Resolution of the Council of the European Union and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States meeting within the Council on the Cultural Dimension of Sustainable Development

(2019/C 410/01)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE MEMBER STATES MEETING WITHIN THE COUNCIL,

TAKING NOTE of cultural policy cooperation in the European Union up to 2019: the Council has been implementing work plans for culture since 2002 and the European Commission has implemented the European Agenda for Culture (2007) and the New European Agenda for Culture (2018). The work of both the Council and the Commission has concentrated on promoting, in particular, cultural diversity as well as the economic, social and external relations aspects of culture. The cooperation in the framework of the work plans and the agendas has resulted in policy development in Member States, in particular through the open method of coordination (OMC), and in several concrete actions. Although these developments and actions have undoubtedly contributed to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), work specifically dedicated to delivering on those goals would be beneficial.

RECALLING the urgent need to step up measures to achieve sustainable development and the commitment by the new Commission to deliver on the SDGs, the objective of this Resolution is to strengthen culture’s contribution to sustainable development by starting a process that will lead to an action plan on the cultural dimension of sustainable development at EU level. The action plan should ensure coherence among cultural and culture-related measures and approaches at the EU level and it would complement the work of Member States in this regard. In accordance with the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union, this Resolution does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve this objective.

CONSIDERING THAT

1.

The climate crisis and mass extinction of species are existential threats;

2.

Sustainability is and has to be an absolute priority for all;

3.

The three dimensions of sustainability (economic, social and environmental) are integrated and indivisible and culture is an inseparable part of all three;

4.

Coherent and comprehensive sustainable development strategies which are vigorously implemented are necessary to stop climate change and the extinction of species and to protect democracy, human rights, peace, security, and inclusive growth and prosperity, and to position the EU as the global leader in sustainable development;

5.

Local, national, European and international policies and measures, including cultural measures, can help ensure a fair transition and encourage active citizenship and global responsibility;

6.

Each country has primary responsibility for its own economic and social development, as recognised in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda;

7.

EU-level action on sustainable development is, however, needed to support, coordinate and supplement action by the Member States in order to achieve maximum results;

8.

In the Strategic Agenda 2019-2024, inclusiveness and sustainability are key building blocks and the EU leaders commit to investing in culture and cultural heritage, which are at the heart of European identity;

9.

The UN SDGs and their targets form the universally agreed framework for fostering sustainability;

10.

The SDGs do not refer to all the policies and measures that can be used to achieve sustainability; however, all policies and measures, including cultural policies and measures, can – and should – be actively used to attain the SDGs;

11.

Culture, as a sector of activity, can be understood as a self-sustaining pillar in sustainable development;

12.

Culture, as a system of shared meanings within a community, has an impact on how sustainable development measures are assessed by that community and, subsequently, is a driver for sustainable development that can mediate between different environmental, social and economic concerns;

13.

As the defining characteristic of humanity, cultures, in all their diversity and richness, embody values and are sources of identity, by virtue of which culture can have a transformative role as a creator of sustainability, promoting sustainable lifestyles and societies while enhancing quality of life;

14.

Key European cultural policy objectives such as promoting identity, inclusion, participation, creativity and diversity are aligned with several SDGs and, therefore, cultural policies and measures contribute significantly to the attainment of the SDGs;

15.

The contribution of cultural policies and measures to sustainability is not yet fully acknowledged, assessed and utilised, in spite of evidence of their contribution to sustainable development;

16.

Cultural policies and measures should be systematically employed to complement the existing measures used to achieve sustainability in order to enhance the efficiency of sustainable development strategies both nationally and across the EU.

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT

1.

The calls by the European Council and the Council for the Commission to elaborate a coherent and comprehensive EU implementation strategy for the 2030 Agenda that pertains to all internal and external policies;

2.

The political background as established by documents listed in the Annex;

3.

The important work carried out by Unesco to harness culture’s contribution to the 2030 Agenda, in particular by aligning the implementation of all cultural conventions with the SDGs, and the EU Member States’ willingness to contribute to this work as well as to other UN-level processes on sustainable development.

ACKNOWLEDGE

1.

That the inherent nature and intrinsic value of culture as well as the autonomy of the cultural sector and freedom of artistic expression are fundamental principles;

2.

That many Member States are pursuing work to integrate cultural policies and perspectives into their national sustainable development strategies and approaches;

3.

That the EU and the Member States operate an impressive number of cultural or culture-related policies and measures that directly or indirectly contribute to sustainability and the attainment of the SDGs;

4.

The European Parliament Resolution of 6 July 2017 on EU action for sustainability and the Resolution of 14 March 2019 on the Annual strategic report on the implementation and delivery of the SDGs, in particular the request by the European Parliament for a partnership between the Commission, the Council and the Parliament and the call for an in-depth gap analysis of existing policies and their implementation in order to identify critical areas of synergies and incoherencies;

5.

