91997E4177

WRITTEN QUESTION E-4177/97 by Daniel Varela Suanzes-Carpegna (PPE) to the Commission (21 January 1998)

Subject: Cohesion policy and culture

In its communication COM(96) 512 final, Cohesion Policy and Culture: A contribution to employment (page 4), the Commission states that cultural activities are only eligible for funding under the Structural Funds if they contribute to sustainable employment and form an integral part of local or regional development strategies.

Can the Commission supply data concerning the contribution made to employment and regional or local development by the cultural projects cofinanced by the Structural Funds in the programming period 1989-1993 and the current programming period 1994-1999?

Answer given by Mrs Wulf-Mathies on behalf of the Commission (17 February 1998)

The Commission emphasised in the communication that there is still a lack of precise knowledge of the link between culture and regional or local employment creation. This is mainly due to the fact that the cultural sector is not homogeneous and is contained within different programme priorities or statistical categories. Moreover, there are significant variations of definition and statistical classification of culture between the Member States. The communication therefore instead gives examples of successful initiatives and their estimated employment effects.