Council of the European Union

The report assesses progress made in the implementation of the open method of coordination, sets key priorities for urgent action and identifies good practice and innovative approaches of common interest to the Member States. It aims at promoting more ambitious and effective policy strategies for social inclusion through mutual learning. It draws extensively from the National Action Plans for social inclusion 2003-2005, that all Member States submitted in July 2003. The document has dedicated chapters for health and for culture.
Although explicit references about the link between healthcare and culture are not made, social inclusion is correlated to mental health and well-being, as well as to access to culture. One of the key prioritiesof the joint report was to increase the access of the most vulnerable and those most at risk of social exclusion to decent housing conditions, to quality health and long term care services and to special and regular mainstream lifelong learning opportunities, including to cultural activities. The Joint Report on social inclusion was adopted by the Council (EPSCO) on 4 March 2004.

An initiative of the German Presidency of the Council of the EU, the Charter stands as a key framework document for integrated sustainable urban development in Europe. It is accompanied by an Implementing document which intends to guide the next phase of the Urban Agenda for the EU according to renewed parameters. This framework reaffirms the objectives and achievements of the Pact of Amsterdam, thus linking the Urban Agenda for the EU’s working method to the New Leipzig Charter’s strategic principles. The Charter highlights that cities need to establish integrated and sustainable urban development strategies and ensure their implementation for the city as a whole, from its functional areas to its neighbourhoods.
The document is strongly aligned with the Cohesion Policy and its framework for sustainable urban development. Member States agreed to implement the Charter in their national or regional urban policies. The Charter acknowledges that urban transformation is based on the integration of the social, ecological and economic dimensions of sustainable development. The just city is a city which provides opportunities for everyone to integrate in society. All social groups, including the most vulnerable, should have equal access to services of general interest, including education, social services, health care and culture. Public authorities should act in the interest of public welfare, providing services and infrastructure for the common good. This should cover health care, social services, education, cultural services, housing, water and energy supply, waste management, public transport, digital networks and information systems.
Furthermore, the quality of public spaces including green and blue infrastructure as well as the preservation and revitalisation of built cultural heritage are important. High-quality, open and safe public spaces function as vibrant urban places, allowing people to interact, exchange and integrate into society. Good urban planning and design should be reinforced to enable compact, socially and economically mixed cities with well-developed infrastructure and a healthy environment and opportunities for identification contributing to the well-being of all. This requires a holistic understanding of high-quality Baukultur as the basis of integrated planning and design processes for every man-made shaping of the built environment in European cities.

The Council of the EU agreed on this strategic policy document în 2015, acknowledging, among other points, that the cultural and creative sectors are a source of both cultural and economic value, but that their broader contribution had not yet been fully recognised, notably in terms of the potential of culture and artistic creativity to trigger innovation in other sectors of the economy, in society as a whole, and for the well-being of individuals. The Conclusions also recognised that the crossovers between the cultural and creative sectors and other sectors (e.g. technology, science and business) can be understood as a process of combining knowledge and skills specific to the cultural and creative sectors together with those of other sectors in order to generate innovative and intelligent solutions for today’s societal challenges.
The policy paper underlined that cultural and creative crossovers to other sectors can result in a wide range of benefits, including: increasing pupils’ attendance and achievements, fostering creative learning and pupils’ well-being, and improving parent engagement by involving artists and creative professionals in school activities; reducing medical expenditure and rates of hospitalisation by improving the prevention of illness and the rehabilitation process of patients through artistic and creative practices; regenerating industrial areas and urban spaces; improving social inclusion and community life through cultural and creative activities and by integrating contemporary architecture, arts and design in public spaces and buildings of cultural and historical value. As a consequence, the Council invited the EU Member States and the Commission to take several measures to address the situation, such as: to encourage widespread dissemination of information about good practices, results, and lessons learnt in cross-sectoral collaboration or to overcome silo thinking in traditional policy areas by better integrating culture and artistic creativity in strategies for economic growth, social policies, urban and regional development, and sustainable development.

