BELONGING AND BECOMING, Culture in the Future of Europe.
Before the informal meeting of the European Council on May 9th, 2019, EMCY has sent an open letter to President Donald Tusk calling to make culture an integral part of the future of Europe.
Culture is the foundation of who we are as human beings and of our collective life. The future of the European Union as a shared project is difficult to imagine without the explicit recognition of its cultural dimension.
Since 1957, in the Treaty of Rome, the power of culture as a uniting force is recognised. After 60 years, again the Rome declaration pledges to build a social Europe through the promotion of cultural diversity. Finally, the European Council confirmed this vision at the Gothenburg Leaders’ Summit in November 2017. Now European cultural organisations are asking to pursuit these promises and to act giving to culture the right importance.
This letter asks Europe’s leaders to include culture and culture development in the priorities of European policies for the future. Cultural and educational organisations are in need of support, in order to create values reuniting the European people not as a set of nations but as a whole population.
Regarding our requests, the SPD party (social democrats) advocates for the continuation of EU´s funding programme for culture “Creative Europe” and asked to double its budget. Furthermore they would like to increase the share of culture in the overall EU budget 2021-2027.
“Unity is strength”, this is clear, but in order to concretize these words a wire to connect all people is necessary. That could be culture, that should be culture.
This is what people are asking and this is what people deserve, so Europe can really be consolidated and stronger.
Read the open letter in full: Letter to the European Council President, Donald Tusk, May 2019
“Voting is your chance to help shape its future” this is what the European Parliament said, to know more you can watch a video on the official website.
#Road2Sibiu #FutureofEurope
