With classrooms closed and cultural events cancelled, the arts and education sectors have been hit hard by COVID-19. How can the EU support them?
The European Parliament will put the spotlight on the hard-hit European culture sector in a debate in plenary this week with Culture Commissioner Mariya Gabriel. MEPs want the EU to come up with a specific plan to help rebuild the EU’s cultural and creative sector, damaged by the economic impact of mandatory social distancing
More flexible state aid rules, adopted as part of the coronavirus response initiative, as well as the Next Generation EU recovery plan, have given member states more options to support their cultural enterprises and creators. However, no targeted EU funds have been earmarked for the sector.
Members of the European Parliament’s Culture and Education Committee have been calling for significant help, especially for small businesses and individual actors. They have also been highly critical of the Commission’s proposal to cut financing for the Creative Europe programme within the next long-term EU budget.
That said, most of the responsibility in the culture sector falls on the individual member states. EU-level action in cultural policy is limited to supporting member states in their efforts to promote cultural heritage and diversity, support artists and their work, and enabling the mobility of culture professionals.
Still, more clearly needs to be done – and the Commission has taken initiatives in support of the sector.
Culture
1: Specific attention
Most sectors have suffered because of lockdown and social distancing measures adopted in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. The creative sector is no exception – with concerts cancelled, cinemas, theatres and museums closed, and exhibitions postponed all over Europe, artists found themselves struggling to earn a living. The specificity of the cultural sector makes it more vulnerable – this was discussed during a meeting between European culture ministers on April 8.
During this meeting, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth Mariya Gabriel said the European Commission had assured funding through the European Social Fund, Cohesion Fund, State Aid model and SURE model. The meeting was followed by a declaration by the 26 culture ministers, which stressed how culture is a reflection of unity in diversity: “Artists are the backbone of our culture and specific attention must be granted to them.” The European Parliament underlined the special nature of the creative sector and the difficulties faced by artists and called on the EU to provide support.
2: Supporting performing arts
The European Commission is supporting the performing arts with €2.5m for distribution of performing arts works. A call for tenders has been published with the aim of selecting a contractor or consortium in the fourth quarter of this year, so that funds can reach the sector as soon as possible. The support scheme will also address the impact of mobility on the environment and the role of digital culture.
3: Cooperation projects speeded up
The 2020 Cooperation project is the most substantial part of the Creative Europe Culture sub-programme. The call, worth an overall €48.5m, was launched in November 2019 – however, in view of the pandemic, the evaluation process has been speeded up so that the first substantial part of the budget will reach the creative sector via pre-financing instalments quickly. Projects can start this September and last up to four years.
The Creative Europe programme – which aims to support the European audiovisual, cultural and creative sector – has also been adapted to the new realities caused by COVID-19. Among the new measures taken are reinforcing the relationship with member states through virtual meetings, proposed measures to mitigate the sector’s carbon footprint, and there is currently an open call for support to cinema networks.
4: Sharing art from home
Despite the lockdown, inspiration and creativity persevered in artists’ homes and online. For this reason, in April, the Commission launched social media campaign #CreativeEuropeAtHome – with the aim of highlighting great online cultural activities by beneficiaries of the Creative Europe Programme.
5: Creatives Unite
A new platform, Creatives Unite, was launched with the support of the Commission, to serve as a space for the cultural and creative sector to share information about initiatives responding to the COVID-19 crisis. On June 26, an online conference, United for a New Future, was held, to discuss how the challenges for the creative ecosystem will be heard and supported.
Education
In the fields of education and training, EU action is designed to support that taken by individual member states. What forms has this support taken in recent months?
1: Force majeure for Erasmus+ students
The coronavirus pandemic has affected the thousands of young people involved in Erasmus+. During COVID-19, 25 per cent of student exchanges were cancelled, more than 37 per cent of students experienced at least one major problem related to their exchange, and half of the students whose programme continued moved to online classes. To mitigate such effects, the European Commission said it will make the programmes as flexible as legally possible, and recommended that the national agencies responsible for the management of student exchanges invoke force majeure – this would allow them to assess the possibility of approving additional costs up to a maximum grant amount and to postpone planned activities for 12 months.
2: Helping the Solidarity Corps
Launched in 2016 to replace the European Voluntary Service, the Solidarity Corps aims to give young people the opportunity to volunteer on projects in their country or abroad, and therefore help vulnerable people and communities across Europe. MEPs called on the European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth Mariya Gabriel to ensure that flexibility is applied, participants of the Solidarity Corps programme retain their status, and exceptional costs in connection with COVID-19 are reimbursed.
3: Education and innovation
Education fosters innovation – and innovation cannot push the pause button because of the pandemic. On May 14, the European Institute of Innovation and Technology launched a €60m coronavirus crisis response initiative, to support innovative solutions for health, social and economic recovery. Through this initiative, additional funding will be invested to help innovators action high-impact solutions to counter the challenges caused by COVID-19.
4: Online learning resources
Following the outbreak of COVID-19 and the closure of schools, digital learning resources took front row in virtual classrooms. Digital resources are critical in that they connect educators and learners, help them access information and environments not usually available in every home or school, and support educators’ continued professional development. To help ensure continuity in learning and training, the EU has made available a wide range of online learning materials, in the form of online platforms and EU-funded projects.
5: New Digital Education Action Plan
On June 18, the European Commission launched a public consultation on the new Digital Education Action Plan. The intention is to gather EU-wide views of citizens and stakeholders on the future of digital education during the COVID-19 recovery period and beyond. The public consultation is open until September 4.
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