Squabble over culture funding

Date: 22/05/1997

By Leyla Linton

THE future of two EU cultural programmes hangs in the balance as MEPs and member state representatives prepare to meet to try to settle their differences next week.

Pilot projects for both Ariane, which aims to increase literary knowledge in the Union, and Raphael, which promotes Europe's cultural heritage, are due to come to an end soon - and will not be renewed unless agreement can be reached at talks beginning next Wednesday (28 May).

A successful outcome to the negotiations between the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers will depend on a compromise being struck over the budget and possibly the length of the programmes.

Culture ministers are arguing for a two-year programme with a budget of 7 million ecu for Ariane, but MEPs want 10.5 million ecu allocated to the scheme.

The gap between the two sides is even wider when it comes to future financing for Raphael, with ministers calling for a four-year programme with a total budget of 30 million ecu, while the European Parliament is demanding funding to the tune of 86 million ecu.

Dutch Christian Democrat Peter Pex, chairman of the Parliament's culture committee, will table a compromise proposal at next week's meeting and says he is hopeful of getting an agreement. But he insists that more money is essential.

“If the Council accepts my proposal, we can have a conciliation in ten minutes. I want to have a solution. We need to have these two programmes,” he said. “I blame the Council of Ministers for blocking this all the time. I do not want to bow to the dictate of the Council.”

Pex said the problem arose because it was an area where the decision in Council had to be taken unanimously. As a result, even though only one or two countries were against a larger budget for the programmes, progress was stalled. “It is a terrible situation where one delegation can block the whole process,” he added.

Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain are among the member states ready to allocate more money for the two cultural programmes. But Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and France are less enthusiastic about increasing their funding.