Eu Budget Bashed

Organizations representing labels, collecting societies, publishers, artists and performers have written to the European Commission expressing concern that there is still no allocation for music initiatives in the European Union budget for 2007-2013.

The open letter was sent Nov. 5 to Viviane Reding, the outgoing commissioner for education and culture, and Jan Figel, commissioner-designate in charge of education, training, culture and multilinguism.

Figel took over from Reding Nov. 22, following the European Parliament's approval Nov. 18 of the 24 commissioners that EC president-designate José Manuel Barroso nominated to serve five-year terms.

The letter was an initiative of Brussels-based lobbying group the European Music Office. "We are looking forward to working with the new commissioner," EMO secretary-general Jean-François Michel says. "There are a lot of expectations from the creative community."

Michel adds that Reding's office acknowledged receipt of the letter, which also went to the culture ministers of all 25 EU member states.

The letter was endorsed by European rights-society umbrella group GESAC, the International Confederation of Music Publishers, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and European independent labels' body Impala. More than 20 other national organizations also signed it.

The letter relates to current discussions about the EC budget for 2007-2013. In particular, it raises industry concerns over the "Culture 2007" program, which will allocate EU funds to various cultural initiatives during the period.

The EC manages a yearly budget that exceeds 100 billion euros ($130 billion).

In the coming months, a new generation of cultural and audiovisual programs will be established by the EC, the European Parliament and the EU's main decision-making body, the Council of the European Union.

Michel says there are indications that there will again be no specific budget within Culture 2007 allocated to the creative industries.

"Our initiative is [intended] to remind the commission, the parliament and the council that we professionals need a specific program that will take into account our industries," Michel says.

Noting that the EU music sector "is an important contributor to economic development, as well as to true cultural pluralism," the letter expresses regret that the EC has not taken into consideration "our particular social and economic specificities in its proposals for Culture 2007."

The signatories "urge" the EC, parliament and council to revise the Culture 2007 proposal "to help musical creation and its circulation and to support professional training in the industry."

The EMO argues that there are still hindrances to the EU working as a single market—notably legislative and social issues that can affect cross-border touring. The body suggests that several pilot projects could help address some of these issues.

An IFPI representative says the organization is backing the EMO initiative because "IFPI has always been supportive of pilot projects to help artists tour and of the plans to establish a European Export Office in the United States."

According to the EMO, the European music industry in 2003 amassed sales of 9.5 billion euros ($12.4 billion) and employed 650,000 people.