Access to culture in the European Union

Please note: Each In-Depth Analysis is assigned a DOI (digital object identifier), which is a safe and long term way of ensuring a hyperlink to the full text of this report. However, when ESO creates this record, on occasion the DOI still has not been activated by the EU Bookshop. If you find the source url hyperlink does not work please use the alternative location hyperlink listed as a related url.Culture, a broad term with a variety of interpretations, is a competence of Member States. However, the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union vests the EU with a supportive role towards Member States' cultural policies, protection of cultural heritage, promotion of culture and cultural cooperation.

The European Commission's culture work programme covers accessible and inclusive culture as an objective of EU cultural actions, in the conviction that culture can play a role in social integration, education and well-being, in terms of consumption and also through active engagement.

People consume cultural goods and services by attending cultural events, such as concerts, film screenings, plays, exhibitions and dance and music performances, visiting heritage sites or museums, and reading books and newspapers, as ways to spend leisure time and achieve personal development.

By measuring and accessing the impact of cultural consumption on Europeans' lives and the cost, availability, accessibility and attractiveness of the culture on offer, cultural policy makers and fund providers can make informed decisions on the directions and risks to take. Supporting access to culture and cultural consumption can also contribute to the development of the cultural sector and the cultural and creative industry, which has developed significantly over recent years.

Having resisted the 2008 crisis, it contributes to around 3.5% of EU GDP and 3% of EU jobs. The cultural services and goods on offer in the EU are diverse and rich, but the missing link is support on the demand side in terms of audience building and the promotion of a varied 'cultural diet'.

European Parliament: European Parliamentary Research Service: In-Depth Analysis, July 2017: Access to culture in the European Union http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/IDAN/2017/608631/EPRS_IDA(2017)608631_EN.pdf

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