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   Since the treaty of Maastricht in 1992, and the European Commission president Jacques Delors call to make Europe a political project as much as a community of trade, the goal of ‘mainstreaming’ culture has remained elusive.

The treaty article 151.4 opened the door for support to the cultural sector across the spectrum of EU policies, but 17 years on, as the EU struggles to take a leadership role in the face of the democratic and financial challenges of the Member States, culture is still too often seen as marginal to the grand social and economic projects of current governments.



The current global financial crisis is hitting many arts institutions and projects – European Capital of culture 2009 in Vilnius has seen its budget slashed, reports continue to come in of cultural institutions in the firing line of public administrations and sponsors looking for places to reduce their costs – this article on the fate of many Brussels institutions finds its echo in most European cities.



At the European political level, this difficult period can offer a driver for the cultural sector to build even stronger alliances, be it within political platforms such as Culture Action Europe, or through formalized institutional processes such as the structured dialogue or the Open Method of Coordination.



Making the mainstreaming of culture a political reality and a solid basis of support in difficult time will require a strong call from the sector to diversify support for cultural activity across the range of EU policies, and to recognize that culture is a fundamental building block of the Europe Delors dreamed of, under threat as financial pressures might shift priorities yet again. The new European Parliament and Commission to be appointed this year could influence the direction the EU will take for the next years.



www.cultureactioneurope.org