ABSTRACT
Although numerous European Union directives and programs have dealt with culture during the period 1994-1998, it is only for the period 20002004 that the EU will launch a First Framework in Support of Culture. By doing so, the Union fulfills the mandate of the Maastricht Treaty to incorporate cultural aspects into all EU policies, and to adopt specific proposals and programs in the cultural field within an organized and planned framework. A study of this process of creation of a new policy area at the community level will reveal competing ideas of culture and Europe within EU institutions. As the Union strives to foster attachment to EU citizenship through intervention in related policy fields, we have yet another chance to see what the EU institutions think necessary in order to build a new society. The case of EU cultural policy is particularly interesting, because it will be launched regardless of the opinion of the majority of European citizens, who consider cultural affairs to be a matter for national or subnational governments (Eurobarometer, 1997). In this chapter, I will refer to communications from the Commission that present the new Framework in support of culture, and to opinions of the Committee of the Regions concerning the role of culture. Cultural policy seeks to encourage and influence participation in the civil society and, by doing so, it intends to promote certain ideas of culture, citizenship and the relationship between them. The exploration of these ideas is the aim of this chapter, which empirically continues the work started in chapter five.
