_The culture ‘industry’ is not only an important economic factor in the European Union; it is also a means of strengthening a feeling of belonging and awareness of European culture. It is not, however, about standardization but on the contrary, the protection of cultural diversity in Europe and knowledge of others.
A legal base has only existed since the treaty of Maastricht (1993), which established the cultural policy as a policy of the EU. Cultural initiatives began before this date however, with for example, the annual capitals of culture. Another priority is the promotion of language learning and of the maintenance of regional and minority languages. Actually, the majority of skills in the cultural field always belong to states, so here it is not about a harmonization.
With regard to the broadcasting policy, the aim is the development of a successful media market, as well as the promotion of a European film and television culture. The directive “television without boundaries” forms an essential part of the European regulations regarding broadcasting. It fixes the conditions of transmission of television broadcasts in the common market and protects this same market from submersion by American productions. The Media programme, which aims at strengthening the competition and dynamics of the broadcasting sector, represents the other core of the EU broadcasting policy. Through financial support, European productions and their broadcast are promoted as much inside Europe as outside.
To counter the prejudice that Brussels-based EU officials merely twiddle their thumbs or issue “bent cucumber rules”, the European Commission has published a guide presenting the EU’s achievements for its citizens in 2009. Decisions taken at a European level have numerous consequences on our daily lives: the EU enforced cheaper phone calls across Europe and standardised chargers for mobile phones, it increases costumers’ rights for online shopping and it brought in new rules to cut down harmful pollutants from petrol or pesticides. Still not convinced? More examples can be found in the guide, which can be downloaded as PDF.
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