Commission proposals for the establishment of the first European Framework Programme in support of culture The European Commission has recently issued a communication on the foundations, aims and methods of the first European Framework Programme in support of culture (CULTURE 2000) and an orientation document on integrating cultural aspects explicitly into the Community's actions a... The European Commission has recently issued a communication on the foundations, aims and methods of the first European Framework Programme in support of culture (CULTURE 2000) and an orientation document on integrating cultural aspects explicitly into the Community's actions and policies. A proposal to establish a single financing and programming instrument for cultural cooperation has also been adopted. The communication sets out the new approach to be adopted by the Community in the field of culture which will establish a single framework programme and will replace the three current programmes, KALEIDOSCOPE, ARIANE and RAPHAEL. It provides an outline of the objectives in the field of culture and how they will be fulfilled, and details of Commission evaluations of the current Community cultural programmes. The orientation document gives details of the main lines of action to be explored during the programme with a view to incorporating cultural aspects into Community policies. These involve: - A legislative framework favourable to culture by promoting cultural diversity and encouraging creativity and cultural development and supporting cultural cooperation and exchanges; - A cultural dimension to support policies by ensuring cultural development and planning through other instruments, such as the upcoming Fifth RTD Framework Programme, and ensuring the appropriate training and dissemination of knowledge; - Incorporating culture into the Community's external relations by promoting respect for cultural diversity in international arenas, by encouraging cultural development in developing countries and by opening its cultural programmes for participation to candidate countries. The Commission proposal for the single financing and programming instrument (CULTURE 2000) proposes a budget of ECU 167 million for three main types of actions to be funded under the programme (cultural cooperation agreements, major and specific innovative actions). It is also proposed that the Commission will be responsible for the implementation of the programme, to be assisted by an Advisory Committee, made up of representatives of Member States and chaired by a representative of the Commission.
