Subject: Measures to support workers in the cultural and creative sectors
The cultural and creative sectors are among those most affected by the COVID-19 crisis. However, European culture accounts for a remarkable share of Europe’s GDP, which is an indication of its importance.
In Greece, culture is an additional driving force for other sectors of the economy, such as for tourism, while it also acts as a catalyst, bringing together and developing various service sectors. The Commission has unveiled a number of support measures, which, however, omit a significant number of professional artists and creators, such as e.g. independent artists, street artists, technicians and make-up artists who are known to be mainly employed in flexible forms of work. In the case of Greece, as in other Member States, it would appear that the non-exhaustive list of categories of worker given above is not eligible for support.
In view of the above, will the Commission say:
What measures will it take to enable these workers to survive under decent conditions, since they are unable to work at present and will not be able to do so for several more months due to the restrictive measures taken to deal with the health crisis?
Does it intend to include support for the artistic and creative sector in the existing programmes for dealing with the consequences of the coronavirus or will it create new investment instruments for those working in these sectors, who have not so far benefited from the support measures?
Answer given by Mr Schmit on behalf of the European Commission
(20 July 2020)
The Commission acknowledges the significant role of the cultural and creative sectors in Europe and the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on workers in this field, especially on those with precarious employment.
The Commission has put forward, and the Union has adopted measures which Member States can apply to the cultural and creative sectors, notably the two Corona Response Investment Initiatives (CRII and CRII Plus), allowing Member States to reallocate funding quickly to priority areas, and the temporary Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency (SURE) to protect employees and self-employed against unemployment and income losses. In addition, the Commission’s recent proposals for a fair socioeconomic recovery reinforce the current and future Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), including Cohesion Policy, through the Recovery Assistance for Cohesion and the Territories of Europe (REACT-EU) initiative. Member States can use these instruments for the cultural and creative sectors.
The Commission is also working with the European Investment Fund to adapt the Culture and Creative Sectors Guarantee Facility to mitigate the adverse effects of the COVID-19 crisis on the sectors and to mobilise all possibilities under the Erasmus+ programme through an extraordinary call for cultural and creative sectors, mobilising as much as EUR 100 million. A summary list of the measures taken for the cultural and creative sectors has been published (1).
⋅1∙ https://ec.europa.eu/culture/news/coronavirus-how-eu-responds-outbreak-support-cultural-and-creative-sectors_en | | ( | | )