The EESC welcomes the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the Creative Europe programme (2021 to 2027) (COM(2018) 366 final) and its indicators set out in Annex II. Building a strong and united Europe must be based on the diversity of cultural roots which should be transmitted through education. The continuation of this programme should be seen as highly beneficial for the development of European culture and of the cultures of the individual Member States which is a foundation of our society and a crucible of our democratic values.

For many years, the EESC promoted the significant contributions of the creative and cultural sectors and industries to the EU creation of value and jobs, inclusiveness and growth. In 2012, according to the OECD, the copyright-intensive industries in the EU accounted for 4.2% of GDP and 3.2% of employment. According to Article 2 of the proposal for a Regulation (COM(2018) 366), these sectors include "architecture, archives, libraries and museums, artistic crafts, audiovisual (including film, television, video games and multimedia), tangible and intangible cultural heritage, design (including fashion design), festivals, music, literature, performing arts, books and publishing, radio and visual arts".