a Cultural Component as an Integral Part of the EU’s Foreign Policy?

The survey focuses above all on EU member states’ existing documents, legislation, treaties, actions, programmes and background literature, as well as regional and intergovernmental agreements. The aim is to find out whether, in addition to their national foreign cultural policies, member states would and could work more closely together than hitherto on joint cultural actions and programmes outside the EU and in agreement with the EU. Is there sufficient common ground? What are preconditions member states might insist on, and the degree of acceptance that such a component might enjoy.

The first findings are encouraging. However, the extent to which policy statements are followed through in reality remains to be seen.Therefore a complementary study has been published. A Cultural Dimmension to the EU’s External Policies: from Policy Statements to Practice and Potential by Rod Fisher includes in-depth contributions from cultural stakeholders in six diverse EU countries.