EENC - European Expert Network on Culture

The study looks at characteristics of employment of artists and cultural and creative professionals in EU Member States with regard to: artist status and entitlements, social security, self-employment, support ecosystems and alternative financing, artistic freedom, career development, measures countering the Covid crisis. The European Commission conducted this study in close collaboration with several sectoral stakeholder organisations: Culture Action Europe, IETM, On the Move, PEARLE - Live Performance Europe and Freemuse.

The short analytical report focusing on the financial environment for the Cultural and Creative Sectors (CCSs) in EU Member States has been requested to the European Expert Network on Culture (EENC) by the Directorate General for Education and Culture of the European Commission (DG EAC).

The report maps the obstacles, in the fields of social security and taxation, which artists and cultural professionals face when they are mobile or seek to be mobile in the EU.

The report was prepared by Marie Le Sourd, Elena Di Federico (both members of staff of On The Move) and Dr Sung-Won Yoon. The report includes useful references and weblinks of organisations in the fields of performing arts, publishing, cultural heritage, visual arts and audiovisual as well as a section on cultural mobility.

This document aims to present relevant trends and examples in different cultural sectors, provide recommendations to European institutions on how to foster audience building on a European level, and identify gaps in existing information.

The EU Culture Forum 2011 is now over - took place 20-21 October in Brussels - however it is worth keeping the 4 thematic papers on digitisation, skills, civil society empowerment in third countries, Culture as an investment for EU regions written for the background documentation.