Following up on its resolutions of 2020 [1] and 2021 [2] on the topic of artists and cultural workers' post-pandemic recovery and welfare, the EP launched on 12 June a legislative own-initiative draft report on an EU framework for the social and professional situation of artists and workers in the cultural and creative sectors, with a view to calling the Commission to take action.

With this paper, we wish to contribute to our reflections and present our considerations for a European initiative. It is underlined that comments are based on the experience and scope of our membership which is the live performance sector, and thus only one of the many other cultural and creative sectors that are being targeted.

In general, our members welcome the attention paid by the European Parliament to the situation of artists and cultural professionals in the cultural and creative sectors. In this regard, it’s also welcomed that a parallel debate is taking place in Council, through the OMC group, including representatives of ministries of culture and of employment, on working conditions of artists and cultural workers, as part of the Cultural Council work plans 2019-2022 and 2023-2026.

In the position paper, first, a description is made of the characteristics of the sector, the specific career and working patterns, the labour market aspects, and the functioning, including the international dimension. This allows to present a number of key principles that are applied in the EU, including social acquis and copyright acquis, the role of social partners, adequate social protection, and the need for specific rules for short-term mobility. In the third part of the paper, a number of concrete proposals and pragmatic solutions are formulated to address the gaps identified.

The paper underlines that cultural funding policies must go in hand with social security funding policies, employment measures, and attention to the entire ecosystem. If the sectors can thrive so can those working in the sector.

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[1] EP resolution of 19 September 2020 on “the cultural recovery of Europe”  

[2] EP resolution of 20 0ctober 2021 on “the situation of artists and the cultural recovery in the EU”