EU Council advocates for “free and equal” access to Culture. France and Germany dare on a EU pass

The EU Minister responsible for Culture showed interest in developing cultural rights plans during the last EU Council meeting in Brussels. As mentioned in a nonbinding text of conclusions, these plans are considered a tool “to outline the actions planned in the field of cultural rights.” They should include specific objectives to be achieved and concrete measures for their implementation.

The text reads that Member States are invited to “safeguard and promote free, equal access to culture at all levels and without unjustified interference or obstruction.” This objective must be pursued by “respecting cultural diversity, multilingualism, and intellectual property rights, for instance, through exchange and mobility programs and initiatives.”

The meeting was also an opportunity for Poland‘s rotating presidency, which began on January 1, 2025, to demonstrate the priority of its work program in the sector.

France and Germany persuade other Member States on the initiative of a European Culture pass. It would be conceived for young people, as German Minister Claudia Roth told journalists before the meeting, and it would work as “an interrail ticket to culture to be used across borders,” the German Minister said.

France, Greece, Italy, and Spain, with Germany’s support, presented a statement on the need to promote cultural diversity in the Digital Single Market.

The Google Ireland ruling issued by the Court of Justice of the EU on November 9, 2023, casts a stark shadow on the interpretation of the e-commerce directive, as it “leads to a very restrictive application of the derogation to the country-of-origin principle” the information note reads. The e-commerce directive is considered a milestone of the Culture industry legislation in the Internal Market in Europe.

The EU Court ruled that an EU Member State cannot impose general and abstract obligations on providers of communication platforms established in another Member State. The case was raised by applying a law against online illegal content and hate speech.

Keeping the focus on the role of big platforms, French Minister Rachida Dati proposed that her homologs consider “whether it would be appropriate to increase the quotas for the distribution of European works in catalogs,” which EU law sets at a minimum of 30%.