Figel’ report hails EU’s creative growth-engine

Recommendations drafted by industry say creative sector could gain from wider access to EU funding, a single market and better government co-ordination

Europe’s creative industries could do more to boost economic growth, according to a study to be considered by EU ministers later this month.

Ján Figel’, the Commissioner for culture, will announce recommendations on boosting the competitiveness of the sector.

Long disregarded as a serious economic asset, the so-called cultural and creative sector is now to be touted as an engine of future economic growth.

Described as the "first attempt to capture the direct and indirect socio-economic impact of the cultural sector", the report on the creative economy will be a subject of debate among EU culture ministers meeting in Brussels later this month (13-14 November). The sector, with a turnover of €654 billion in 2003, is now bigger than the car industry (at €271bn in 2001), according to a summary of the report seen by European Voice.

The study was produced for the European Commission by consultants KEA European Affairs (KEA) with help from the Turku School of Economics in Finland and market research firm MKW.

"The importance of the creative economy cannot be underestimated. I think it [the report] will certainly give a boost to policymaking in that area," said Ted Shapiro of the Motion Picture Association, an international lobby representing the film industry.

Helen Smith, co-managing director of KEA said: "The creative economy is growing faster than other sectors. This report will play a vital role in making sure it now obtains matching political prioritisation."

The report goes beyond traditional cultural industries such as filmmaking, music and publishing to embrace sectors such as fashion, architecture and product design. It also examines the potential impact that creative businesses can have on the development of other sectors such as information and communications technology (ICT) industries.

At national level, increased co-ordination between economic and culture ministries is recommended. At supranational level, the establishment of a true single market for creative people, products and services is encouraged to break down fiscal and social barriers stifling EU-wide development of the sector.

The scarcity of sector-specific statistical tools in existence is a measure of how little importance has been accorded to the industry thus far. The report places great emphasis on future development of intelligence gathering methods to measure and monitor creativity. "Existing statistical tools are not appropriate and available statistics are scarce," it says. Statistical comparisons are described as being "too broad" and data as "rarely comparable".

Companies are urged to make more use of existing EU funding schemes such as the seventh research framework programme and EU structural funds to seize opportunities presented by technological developments and to support the switchover to digital technologies.

Lurking in the background, however, are ongoing disputes over industry revenue models. Currently, artists receive duties charged on devices such as MP3 players as compensation for legal private copying, a practice labelled as unfair by the ICT sector. Fearful that the Commission would cave in to pressure from technology giants such as Sony and Microsoft, filmmakers and musicians stepped up their defence of the practice last month. The creative sector is now hoping to see the Commission delivering on its promises of future support with a ruling in favour of the tax later this year.

"For the rights-holders, this is essential," said Patrick Zelnik, president of IMPALA, which represents independent record labels. "Levies are a vital source of income. They are not a tax.

They are actually compensation for the income lost from private copying. Our artists and creators need this."

IMPALA’s secretariat is run by KEA, the consultancy which wrote the study on the creative economy.

Recommendations drafted by industry say creative sector could gain from wider access to EU funding, a single market and better government co-ordination