The European Commission has annnounced that 18 EU countries have included measures directly supporting culture and the creative industries in their revised national recovery and resilience plans (NRRPs). These measures amount to
€11.7 billion, representing approximately 2% of the total Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) budget.
The updated Thematic Analysis of the Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard on Culture and Creative Industries highlights the range of reforms and investments planned by EU countries to support the resilience of the cultural and creative sectors. These measures seek to improve the status of artists and cultural workers, foster digital and greening opportunities, bolster domestic competitiveness, and harness the power of culture for social cohesion and wellbeing.
Several countries have already begun to adopt these measures. In Croatia, amendments to the “Electronic Media and Copyright and Related Rights Law” have entered into force, establishing effective legal protection for authors of creative, cultural, and media content on the internet. Greece has introduced labour and social security legislation for the cultural and creative sectors to increase the share of declared work, support industry professionals, and protect their intellectual property rights.
Italy has implemented a reform to improve the ecological footprint of cultural events by including minimum social and environmental criteria in public procurement tenders for
cultural events. Austria has established a framework for
“Baukultur”, which combines high-quality architecture and
the built environment while considering social, ecological, economic, and cultural components.
The RRF is a temporary instrument that serves as the centrepiece of NextGenerationEU, the EU’s plan to emerge stronger and more resilient from the Covid-19 crisis. The allocation of funds to support the culture and creative industries demonstrates the EU’s commitment to fostering the resilience and growth of these sectors in the post-pandemic recovery.
