Culture and the European Union in a Global Context

The EU, having been established as a "single market," has long been used to dealing with trade in cultural commodities. However, it only acquired rather limited legal competence to intervene in cultural policy in 1993. The principle of subsidiarity enshrined in the legislation gives protection to the national culture policies of the member states while specifically excluding harmonization. EU action is therefore restricted to minor grant schemes and supplementary European cooperation. Terminology is not well defined, often leading to false expectations and disappointment on the part of the professional arts and heritage sectors, which can misunderstand, or even resent, cultural policy instrumentally for social and economic development purposes. On international trade agreements and relevant UNESCO Declarations (for example, Cultural Diversity), the EU is now taking a stronger and more coherent line. Protecting the rights of creators and producers is seen as an increasingly important obligation where there is a need for some standardization to underpin a common European view, despite differing national legal systems and approaches.