Today, Bosnia and Herzegovina signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the European Commission which will allow full participation in the EU Culture Programme. Pending its entry into force, the Memorandum of Understanding shall apply provisionally, starting from the year 2011. This allows cultural operators from Bosnia and Herzegovina to be eligible on an equal footing with the EU Member States and the other participating countries in all calls for proposals for cultural projects and initiatives co-financed under the Culture Programme. This agreement is an important step in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s integration into Europe’s cultural diversity and in the pre-accession process for European Union membership. 

“I am pleased to see that with Bosnia and Herzegovina’s we have another Western Balkan country on board to participate in the Culture Programme”, said Director General for Education, Training, Culture and Youth Truszczyński. “European integration is not merely a political construct. It is a collective – of institutions, ideas, customs, languages, memories and projects for the future – which draws Europeans together. Intercultural dialogue is one of the long-term priorities of EU policy: to counter any tendency to retreat; to encourage positive contact between people; to strengthen fragile communities and individuals.”

At a ceremony held in Brussels today, on behalf of the European Commission Director General for Education, Training, Culture and Youth Truszczyński and on behalf of Bosnia and Herzegovina Minister for Civil Affairs Nović signed the Memorandum.

Background

The Culture Programme has been established to enhance the cultural area shared by Europeans, which is based on a common cultural heritage. The Programme proposes funding opportunities to all cultural sections and all categories of cultural operators contributing to the development of cultural cooperation at European level, with a view to encouraging the emergence of European citizenship.

The Programme is aimed at three specific objectives:

• promotion of the trans-national mobility of people working in the cultural sector;
• support for the trans-national circulation of cultural and artistic works and products;
• promotion of inter-cultural dialogue.

With a total budget of 400 million EUR over a time span of 7 years (2007-2013) the Culture Programme allows to co-finance around 300 different cultural actions and initiatives per year to celebrate Europe’s cultural diversity.

Since the adoption of the European Agenda for Culture in May 2007, a new framework and vision for culture in the EU’s external relations has emerged. Culture is increasingly perceived as a strategic factor for political, social and economic development.

Participation in the Culture Programme means that Bosnia and Herzegovina competes for the funding of cultural projects and initiatives on the same basis as EU Member States and the other participating countries¹. The Programme supports projects, organisations, promotional activities and research in all branches of culture, except the audiovisual branch for which there is a separate programme named MEDIA. Cultural operators, including cultural enterprises, can participate in the Programme as long as they are acting in a non-profit-making cultural capacity. Bosnia and Herzegovina has a rich cultural tradition and more cultural cooperation with the EU will allow for a greater flow of ideas. The signing of the MoU is the last step in a long procedure starting with: the request to become participant; discussing the terms and conditions and completing the respective internal adoption procedure.

In order to participate in the Culture Programme Bosnia and Herzegovina as non-EU Member State has to pay an annual financial contribution (the ‘entry ticket’) of 50,000 Euro. As stipulated by the MoU, the country can request a financial contribution from the IPA national programme. The MoU foresees that the entry ticket will be co-financed from the IPA 2009 national programme  for the remaining three years of the Programme (2011- 2013) in the respective percentage: 90% (2011), 85 % (2012) and 80% (2013). 

More information on the Culture Programme.

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–    the Member States of the European Union –    the countries of the EEA (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway); –    potential candidate and candidate countries for accession to the European Union (Croatia, Turkey, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro)