Divers  :: A very ambitious French Presidency of the Council of the European Union

Tuesday, August 05, 2008 - 09:46 AM

   Following Slovenia in the first half of the year, France takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from 1 July to 31 December 2008. With the ambition to prepare the cultural future of Europe and give it ‘new momentum’ the new Presidency of the European Union has chosen to address the major cultural policy issues of European Union members.

More precisely, Paris will organize, between July 1 and December 31, sixteen conferences, forums, and meetings which will give member states opportunities to address different aspects of cultural and audiovisual Europe such as the European heritage, cultural industries, and artists’ mobility’.



The new Presidency also unveiled its ambition to ‘develop the cultural dimension of the European project’.



For this it will orientate European efforts around four axes: Value and protect heritage common to our continent, in line with the creation by the European Union members of a ‘seal of approval for European heritage’, grouping together particularly significant sites of European history; and through the launch of the European Digital Library, which will make available more than two million works to Internet users;



Support cultural creation in the digital era, through, on the one hand, the development of legally available, and easily downloadable, cultural and creative content, and, on the other hand, strengthening the battle against online pirating;



Assure cultural and linguistic diversity, notably in relation to support for multilingualism and by a symposium-report on the orienting principles regarding promoting intercultural dialogue in Europe and in relations between the European Union and the rest of the world;



Finally, to affirm the importance of architecture in sustainable development, that has appeared as a general French priority due to the issue of sustainable development.



To know more about the current presidency click here:



To download complete programme: