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Glossary of terms and concepts used in the arts funding programme of the Ministry of Education, the Arts and Culture
Administrations often use a specialised language or terminology. Many of these terms and concepts are defined by
law or have long been established among the expert community and may not be used otherwise.
As it is
our aim to present this site to our users in a clear and comprehensible manner, we have compiled a glossary of the most
important terms and explanations. ´
A
Action Programme
Advisory boards and juries
Artothek
Arts Division
Austrian Art Senate
Austrian Film Institute
AustrianTelevision Grants Fund
Awards
B
Book Retail Price
Maintenance
Book Support
Budget
C
Composition grants
Copyright
Copyright collecting societies
Copyright fee for reprography
Council of Europe (CoE)
Cultural Contact Point
CULTURE 2000
E
EU measures in support of the
arts
EU Work Plan for Culture
2005-2007
Eurimages
Europe for Citizens 2007-2013
Europe supports culture
European Capital of Culture
European Cultural Convention
European Union
F
Federal Art Grants
Act
Federal Theatres
Film Grants
Film/television agreement
G
Gallery grants
Grant guidelines
Grants and subsidies
Grants for concerts organisers
M
Magazine grants
MEDIA 2007
Media art grants
Memorials
Music Fund
Music
grants
P
Photographic
Collection
Professional associations
and interest groups
Publishing
grants
R
Reference film
funding
Resale right
S
Scholarships and
contributions
Social
Grants
Social Security
Socio-culture
Sponsoring
Steering Committee for Cultural Development
Subsidiarity principle
T
Tax measures for creative
artists
Theatre grants
Types of grants
U
UNESCO
From 2004 to 2006, support to cultural bodies in the form of contributions towards their operating costs was provided under the Community Action programme for the promotion of bodies active at European level in the field of culture. As of 2007, the new CULTURE 2007-2013 Programme of the EU will cover this form of subsidy. The general objective is to promote cultural bodies of European interest and to intensify and improve the European Union’s cultural policy measures. Support given under this programme takes the form of operating grants to bodies whose ongoing work programme pursues an aim of general European interest in the field of culture, and of organisations and networks making a contribution to the cultural life of Europe or which pursue an objective that is part of the European Union’s policy in this area.
The Action Programme also provides support to projects aiming at the preservation and commemoration of the main sites and archives associated with the deportations of the Second World War and their function as memorial sites. As of 2007, these so-called Holocaust Memorials are supposed to enhance the awareness of European citizens under the “Europe for Citizens Programme 2007-2013” of the EU. Apart from preserving and commemorating these memorial sites, the objective is to make present and future generations aware of the events in the camps and their underlying causes (Cultural Contact Point).
The Austrian system of advisory boards (Beiratssystem) provides for the consultation of independent expert bodies for awarding grants, scholarships, subsidies and awards. In accordance with § 9 of the Federal Art Grants Act (Bundes-Kunstförderungsgesetz) of 25 February 1988, the Federal Minister is free to “establish advisory boards or juries composed of experts in the respective fields, for deliberating on and preparing activities in support of individual art sectors”. The Federal Minister is not bound by the boards’ decisions. In practice, recommendations from advisory boards and juries are usually acted on. Ministerial accountability, which is laid down in the constitution, remains indivisible. In most cases, the advisory boards are chaired by civil servants (without voting rights) who contribute their long-standing experience and pass the boards’ recommendations on to the responsible units in the ministry.
The advisory boards are assigned to the individual departments of the Arts Division and reflect its administrative structure. Appointment to an advisory board is through the member of the government responsible for art issues. Members of the advisory boards are usually appointed for a term of three years. In the selection of board members, the Division strives for a balanced composition in terms of professional background, gender, regional diversity, etc.
Established in 1948, this art collection manages the works of art acquired by the Federal authorities as part of their activities in support of the arts. In 2002, storage and administration of the artwork owned by the state was entrusted to the Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Digitalisierung des Kulturgutes. Since the end of 2006, the art acquisitions of the Arts Division have been stored and looked after by the Gesellschaft at Speisingerstraße 66, 1130 Vienna. The premises include an exhibition room, art storage facilities, a library and documentation on the artwork. As a general principle, the artwork is loaned out to federal offices in Austria and abroad, and to semi-autonomous bodies controlled by the Federal authorities. Independent curators assist in setting up exhibitions to document current developments in Austrian art. A museum database – the outcome of a long-term project – has been put in place and is being regularly expanded and updated.
Having been located in various ministries in recent years, the Arts Division entrusted with arts grants has been
residing as Division VI with the Federal Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture since March 2007.
The
Arts Division comprises the following departments and/or areas of support:
- visual arts, architecture, design, fashion (II/1),
- music and performing arts (II/2),
- film and media art, photography, legal matters (II/3),
- budget management and grant control (II/4),
- literature and publishing (II/5), ´
- bilateral and multilateral cultural foreign affairs, medals and awards (II/6),
- regional cultural initiatives and cultural centres, support for inter- and multi-cultural activities, interdisciplinary projects (II/8).
Two related intermediary institutions that have been taken out of the immediate administrative scope of the Arts Division are the Austrian Film Institute (Österreichisches Filminstitut) and the association KulturKontakt AUSTRIA which was established in 1989 and is dedicated to cultural co-operation projects with the new eastern European democracies.
The Austrian Art Senate was established on 7 September 1954 “to honour outstanding personalities in the area of Austrian art and to advise the Federal Ministry of Education in issues relating to the state administration of the arts”. Every year, the 21-head strong Art Senate nominates an artist for the Großer Österreichischer Staatspreis (Awards) and elects the new members of the Senate from among the award winners. Election as a full, corresponding or honorary member is for life in accordance with the Senate’s statutes. Membership is on an honorary basis. The Art Senate has full members from the areas of architecture, music, literature and the visual arts. “For information purposes, the Art Senate shall contact all bodies dealing with art matters in Austria, submit proposals or present critical opinions”, says Article VI of its statutes.
The Austrian Film Funding Act (Filmförderungsgesetz -FFG) was adopted in 1980, relatively late in European terms, and the Austrian Film Fund was established in 1981. In 1987, Reference film funding (Referenzfilmförderung) were introduced with an amendment to the FFG. Another amendment in 1993 established the Austrian Film Institute (Österreichisches Filminstitut -ÖFI). Further structural and terminological modification designed to foster the development of the Austrian film funding system were brought about by the amendment to the Film Funding Act of 1 January 2005.
The film funding activities of ÖFI are in particular directed at: script and project development, Austrian films produced by Austrian producers under their own responsibility and international co-productions with Austrian participation, marketing of Austrian films and films equated to Austrian films, and the continuous vocational training of professionals working in the area of film. For the support of film production on a project basis (selective funding), undertakings shall be selected which promise artistic and/or economic success or comply with the objectives of new talent development. New talent development measures are designed to facilitate entry into the profession.
Funding decisions are made by the Project Commission. This consists of four expert members from the film industry (production, direction, script and marketing) and the Director of the Film Institute, who acts as chairperson. The decision about the level of funding allocated to the selected projects lies with the Director.
The activities of the Film Institute are supervised by a Supervisory Board, whose members are representatives of the Arts Division, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, the Federal Law Office, the “arts trade union” Kulturgewerkschaft Kunst, Medien, freie Berufe, the Austrian Economic Chamber, the professional association of the audio vision and film industry, and five experts in Austrian film. They are appointed for a term of three years each. The duties of the board are clearly defined and mainly comprise all issues that do not fall within the responsibilities of the Project Commission or the Director of the Film Institute (e.g. adoption of the guidelines for the award of funding or the institution’s bye-laws and financial rules).
The 2005 amendment of the Film Funding Act provided for the establishment of the Austrian Film Council (Österreichischer Filmrat), an expert body with broad-based participation of all stakeholders. The Council has the task of advising the Federal government in fundamental issues of film policy and public funding of Austrian film, and submitting appropriate recommendations.
The 2005 amendment also provided a statutory provision for the deadlines applying to the restitution of television rights. This provision is in line with European trends and provides for a restitution of rights to the producer after seven years. If the producer has received an above-average financial participation from the television provider a period of ten years may be agreed.
AustrianTelevision Grants Fund
On 1 January 2004, an amendment to the KommAustria Act established a television film fund at the Rundfunk und Telekom Regulierungs GmbH (RTR-GmbH), a subordinate body of the Federal Chancellery acting under the expert supervision of the Federal Ministry for Women Media and Civil Service. RTR-GmbH administers the fund and, under Section 3 para 1 of the Rundfunkgebührengesetz (Act on Broadcasting Subscription Fees), annually receives a € 7.5 million share of the subscription fees which formerly went to the Federal budget. RTR-GmbH has the remit to invest these funds and use them to support the creation of television productions. RTR-GmbH has drawn up guidelines for the allocation of grants from the fund and has set up an expert advisory board consisting of five film professionals with several years of practice. The funding decisions taken by the managing director of RTR-GmbH are guided by the funding objectives and the opinions expressed by the advisory board.
Maximum funding amounts to 20% of appropriate total production costs. The ceilings for individual projects are € 120,000 per episode of a TV series, € 200,000 for a TV documentary and € 700,000 for a television feature film. Grants take the form of non-repayable contributions. Independent production companies or producers with appropriate professional qualifications are eligible for funding. The funds are designed to increase the quality of television productions and the performance of the Austrian film industry, strengthen Austria as a media location and ensure a diverse cultural environment. In addition, the funds are to contribute to the strengthening of the audiovisual sector in Europe. In 2004, 81 projects were submitted for funding, 42 projects received a funding commitment and total funding amounted to € 7.2 million. Contact: filmfoerderung@rtr.at
Awards are bestowed for the individual disciplines on an annual or biannual basis – or according to a certain rota. A distinction is usually made between "Förderungspreise", or young-talent awards, and "Würdigungspreise", or tribute awards, that honour the life’s work of a mature artist. Some of the young-talent awards are based on prior invitations for nominations and jury assessment, while the tribute awards are bestowed upon recommendation by a jury. Young-talent awards are endowed with a bursary of € 5.500 or € 7.300, tribute awards with € 7.300, € 11.000 or € 14.600. The awards are bestowed for the disciplines of literature, literature for children and young people, visual arts, architecture, design, fashion, music, film and photography as well as for art and cultural projects fostering the integration of people with disabilities and/or for regional cultural innovation.
Special awards are bestowed mainly in the areas of literature and journalism, among them the Erich-Fried-Preis für Literatur und Sprache, the Manes-Sperber-Preis für Literatur, the Österreichische Staatspreis für Kulturpublizistik bzw. Literaturkritik or the Staatspreis für Europäische Literatur, the Förderungspreis für experimentelle Tendenzen in der Architektur and the Förderungspreis für experimentelles Design within the context of the Adolf Loos Staatspreis für Design, a co-operative venture with the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Raiffeisen Landesbank Wien and Design Austria. Every two years the architectural award “Das beste Haus” (The best house) is granted jointly with s-Bausparkasse and Architektur Zentrum Wien for the best architectural design of single family houses.
The Große Österreichische Staatspreis (Great Austrian State Award) is bestowed upon the recommendation of the Austrian Art Senate to an artist in the sphere of architecture, visual arts, literature and music, and without any pre-determined rota between the disciplines. It is awarded to honour an artist’s life’s work and is endowed with € 30.000. For the areas of film and photography, the Großer Österreichischer Staatspreis is awarded by an appointed jury, not by the Art Senate. Furthermore, medals and honorary professional titles may be awarded to persons who have gained general recognition and an outstanding reputation in the arts sphere. The Staatspreis is awarded by the Federal President upon a proposal by the Federal Chancellor or the Federal government after thorough inspection of the proposals submitted.
Following several years of proceedings before the European Commission and negotiations in Brussels, it was decided that a cross-border system of fixed book prices as existed between Austria, Germany and Switzerland (“Sammelrevers”) was not admissible since it represented an infringement of EU competition law. In February 2000, it was agreed that the cross-border price-fixing system would be terminated in June 2000, but that the establishment of national systems of fixing book prices was admissible provided they did not contravene community law, especially with regard to the free circulation of goods.
Since Austria imports more than 80% of books, the country opted for a law-based solution. Austria adopted a law modelled on the French system – which is known as “Loi Lang” - whose compliance with EU law has been confirmed by several rulings of the European Court of Justice.
The Federal Act on the Book Retail Price Maintenance System (FLG I No 45/2000) was adopted unanimously. Having first come into force on 30 June 2000 with a limited duration of five years, it was amended in 2004 (FLG I No 113/2004) and is now applicable without limitation. It applies to the “publication, import and trade, except cross-border electronic trade, concerning German language books and music items.” The retail price is determined by the publisher or importer. Domestic publishers are held to consider “the status of books as cultural goods, the interests of the consumers in fair prices and the business economics of the book trade” when determining the price. Importers of German language books and music items are required to consider the retail price abroad when fixing a minimum price. Book dealers may concede discounts of no more than 5% of the minimum price; public, scientific and school libraries may be conceded a 10% discount.
This law is designed to perpetuate the differentiated and diverse nature of the Austrian publishing industry and book market even after the termination of the old system. The concurrent liberalisation of the retail price caters to the needs of the market and to the wishes of the consumers. With the act on retail price maintenance, the Austrian legislature has shown that it puts cultural policy objectives above considerations purely oriented to the market or competitiveness. Austria has thus taken the lead in what appears to become a general trend at EU level, which raises expectations, within language communities, for further integration, taking the EU from a mere competitive community in a single market to a diverse cultural community. Two years after the Austrian law on book retail price maintenance entered into force, Germany adopted a law on fixing book prices which shares many features with its Austrian counterpart.
In the spring of 2002, the European Parliament submitted recommendations to the Commission on the drawing up of a directive for the protection of national retail price maintenance systems. It is recommended that every EU member state should be entitled to introduce, maintain or allow retail price maintenance systems for books. At present, most member states have some kind of legal provision, which does not apply, however, to the sale of books from other countries. The current proposal sets out to prevent an erosion of the retail price maintenance system for books by online trading with other countries.
