The External Dimension of EU Cultural Action and Free Trade: Exploring an Interface

The purpose of this article is to reach a better understanding of the ways in which culture has been integrated into the EU's external economic relations, particularly through the efforts deployed for enhanced cultural cooperation with third countries. The analysis examines how the EU has sought to promote the diversity of its cultures while fostering more balanced cultural exchanges with partner countries and regions via the negotiation of cultural cooperation protocols accompanying its trade and economic agreements, and the conclusion of specific agreements on cultural cooperation. Following an overview of the EU's cultural powers in general, the analysis focuses on three cultural cooperation protocols, negotiated with the Cariforum states, the Central America group of countries and Korea, and the cultural cooperation agreement entered into with Colombia and Peru. Designed to intensify cultural cooperation, these instruments create a framework for engaging in strengthened policy dialogue on culture and cultural diversity via recourse to a variety of tools. The analysis explores the main features of the collaborative arrangements made; investigates the means selected for encouraging and advancing cultural interaction; identifies the similarities and the differences between the cultural cooperation strategies devised; and places them within the broader trade versus culture debate that has characterized their elaboration.