Culture and the arts enable the creation of a thriving European society and sustainable economy.

The signatories of this appeal therefore feel the urgency for Europe to put culture and the arts at the heart of European policies and nourish the EU’s political project with a cultural one.

They request that European institutions, by which we mean the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council, and policy makers in all Member States ensure the that:

• the EU takes culture and the arts into account in an integrated way in all areas of policy making, ensuring a sustainable environment for cultural activities today and in the future
• the EU includes the development and the protection of culture and the arts in its strategic goals and overall political priorities and action plans (such as the investment plan, the further implementation of the EU2020 Strategy, the future EU2030 Strategy)
• the Commission checks the cultural impact of its policy and regulatory proposals, alongside the economic and social impact. This way culture would be taken into account horizontally, in line with article 167 paragraph 4 TFEU.
• the EU promotes European culture and arts outside the Union and fosters not only political and economic but also cultural relations with neighbouring and other third countries
• the EU acts as guarantor for fundamental rights including the freedom of expression, creation and programming
• cultural policies of the Member States are supported by the EU through adequate programmes which truly address the needs of the cultural sectors
• future proofed cultural policies are developed at EU and Member State level