Date of release : 23-05-2005

Policy area : Education, Youth and Culture Education, Youth and Culture

Event : Education, Youth and Culture Council

Octavie Modert, Secretary of State for Culture, Higher Education and Research, presided over the "Culture" Council of the European Union, which met in Brussels on 23 May.  The Ministers had an exchange of views on the basis of questionnaires, prepared by the Luxembourg Presidency, on the mobility of museum collections and the Commission’s proposal to launch a new "Citizens for Europe" programme. The British and Luxembourg Presidencies submitted their nominations for the "European Culture Capital" jury for the following year, the jury that will decide on the cultural capital for 2010.

The Ministers listened to the report from a group of experts presided over by Ronald de Leeuw, Director of the Rijksmuseum of Amsterdam. The museology experts have been analysing the problems that currently hinder the increased mobility of European collections, and looked into measures that would contribute to an increase in loans of collections between European museums.

At the end of the "Culture" session, Octavie Modert stated: "We have had a productive exchange of views. The Ministers for Culture acknowledged and praised the work of the group working on the mobility of collections, and are ready to follow a number of the recommendations, but we would like more specific details on the methods of insurance and non-insurance. If many can accept a State guarantee and advocate following the recommendations, most have not declared themselves in favour of legislation in this area."

The delegations also commented on the Commission’s proposal to establish the "Citizens for Europe" programme, which attempts to bring together the citizens of Europe and the Union in which they live. "The proposal will seek to meet one of the great challenges facing the Union, namely how to bring it closer to its citizens. It is a matter of promoting an active European citizenship by encouraging cooperation among citizens and the citizen organisations of the various countries," declared Octavie Modert.

The Presidency has also informed the Council of the progress made on the negotiations of the UNESCO Convention on the Diversity of Cultural Content and Artistic Expressions. The third inter-governmental meeting of experts will be held from 25 May to 4 June. The progress made by the Luxembourg Presidency on behalf of the European Union and the Commission was greeted by the Ministers of the European Union.

The Luxembourg Presidency once again reported on the progress made for the future "Culture 2007 Programme". The Presidency also informed the Council of the seminars it has organised during the past five months: the second European Cultural Forum "Rediscovering Europe: A European Policy favouring Cultural Industries"; the seminar "Tourism and Culture: The Challenge of European Integration".

Octavie Modert highlighted the inauguration of the Anna Lindh Euromed Foundation for Dialogue among Cultures in Alexandria, Egypt under the Luxembourg Presidency.

The British and Luxembourg Presidencies submitted their candidates for the jury that will choose the European Cultural Capital for 2010, namely Sir Jeremy Isaacs and Claude Frisoni. The Council also heard Commissioner Jan Figel’s call for an in-depth review of the programme relating to European Culture Capitals.