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Saatja: European Music Council <[email protected]> Saadetud: 06.04.2020 17:20 Adressaat: Kultuuriminister <[email protected]> Teema: Effects of COVID-19 on the music and cultural sector Manused: Effect-of-COVID-19_CE-and-CCS_27.03.pdf Dear Tonis Lukas, COVID-19 brought about an unprecedented crisis worldwide and in Europe. What is needed now is European solidarity amongst all countries in Europe and beyond. Investment to overcome this crisis is required and should not stop at borders. Solidarity, freedom and democratic principles are what is at stake and what has to be protected. We appreciate that the cultural ministers will address how the cultural and creative sectors are affected by the COVID-19 crisis and we want to bring to your attention two issues that have been raised with the European Commission already. On 20 March Culture Action Europe sent a letter to Commissioner Gabriel and the Directorate-General for Education and Culture to call for flexibility for current Creative Europe beneficiaries and to call for the EU to support the cultural and creative sectors. As an active member of Culture Action Europe and a pan-European music network, we are amongst the signatories of this letter, which highlights that projects and networks funded by Creative Europe have been heavily impacted by the Coronavirus putting the beneficiaries at financial risk. We urge you to support measures to allow beneficiaries flexibility regarding the eligibility period, eligibility of costs or replacement of activities. In her answer, Commissioner Gabriel also addresses the possibility of sharing our concerns with you in your upcoming meeting and we would like to call on you to take our requests and concerns seriously even if this requires changes to the legal framework. Additionally, we support the Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative of the EU and we call on you to also make this initiative accessible for the cultural and creative sectors. In this respect we explicitly support the appeal by Sabine Verheyen, Chair of the Committee on Culture and Education in the European Parliament in her statement from 27 March. The music and culture sector are very active in these times and have formulated a number of statements addressing the effects of COVID-19 on their work. You can find a selection of statements on the EMC website, which we are constantly updating. We urge for your support on these matters within the Council and on national level. We remain at your disposal. With kind regards, Simone Dudt & Ruth Jakobi Secretaries General of the European Music Council The EMC implements a dual leadership model with Ruth Jakobi and Simone Dudt equally holding the position of Secretary General -- European Music Council Weberstr. 59a D-53113 Bonn, Germany Tel: +49 228 96 69 96 64 Website: www.emc-imc.org Newsletter: Subscribe here The EMC on Facebook. Follow us here . | The EMC on Twitter. Follow us here . | The EMC on Instagram. Follow us here . | The EMC on LinkedIn. Follow us here . The EMC is the regional group for Europe of the International Music Council (IMC); it is a member of Culture Action Europe . The European Music Council is supported by the European Union (Creative Europe Programme), Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media of Germany and the City of Bonn. Ms Mariya Gabriel European Commission Rue de la Loi 200 1040 Brussels Mr Walter Zampieri Ms Catherine Magnant Ms Barbara Gessler Brussels, 20 March 2020 Subject: Effect of COVID-19 on Creative Europe and the European Cultural and Creative Sectors Dear Commissioner Gabriel, Dear Ms Gessler, Ms Magnant and Mr Zampieri, The coronavirus has affected all countries in Europe, and it is already evident that the cultural sector is and will be heavily impacted. We stand in solidarity with every person and organisation that are affected by the virus not only in Europe but also elsewhere in the world, and by the measures taken to contain it. We highly appreciate that the European Commission and the EACEA have promptly reacted to the situation by making a brief statement on the consequences of the coronavirus on the Creative Europe programme. However, due to the urgency of reshaping current agendas related to the Creative Europe activities, we kindly ask for further clarifications concerning Creative Europe cooperation projects and the Networks’ action. There is also a need to explore possible effective measures to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the cultural and creative sectors. Timely responses to the issues below would enable better predictability and decision-making in the short- and mid- term. Main Issues and Proposals The diversity of the cultural and creative sectors and their activities calls for a multi-targeted approach to address the impacts being felt across the sectors due to COVID-19. A range of different possibilities should be open to cultural organisations benefiting from Creative Europe funding in order to provide the appropriate support and allow for fitting responses in the case of each organisation’s circumstances. Below, we outline the main areas at stake and put forward proposals that would help to support the cultural and creative sectors during this challenging time. 1. Flexibility measures Eligibility period For events that cannot take place within the originally foreseen eligibility period of a project or framework year: → Extend the eligibility period for projects and framework contracts with accordingly postponed project reporting deadlines Examples for networks: For networks in Year 3: → Prolong, the current framework by a period roughly corresponding to the period during which activities were not possible. Start (and end) Year 4 later accordingly → Permit the transfer of funds not used in Year 3 to be additionally used in Year 4 For networks in Year 4: → Prolong the eligibility period by a