That there is significant potential to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of sustainable development policies and measures through better policy coherence for sustainable development;

6.

The important work initiated in this field on a global level, within frameworks such as the Unesco 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and the Unesco 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.

CONFIRM

1.

Our commitment to sustainability and dedication to the full and rapid implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

AGREE

1.

To step up our efforts to promote the cultural dimension in sustainable development;

2.

To pursue work to integrate cultural policies and perspectives into national sustainable development strategies;

3.

To review cultural and culture-related policies and measures in order to maximise their contribution to sustainability;

4.

To continue exchanging information and good practices, in the spirit of peer learning, on lessons learnt at the national level;

5.

To consider including culture in Voluntary National Review Reports for the UN’s High-level Political Forum;

6.

To engage in participatory, multi-stakeholder and integrated governance of culture and sustainable development, including through support to bottom-up initiatives by cultural and creative sectors and active involvement of citizens, especially children and young people;

7.

To work closely with other EU institutions as well as with other stakeholders to unlock culture’s full potential for sustainability and, in particular, with the Commission in the development of the action plan on the cultural dimension of sustainable development;

8.

To set up, as soon as possible, an Open Method of Coordination working group on the cultural dimension of sustainable development.

INVITE THE COMMISSION

1.

To prepare, in coordination with Member States, an action plan on the cultural dimension of sustainable development at EU level and integrate the action plan in the EU’s implementation strategy for the 2030 Agenda; The action plan could: a. Ensure the delivery of SDGs in the area of culture, promote policy coherence for sustainable development, and harness culture’s full potential to foster sustainability; b. Build on existing work carried out in the framework of the Council Work Plan for Culture, especially the work to be undertaken by a dedicated OMC group, and the New European Agenda for Culture; c. Ensure coherence of EU’s cultural and culture-related measures and approaches to maximise the contribution of the cultural dimension to the delivery of the SDGs; d. Propose amendments to existing work or engage in new work on culture and sustainability, as appropriate; e. Apply the principle of evidence-based policy-making as appropriate.

Non-opposition to a notified concentration

(Case M.9387 — Allied Irish Banks/First Data Corporation/Semeral)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2019/C 410/02)

On 23 October 2019, the Commission decided not to oppose the above notified concentration and to declare it compatible with the internal market. This decision is based on Article 6(1)(b) of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1). The full text of the decision is available only in English and will be made public after it is cleared of any business secrets it may contain. It will be available:

—	in the merger section of the Competition website of the Commission (http://ec.europa.eu/competition/mergers/cases/). This website provides various facilities to help locate individual merger decisions, including company, case number, date and sectoral indexes,

—	in electronic form on the EUR-Lex website (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html?locale=en) under document number 32019M9387. EUR-Lex is the online access to European law.

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(1)  OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1.

Non-opposition to a notified concentration

(Case M.9501 — I Squared Capital Advisors/PEMA)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2019/C 410/03)

On 18 October 2019, the Commission decided not to oppose the above notified concentration and to declare it compatible with the internal market. This decision is based on Article 6(1)(b) of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1). The full text of the decision is available only in English and will be made public after it is cleared of any business secrets it may contain. It will be available:

—	in the merger section of the Competition website of the Commission (http://ec.europa.eu/competition/mergers/cases/). This website provides various facilities to help locate individual merger decisions, including company, case number, date and sectoral indexes,

—	in electronic form on the EUR-Lex website (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html?locale=en) under document number 32019M9501. EUR-Lex is the online access to European law.

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(1)  OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1.

Euro exchange rates (1)

5 December 2019

(2019/C 410/04)

1 euro =

	Currency	Exchange rate
USD	US dollar	1,1094
JPY	Japanese yen	120,69
DKK	Danish krone	7,4716
GBP	Pound sterling	0,84470
SEK	Swedish krona	10,5418
CHF	Swiss franc	1,0964
ISK	Iceland króna	134,40
NOK	Norwegian krone	10,1613
BGN	Bulgarian lev	1,9558
CZK	Czech koruna	25,526
HUF	Hungarian forint	330,85
PLN	Polish zloty	4,2753
RON	Romanian leu	4,7785
TRY	Turkish lira	6,3845
AUD	Australian dollar	1,6251
CAD	Canadian dollar	1,4610
HKD	Hong Kong dollar	8,6853
NZD	New Zealand dollar	1,6997
SGD	Singapore dollar	1,5103
KRW	South Korean won	1 320,69
ZAR	South African rand	16,2774
CNY	Chinese yuan renminbi	7,8125
HRK	Croatian kuna	7,4390
IDR	Indonesian rupiah	15 603,71
MYR	Malaysian ringgit	4,6256
PHP	Philippine peso	56,402
RUB	Russian rouble	70,7798
THB	Thai baht	33,676
BRL	Brazilian real	4,6794
MXN	Mexican peso	21,4895
INR	Indian rupee	79,0195

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(1)  Source: reference exchange rate published by the ECB.