Member States’ Ministers of Culture define their priorities for cultural policy making at EU level in multi-annual Work Plans (usually 4 years) adopted in form of conclusions by the Council of the EU. The 2015-2018 Work Plan for Culture was the EU’s second policy cooperation document of this kind, building on the results of the 2011-2014 work plan. It is continued by a new work plan for the 2019-2022 period.
Relevant priorities between 2015-2018 included:
- “Accessible and inclusive culture” (priority area A), which aimed at fostering the contribution of culture to social inclusion. The focus question of this priority was: how can public policies encourage and support cultural institutions in working within partnerships with other sectors (healthcare, social care, prison service etc.)? To implement this priority, the Council set up an OMC expert group (Open Method of Coordination group consisting of Member States experts) to map existing public policies dealing with social inclusion through culture and identify good practices. In 2019 the group produced the report, ”From Social Inclusion to Social Cohesion – The Role of Cultural Policy”, highlighting that ”culture and the arts are recognised as a potent force in preventative healthcare, therapeutic alternatives and general well-being. (…) In the field of arts and culture for health and well-being there is a broad range of practices, e.g. the arts in a healthcare environment, participatory arts programmes, arts on prescription, art therapy and arts in medical education (...).” The report has an entire chapter on the link between culture and well-being-health (ch. 8.2 ”Partner-centred approach: culture for health and well-being”), including recommendations to policy-makers (such as to adopt a transversal approach to culture, health, well-being and social cohesion/foster trans-sectoral coordination at a national level with different government departments).
- “Cultural heritage” (priority area B). An OMC group worked on the report ”Participatory governance of cultural heritage” in 2018, which provided evidence that using a participatory approach leads to increased appreciation of cultural heritage and an increased quality of life/well-being of people.
- ”Cultural and creative sectors: Creative economy and innovation” (priority area C). An OMC expert group produced the report ”Sustainable Cultural Tourism” in 2019, which acknowledged that ”New sustainable cultural tourism offers relating to both the tangible and intangible cultural heritage should place an emphasis on national strategic planning and networking, as well as concepts such as ‘slow’ tourism, ‘authenticity’, ‘storytelling’, ‘well-being’ and ‘contact with locals’ and that ”Tourism experiences that promote self-reflection, a slower pace and contemplation combined with physical activity can encourage well-being.”

Member States define their priorities for cultural policy making at EU level in multi-annual Work Plans adopted in form of conclusions by the Council of the EU. Next to the New European Agenda for Culture and in line with its strategic orientation, the Work Plan is established as a strategic and dynamic instrument of EU cultural cooperation that addresses current political developments and sets priorities, with due regard for the EU principles of subsidiarity and proportionality. The current Work Plan for Culture is the EU’s third, building on the previous 2015-2018 and 2011-2014 work plans.
For 2019-2022 there are 6 priorities for European cooperation in cultural policy-making: 1) Sustainability in cultural heritage; 2) Cohesion and well-being; 3) An ecosystem supporting artists, cultural and creative professionals and European content; 4) Gender equality; 5) International cultural relations; 6) Culture as a driver for sustainable development. 18 key topics and corresponding actions are defined under each of these priorities for the Member States, the presidencies of the Council as well as for the European Commission.
Regarding the ”Cohesion and well-being” priority, the policy document mentions that access to culture and participation in cultural life promote individual empowerment, democratic consciousness and social cohesion through exchanges with other people and civic engagement. Cross-sectoral cooperation with other areas, such as education, social care, healthcare, science and technology, and regional and urban development, has a significant effect on cohesion and well-being.
The topics addressed under the ”Cohesion and well-being” priority of the Work Plan:
- Social cohesion. After reviewing the report of the OMC group on ‘Fostering the contribution of culture to social inclusion’ (2017/18), a follow-up OMC group will be given a new mandate to explore specific topics of particular interest in more depth, such as the need to include culture as a cross-cutting issue in the fields of social policy, health policy and local development, among others. A conference will be organised to disseminate the results.
- High-quality architecture and built environment for everyone, which will be dealt with by on OMC expert group followed by a conference hosted by Austria and possible Council conclusions. Innovative and inclusive processes to deliver and preserve quality architecture are needed to develop an integrated approach contributing to the well-being of all citizens.
- Understanding digital audiences
- Young creative generation
- Citizenship, values and democracy
The Council invites the Member States and the Commission to work together on the priorities of the Work Plan for Culture, which is implemented by a dynamic rolling agenda. The Work Plan for Culture requires monitoring by the Presidency of the Council and, if necessary, may be adjusted by the Council in light of results achieved and/or policy developments at European level.