The EU’s culture ministers exchanged views on the ties between culture and innovation on the first day of the informal Culture and Audiovisual Council, on 7 and 8 October in Brussels. They also called for a role for the cultural and creative industries in the ‘Europe 2020’ strategy.

“It is essential that policies to support and strengthen innovation include more cultural and creative industries in their scope of action,” noted Fadila Laanan, culture minister of the French community of Belgium, on behalf of the Belgian EU Presidency. The sector’s competitiveness potential needs to be stimulated, she added, which requires “the development of creative, entrepreneurial and intercultural skills”.

FINANCING INSTRUMENTS

The minister also mentioned the organisation of appropriate support and financing instruments to meet the needs of SMEs, which make up the majority of firms in the cultural and creative industries.

The conclusions on Europe’s innovation policy are set to be adopted at this November’s Competitiveness Council. The European Council is then expected to approve them in December. For Laanan, this is a “one-of-a-kind opportunity to be seized to consolidate the place of cultural industries in the new EU innovation policy and thus to contribute fully to the objectives of the ‘Europe 2020’ strategy” (see Europolitics4057).

On 8 October, the audiovisual ministers will discuss policies in support of cinema.