Special Report No 22/2019

‘EU requirements for national budgetary frameworks: need to further strengthen them and to better monitor their application’

(2019/C 410/05)

The European Court of Auditors hereby informs you that Special Report No 22/2019 ‘EU requirements for national budgetary frameworks: need to further strengthen them and to better monitor their application’ has just been published.

The report can be accessed for consultation or downloading on the European Court of Auditors’ website: http://eca.europa.eu

CALL FOR PROPOSALS EACEA/38/2019

Under The Erasmus+ Programme

Key Action 3: Support for policy reform

European Policy Experimentations in the fields of Education and Training led by high-level public authorities

(2019/C 410/06)

1.   Description, Objectives and Priority Themes

European policy experimentations are trans-national cooperation projects led by high-level public authorities from the Programme Countries. They involve testing the relevance, effectiveness, potential impact and scalability of policy measures through parallel field trials in different countries, based on (semi-) experimental approaches and common evaluation protocols. By combining strategic leadership, methodological soundness and a strong European dimension, they enable mutual learning and support evidence-based policy at European level.

The specific objectives of this call are to:

—	Promote trans-national cooperation and mutual learning among public authorities at the highest institutional level of the eligible countries in order to foster systemic improvement and innovation in the education and training fields,

—	Enhance the collection and analysis of substantive evidence to ensure the successful implementation of innovative measures,

—	Facilitate the transferability and scalability of innovative measures.

The priority themes for this call are:

LOT 1 — Digital education and competences — Teaching and teachers

LOT 2 — Funding mechanisms for upskilling and reskilling, including schemes similar to Individual Learning Accounts — Policy and processes to support the validation of non-formal and informal learning, including through effective guidance

2.   Eligibility

2.1.   Eligible applicants

Applicants considered eligible to respond to this call are:

a)

Public authorities (Ministry or equivalent) responsible for education and training at the highest level in the relevant context (national or decentralised). Responsible public authorities for sectors other than education and training (e.g. employment, youth, finance, social affairs, home affairs, justice, health, etc.) are considered eligible as long as they demonstrate that they have a specific competence in the area in which the experimentation is to be carried out.

b)	Public or private organisations active in the fields of education or training or other relevant fields.

c)

Public or private organisations or institutions carrying out cross-sector activities linked to education and training in other socioeconomic sectors (e.g. NGOs, information or guidance services, public authorities, agencies or services responsible for: education, training, youth, employment, social affairs, home affairs, justice, quality assurance, recognition and/or validation; career guidance, chambers of commerce, business and social partners, trade organisations, civil society, cultural or sport organisations, evaluation or research entities, media etc.).

National Agencies or other structures and networks of the Erasmus+ Programme, receiving a direct grant from the Commission in accordance with the legal basis of the Erasmus+ Programme are not eligible to participate. Nevertheless, the legal entities hosting the Erasmus+ National Agencies or the structures and networks mentioned above are considered eligible applicants.

Only applications from legal entities established in the following programme countries are eligible:

—	Member States of the European Union;

—	the EFTA/EEA countries: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway;

—	EU candidate countries: North Macedonia, Turkey and Serbia.

For British applicants: Please be aware that eligibility criteria must be complied with for the entire duration of the grant. If the United Kingdom withdraws from the EU during the grant period without concluding an agreement with the EU ensuring in particular that British applicants continue to be eligible, you will cease to receive EU funding (while continuing, where possible, to participate) or be required to leave the project on the basis of Article II.17 of the grant agreement.

Proposals from applicants in candidate countries may be selected, if on the date of award, agreements have entered into force setting out the arrangements for the participation of those countries in the programme.

Partnership composition requirement

The minimum partnership composition requirement for this call is 4 entities representing 3 different programme countries. Specifically:

—	At least three public authorities (Ministries or equivalent) each from a different Programme country, while at least one of the three public authorities must be from a Member State of the European Union and

—

At least one public or private entity with expertise in analysis and policy impact evaluation (‘researche r’). Such entity shall be responsible for the methodological aspects and the field trial protocols. The partnership can involve more than one such entity, as long as the work is coordinated and consistent.

Coordination requirement

A project proposal can only be coordinated and submitted, on behalf of all applicants, by one of the following:

—	A public authority (Ministry or equivalent) as described under section 2.1.a);

—

A public or private entity delegated by a public authority. Delegated entities must have an explicit endorsement in writing (a delegation letter) by a public authority to submit and coordinate the project proposal on their behalf. Only delegated entities that are in a position to demonstrate their existence as a legal person for at least 3 years on the date of the deadline for submission of pre-proposals referred to in section 6 are considered eligible as ‘coordinator’ for the purpose of this call.

