October 2011, 00:23 CET

The European Commission has adopted a Recommendation asking EU Member States to step up their efforts, pool their resources and involve the private sector in digitising cultural material. This is seen as essential to make European cultural heritage more widely available and to boost growth in Europe's creative industries. The digitised material should be made available through Europeana, Europe's digital library, archive and museum.

Europeana - Europe's digital library - guide by EUbusiness — last modified 18 November 2010, 13:03 CET

Anyone in the world can now access over 14 million digitised books, maps, photographs, paintings, film and music clips from cultural institutions across Europe through Europe's digital library Europeana. Launched in 2008 with two million objects, Europeana has already passed the initial target for 2010 of 10 million objects. On 18 November 2010 the Reflection Group ("Comité des Sages" - Maurice Lévy, Elisabeth Niggemann, Jacques de Decker) set up by the Commission to explore new ways to bring Europe's cultural heritage online addressed the EU's Council of Culture Ministers and the European Parliament's Committee on Culture. The Comité des Sages' report is due to be published at the beginning of 2011.

European Heritage Label by EUbusiness — last modified 11 March 2010, 00:07 CET

The European Commission on 9 March proposed to establish the 'European Heritage Label' as an EU-wide initiative. The aim of the Label is to highlight sites that celebrate and symbolize European integration, ideals and history. The proposed Decision to establish the Label will be submitted to the EU's Council of Ministers and the European Parliament for adoption and could come into effect in 2011 or 2012.

Return of cultural objects unlawfully removed from the territory of a Member State by Ina Dimireva — last modified 11 January 2010, 23:54 CET

This EU Directive secures the return of national treasures of artistic, historic or archaeological value that have been unlawfully removed from the territory of a Member State once controls have been abolished at internal frontiers.

Export of cultural goods by Ina Dimireva — last modified 10 December 2009, 16:45 CET

In order to ensure that EU exports of cultural goods are subject to uniform checks, this Regulation makes the presentation of an export licence compulsory for their export outside the customs territory of the European Community.

European Union Prize for Literature - briefing by EUbusiness — last modified 16 July 2009, 16:51 CET

The names of twelve European authors to receive the first ever European Union Prize for Literature were announced today by t he European Commission, the European Booksellers Federation (EBF), the European Writers' Council (EWC) and the Federation of European Publishers (FEP). The prizes will be presented during an Award ceremony in Brussels on 28 September. In recognition of his oeuvre and literary success Henning Mankell, the well-known and bestselling Swedish author, has accepted the role of Ambassador of the European Union Prize for Literature for the coming year.

Key Audiovisual and Media Policies of the European Union: eCommunications by Ina Dimireva — last modified 09 July 2009, 16:24 CET

To improve innovation and increase efficiency in the telecommunications sector, the European Union promotes increased competition through a series of regulatory rules.

Commission prolongs film support rules until end 2012 - briefing by EUbusiness — last modified 28 January 2009, 17:12 CET

The European Commission has today adopted a Communication extending the validity of the state aid assessment criteria for the production of films and audiovisual works until 31 December 2012. These criteria, laid down in a Commission Communication of 2001, are used by the Commission to approve Europe’s national, regional and local film support schemes under the EU's state aid rules. The new Commission Communication also identifies a number of trends which are likely to have to be addressed by a future Cinema Communication. Across the EU, around EUR 1.6 bn is spent on national film support each year.

Europeana, Europe's Digital Library - briefing by EUbusiness — last modified 20 November 2008, 17:02 CET

Europeana, Europe's multimedia online library opens to the public today. At www.europeana.eu, Internet users around the world can now access more than two million books, maps, recordings, photographs, archival documents, paintings and films from national libraries and cultural institutions of the EU's 27 Member States. Europeana opens up new ways of exploring Europe’s heritage: anyone interested in literature, art, science, politics, history, architecture, music or cinema will have free and fast access to Europe's greatest collections and masterpieces in a single virtual library through a web portal available in all EU languages. But this is just the beginning. In 2010, Europeana will give access to millions of items representing Europe's rich cultural diversity and will have interactive zones such as communities for special interests. Between 2009 and 2011, some €2 million per year of EU funding will be dedicated to this. The Commission also plans to involve the private sector in the further expansion of Europe's digital library. In September 2007, the European Parliament supported, in a resolution voted by an overwhelming majority, the creation of a European digital library.