The statement was made at the end of the meeting chaired by the Spanish Minister, Ángeles González-Sinde, who was responsible for announcing a document signed and supported by all of the European Ministers of Culture.

This document acknowledges the creative and economic potential of European culture and its creative industries, as well as the need for all Member States to work in a harmonised and sustainable way to adapt to the new business models arising from the change from analogue to digital.

To achieve this, they are proposing a series of initiatives relating to “innovation, competitiveness, the digital agenda and social inclusion” as well as a popular consultation among professionals and citizens to clear the future of European culture, as explained by the European Commissioner for Culture, Androulla Vassiliou.

The maintenance and conservation of European cultural heritage; supporting SMEs by means of efficient and genuine tax measures; implementing policies on training and education among young people; and the fight against poverty inside and outside Europe, were other initiatives included in the joint statement.

All of the details of the meeting were presented at a press conference by the Spanish minister and the European Commissioner for Culture who both highlighted the positive result of this meeting as well as the meeting held as part of the Second European Forum on Cultural Industries held on 29 and 30 March in Barcelona.

They also stressed the need to implement common cultural policies as well as creating a European judicial framework for a sector that generates 5 million jobs and represents 2.6% of GDP of all EU countries.

These will be supported by the data included in the “Green Paper on Cultural Industries by the European Commission”, which will be published on 28 April 2010. “Culture is essential for strengthening Europe around the world”, concluded González-Sinde.