Saar: EU cultural funding must be equally accessible in the next budgetary period

25.05.2018 | 11:44

Today, Minister of Culture Indrek Saar will participate in the meeting of the European Union’s Education, Youth, Culture and Sports Council in Brussels. At the meeting, the ministers of culture of the member states will discuss how to better link culture to the other European Union policy areas during the new budgetary period. At the meeting of the sports ministers in the afternoon, the problems caused by the commercialisation of sports will be discussed. 

Today, Minister of Culture Indrek Saar will participate in the meeting of the European Union’s Education, Youth, Culture and Sports Council in Brussels. At the meeting, the ministers of culture of the member states will discuss how to better link culture to the other European Union policy areas during the new budgetary period. At the meeting of the sports ministers in the afternoon, the problems caused by the commercialisation of sports will be discussed.

The key theme of the meeting of the European Union ministers of culture is ensuring a larger role for culture in the EU’s sectoral policies, including after 2020, when the new EU financing period will start.

“Establishing a stronger connection between cultural aspects and the EU’s other sectoral policies and grant programmes is primarily beneficial for culture itself. This would help to find more efficient solutions for the urgent challenges facing Europe. During the European Year of Cultural Heritage, culture has been very successfully highlighted and interwoven with various other themes,” said Minister of Culture Indrek Saar

“In regard to the planning of European Union funds for the upcoming period in the field of culture, of greatest importance for Estonia is that the measures be equally accessible to both the large and small countries and activists, and that geographic balance is ensuring among the beneficiaries of the programmes,” stressed Saar.

At the meeting of sports ministers that will start in the afternoon, the focus will be on the sustainability of the European sports model. At lunch and the meeting thereafter, which will also be attended by Aleksander Ceferini, President of Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the ministers will discuss the threats to the system of organising sports in Europe created by increased commercialisation.

“It is important that the decisions that are made by the sports federations and sports clubs for the use of additional resources are transparent and comprehensible to everyone. However, the sports movement itself must act cautiously, in order to wisely use the constantly increasing financial resources to ensure sustainable development in the field, including to develop youth sport, amateur sport and volunteers,” Minister Saar said.

 

Kai-Ines Nelson

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