period roughly corresponding to the period during which activities were not possible Eligibility of costs For events that had to be cancelled but payments have already been made and related costs: → Make costs related to cancelled events and other cancelled activities eligible → Clarify the proof needed to show the eligibility of costs incurred For freelancers, who are especially affected by the cancellation of events and other activities, as their sole income often depends on these activities: → Allow the eligibility of a “solidarity fee” that beneficiaries can offer as payment to freelancers who were already hired for cancelled events and activities Replacement of activities In the case of postponing events becoming increasingly difficult, due to the uncertainty and to a possible accumulation of events after the crisis: → Allow beneficiaries to replace events with other formats and activities more suited to the current situation (e.g. webinars, publications, videos) or with activities that can be carried out independently of the current situation (e.g. transferring unspent costs to developing an organisation’s financial sustainability) Additional funding For beneficiaries facing significant losses (due to the refund of tickets, participation fees etc.) and where costs incurred for postponed or cancelled events and other activities cannot be recovered → Provide the possibility to apply for additional funding to mitigate losses and support the rescheduling of events where appropriate 2. Call for the EU to support the Cultural and Creative Sectors While public safety remains top priority, the European Cultural Networks, European Cultural Platforms and cultural organisations and its members stand in solidarity with artists and cultural operators affected by the emergency measures taken in light of the COVID-19 situation. The measures implemented are likely to overwhelm European theatres, museums, venues, archives, libraries, cultural heritage sites, cultural centres and other cultural and creative spaces reliant on audiences, visitors and participation, as well as the cultural ecosystem as such, creators, professionals, freelancers and SMEs who work within these practices, to support and technical staff. Without appropriate support measures, these decisions will have devastating economic and social impact on the sector. Whether employed or freelance, workers in the cultural and creative sectors, who are often in an already precarious situation, are facing a sudden and dramatic loss of income. Therefore we would like to encourage you -- To support our plea to the European institutions and national governments to adopt emergency measures that specifically and adequately support the sustainability of the cultural ecosystem - similarly to what is being planned for small businesses. -- To call on the European Commission to earmark part of the € 25 billion emergency package to Europe’s economy specifically for the cultural and creative sectors. As the President of the European Commission, Dr Ursula von der Leyen, has announced in the press that the European Commission intends to be as flexible as possible, we very much hope that you can provide positive answers to our suggestions. Yours sincerely, Culture Action Europe - www.cultureactioneurope.org IETM - International network for contemporary performing arts www.ietm.org The European Choral Association – Europa Cantat – europeanchoralassociation.org ECSA - European Composer and Songwriter Alliance - composeralliance.org/ European Cultural Foundation - www.culturalfoundation.eu European Music Council - www.emc-imc.org Circostrada Network - www.circostrada.org NEMO - Network of European Museum Organisations - www.ne-mo.org JMI - Jeunesses Musicales International - www.jmi.net On the Move - www.on-the-move.org FACE - Fresh Arts Coalition Europe - www.fresh-europe.org EUROPA NOSTRA - also on behalf of other members of the European Heritage Alliance 3.3. www.europeanheritagealliance.eu European Festivals Association (EFA) - www.efa-aef.eu IN SITU - European Platform for Artistic Creation in Public Spaces - www.in-situ.info EUNIC - EU National Institutes for Culture - www.eunicglobal.eu ELIA, globally connected European network in higher arts education - www.elia-artschools.org ENCC - The European Network of Cultural Centres - www.encc.eu TEH - Trans Europe Halles - www.teh.net EJN - Europe Jazz Network - www.europejazz.net ERIH - European Route of Industrial Heritage - www.erih.net FEDEC - European federation of professional circus schools - www.fedec.eu AEC - Association Européenne des Conservatoires, Académies de Musique et Musikhochschulen- www.aec-music.eu ENCATC, European Network on cultural management and policy - www.encatc.org International Music Council - www.imc-cim.org Soluzionimuseali ims - soluzionimuseali.com ACCR - Association des Centres culturels de rencontre - www.accr-europe.org Future For Religious Heritage - www.frh-europe.org European Concert Hall Organisation - www.concerthallorganisation.eu European Association of Archaeologists www.e-a-a.org The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) www.ifla.org Cumulus International Association of Universities and Colleges in Art, Design and Media - www.cumulusassociation.org International Music Council www.imc-cim.org RESEO – European Network for Opera, Music and Dance Education www.reseo.org ETC – European Theatre Convention www.europeantheatre.eu ITI Germany www.iti-germany.de ResArtis www.resartis.org European Historic Houses www.europeanhistorichouses.eu Europeana Foundation www.pro.europeana.eu European Dancehouse Network www.ednetwork.eu European Early Music Network www.rema-eemn.net EMCY – European Union of Music Competitions for Youth www.emcy.org REMA – Early Music in Europe www.rema-eemn.net ICOMOS International Council on Monuments and Sites www.icomos.org Live DMA www.live-dma.eu BSCC – The Baltic Sea Cultural Centre www.nck.org.pl