2.2.   Eligible activities and project duration

Eligible activities must be in line with Annex to the guidelines for applicants. The field trials must take place at least in three countries whose public authorities/Ministries are involved in the project.

Activities must start between 1 January 2021 and 28 February 2021.

Project’s duration must be between 24 and 36 months.

3.   Expected results

The proposed projects should lead to significant results in the following areas:

—	Support to the priorities for policy cooperation at EU level set out in the ET 2020 Framework, as appropriate.

—	Improved knowledge and evidence base for reforms with potentially high systemic impact in the sectors concerned in the eligible countries.

—	European added value by jointly identifying best practice and lessons on ‘what works’ and ‘what does not work’.

—

Scalability and transferability of innovative measures. Scaling up does not necessarily only mean duplicating the tested measures on a larger number of beneficiaries. It should rather be understood as creating the best conditions for making the successfully tested measures part of a policy or a system.

—	Sound consistency and complementarity between theory and practice; between EU policies and funding programmes; between European, national and regional measures; between the roles of policy makers, stakeholders and researchers.

4.   Budget available:

The total budget available for the co-financing of projects under the present call is EUR 14 000 000 allocated as follows:

—	Lot 1	EUR 12 000 000
—	Lot 2	EUR 2 000 000

The financial contribution from the EU cannot exceed 75 % of the total eligible project costs.

The maximum grant per project will be EUR 2 000 000.

The Agency reserves the right not to distribute all the funds available.

5.   Award Criteria

Proposals will be submitted and evaluated in two stages, involving a pre-proposal stage and and a full proposal stage.

Pre-proposal stage
	Criteria	Max. Points
1	Relevance of the project	20 points
Full proposal stage
2	Quality of the project design and implementation	30 points
3	Quality of the partnership and the cooperation arrangements	20 points
4	Impact, dissemination, and sustainability	30 points

Only eligible applicants reaching the minimum threshold of 12 points on the score for the award criterion Relevance of the project at the pre-proposal stage will be invited to submit a full proposal and to elaborate further on their proposal.

The calculation of the total score for the full proposal will include the score obtained for ‘Relevance of the project’ at the pre-proposal stage. Only full proposals having reached at least the threshold of 60 points of the total score (i.e. score on the award criterion ‘Relevance of the project’ assessed in the first stage plus scores on the other three award criteria assessed in the second stage) will be considered for EU funding. Applicants falling below this threshold shall be rejected.

6.   Submission Procedure and Deadlines

The submission deadline is:

—	Pre-proposals: 21 April 2020 – 17.00 (Brussels time)

—	Full proposals: 24 September 2020 – 17.00 (Brussels time)

Applicants are requested to read carefully all information about the call for proposals EACEA/38/2019 and the submission procedure and to use the obligatory documents, which can be found under:

https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-plus/funding_en — Call reference EACEA/38/2019

The application and its annexes must be submitted online using the designated e-form.

7.   Call information

All information on the Call EACEA/38/2019 is available from the following website:

https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-plus/funding_en — Call reference EACEA/38/2019

Email contact: EACEA-Policy-Support@ec.europa.eu

Notice concerning the anti-dumping measures in force in respect of imports of ceramic tableware and kitchenware originating in the People’s Republic of China: name change of a company subject to the anti-dumping duty rate for cooperating non-sampled companies

(2019/C 410/07)

Imports of ceramic tableware and kitchenware (‘tableware’) originating in the People’s Republic of China are subject to a definitive anti-dumping duty, imposed by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1198 (1).

Chaozhou Baodayi Porcelain Co., Ltd., TARIC (2) additional code B375, a company located in the People’s Republic of China whose exports to the Union of tableware are subject to the anti-dumping duty rate for cooperating non-sampled companies of 17,9 % informed the Commission that it had changed its name as set out below.

The company asked the Commission to confirm that the change of name does not affect the right of the company to benefit from the anti-dumping duty rate applied to the company under its previous name.

The Commission examined the information supplied and concluded that the change of name in no way affects the findings of Regulation (EU) 2019/1198.

Therefore, the references in Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2019/1198 to:

Chaozhou Baodayi Porcelain Co., Ltd.

B375

should be read as:

Guangdong Baodayi Porcelain Co., Ltd.

B375

The TARIC additional code B375 previously attributed to Chaozhou Baodayi Porcelain Co., Ltd. shall apply to Guangdong Baodayi Porcelain Co., Ltd.

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(1)  Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1198 of 12 July 2019 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of ceramic tableware and kitchenware originating in the People’s Republic of China following an expiry review pursuant to Article 11(2) of Regulation (EU) No 2016/1036 (OJ L 189, 15.7.2019, p. 8).

(2)  The Integrated Tariff of the European Union.