Secure a future for cultural life in Europe

Following the open letter published by more than 110 pan-European networks on 30 October 2020, 'Make culture central in the EU recovery', ELIA is joining this group again to reiterate its collective call to national governments and the European Commission. In the second open letter, published on 18 March 2021 by the group and coordinated by Culture Action Europe, the European cultural community calls on Member States and the European Commission to secure a future for culture and cultural life in Europe.

Culture must be included in each and every National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) that EU countries will be presenting to the European Commission before the 30 April deadline. Together with the representatives of the European cultural ecosystem, ELIA urges governments to dedicate at least 2% of the Recovery Fund to culture and make culture a priority sector when using funds from Next Generation EU. In addition, the 110 cultural networks call on Member States to engage with the representatives of their cultural communities and civil society organisations in the design and implementation of the NRRPs. ‘Long-term structural support to rebuild the European cultural ecosystem needs to be co-developed, involving all relevant stakeholders, both public and private’.

Ensuring that culture is explicitly included in the NRRPs will help secure both the future of the sector and its important contribution to Europe’s future. Reinvigorating the cultural ecosystem not only offers hope to millions of workers who saw their jobs endangered by the pandemic, it can also create new meaning and purpose for all Europeans and the European project.

Read the letter in full