Opera Europa
Opera Europa is the leading service organisation for professional opera and ballet companies and festivals throughout Europe.
ID: 386061897144-52
Lobbying Activity
Response to A Culture Compass for Europe
12 May 2025
The overarching aims of European cultural policy should be: promoting and developing European culture; ensuring democratic access and participation. This is vital to building a lasting culture of participative democracy. We highlight the EUs 2023 report Culture and Democracy. Of the five likely impacts in the call for evidence, a focus on culture must lead. This will generate positive impacts in the other four dimensions. Putting the other dimensions first risks diminishing them all. At the heart of any cultural policy framework, there must be a programme dedicated uniquely to investing in culture. Creative Europe has made good progress in becoming more accessible. A standalone programme for culture will ensure the sectors needs can be met, plus greater visibility for culture and investment in it. Continuity also represents the most efficient approach. European cooperation must remain at the centre of EU cultural investment, enabling Member States to go beyond what they can achieve alone. Cross-border challenges (such as digital transformation, inclusion, sustainability) should be integrated where relevant into the development and promotion of European culture, and democratic access and participation. We support the aim of integrating culture more visibly and deeply into EU policymaking. Rather than discursive acknowledgements of the value of culture, it is necessary to introduce structured mechanisms for collaborating with other DGs and maximising mutual benefits between the cultural sector and other sectors. Eurobarometer shows again that participation in culture is stratified along lines of age, education, socio-economic background etc. Investment in culture must address this strategically as a priority. To this end, the importance of culture in state-funded education must be recognised in the Compass, with relevant advocacy, research and investment. Arts education must comprise the trio of: developing practical skills, learning about cultural heritage (tangible and intangible), access to a range of cultural experiences. Cultural organisations cannot alone be responsible for cultural engagement among young people; rather, strategic investment and flagship programmes must show how the culture sector adds value to a strong state education. We urge the Commission to consider an EU-wide cultural pass for young people aged 18-25 to support the development of our shared European identity. We are enthusiastic about being part of developing this, building on our experience of the O-Pass. The Compass should advocate for investment from EU research and competitiveness funding in robust research into culture at EU level. All recipients of cultural investment should be supported to deliver and disseminate robust evaluation and research in relation to their own work. Competitiveness in relation to culture means building on our collective strengths, putting the promotion and development of our cultural heritage front and centre. We urge the Commission to stress the importance of artistic freedom at all possible practical and political levels. The Compass should prioritise artistic freedom and drive integration of artistic freedom into EU legislation. The Commission should consider the role that social conditionality can play in fair working conditions for artists and cultural professionals. Introducing this principle must go hand in hand with increased investment in culture. To achieve the above, we need a financially strong programme dedicated uniquely to culture. We call on the EU to increase investment in culture to 2% in the next MFF. Opera is the European artform par excellence. For over 400 years, opera has drawn on rich European literary and musical traditions, been a catalyst for the mobility of artists and works, combining multiple artforms and forms of artistic expertise. The Compass should include practical and political recognition of the value of opera, for its continued promotion and development.
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