Act on the Fixing of Book Prices - German Version
Apart from direct grants going to contemporary writers, there are a number of measures which may be considered as support for literature although writers benefit more indirectly from them. This includes the support of book projects through contributions towards the printing cost and the acquisition of books by Department 5 (Literature and Publishing) of the Arts Division. This measure focuses on publishers of works of literary merit, but also benefits publishers who demonstrate a willingness to run certain risks. In isolated cases, the acquisition of works supports publications whose more widespread dissemination seems desirable.
Austria's art budget is drawn up according to the principles of accuracy, transparency and annuality which are laid down in the Federal Budget Act. Since the mid-1970s, the cultural programme and the concomitant public funds have multiplied. In 2006, expenditure in support of the arts of the Arts Division amounted to € 87.84 million. This means a rank in the upper echelons of art budgets of comparable European states. In Austria as in all European countries, art and culture are predominantly supported with public funds, private contributions or sponsoring, which is a more recent phenomenon. Apart from the remit that covers the arts, the Federal Theatres and Film Grants, the Federal Ministry for Education, the Art and Culture (BMUKK) is responsible for matters pertaining to the Federal Museums (unless they come under the remit of the Federal Ministries of the Interior and/or Defence) to the Austrian National Library, to the Österreichische Phonothek, to monument protection, public libraries and popular culture. The Austrian Foreign Ministry (BMEIA) is responsible for foreign cultural policy.
Department 2 (Music and performing arts) within the Arts Division supports composers through annual state scholarships, individual grants in case of commissions by particularly qualified ensembles, contributions towards study visits abroad and contributions towards equipment for the production of scores. Prizes and awards are awarded in recognition of outstanding artistic achievements. These measures serve to improve the standing of new music in the concert arena.
The purpose of copyrights is to protect original works in the fields of literature, music, the visual arts and film, and to facilitate the assertion of the intellectual and material rights of the originators and ancillary copyright beneficiaries. The basis of currently applicable copyright law is the most recent version of the Austrian Copyright Act. According to this Act, a copyright arises with the creation of a work by its originator. No formal act - such as notification or registration - is required in order to obtain copyright protection for the work. Pursuant to § 1 of the Copyright Act, such works must be "personal intellectual creations in the fields of literature, music, the visual arts and film". They enjoy both integral and partial copyright protection. Rights can be assigned against or without valuable consideration.
Modern copyright law - originally intended as a protective law for creative genius - is understood to apply not only to individual rights. Increasingly, it has been assigned a compensating, socially effective function. Besides safeguarding the subsistence of the (commercially successful) originator, it serves to make a cultural and social contribution. This compensating, socially effective aspect is expressed in several clauses of the Copyright Act in its currently valid version. Since the 1980s, developments in copyright law have increasingly tended towards lump-sum compensation (Copyright fee on blank tape, Library copyright fee, Copyright fee for reprography). Proceeds from claims for compensation, which are asserted by Copyright collecting societies, are partly devoted to social and cultural purposes, and partly distributed to the holders of copyrights. Pursuant to legal obligations (Art. II of the 1980 amendment to the Copyright Act), the major part of proceeds from copyright fees on blank tape is allocated to facilities maintained by the copyright collecting societies which serve social and cultural purposes. Upon entry into force of the new Performing Rights Act [Verwertungsgesellschaftengesetzes (VerwGesRÄG 2006, FLG I No.9/2006)] on 1 July, 2006, the sum allocated by law amounts to 50%. In February 1996, the Austrian National Council adopted a reform of the Copyright Act which revised copyright law to allow for contemporary conditions and in particular to take into account novel ways of utilising works protected by copyright. The main changes included the creation of a copyright fee for reprography to compensate for reproduction for domestic use, an improved legal position for originators of films, easier access to copyrighted works for educational purposes, the introduction of a legal license for showing films from commercial video cassettes in the hospitality industry, extended copyright periods for films, and implementation of the EU Cable and Satellite Directive.
The 1997 amendment to the Copyright Act, which served to implement EC Directive 96/9/EC on the legal protection of databases, sets down special regulations for databases, in particular as regards public performance rights, free utilisation of the work, and proprietary rights. To qualify for copyright protection, a database has to be a "personal intellectual creation".
The most recent amendment to the Copyright Act (FLG I No 32/2003) embodies the "Information Society Copyright Directive" (Directive 2001/29/EC) in Austrian law. Amendment was required mainly as regards new types of technical exploitation (e.g. digitalisation, Internet), and implemented inter alia by the introduction of a right to interactive public performance, minor adjustments in the list of types of free utilisation, and the improvement of legal protection against the circumvention of technical measures.
The main purposes of the amendment of the Copyright Act of 2005 were to transpose the Artist’s Resale Right Directive 2001/84/EC (Artist’s Resale Right) into national law and to upgrade the entitlement to a share in the “cable remuneration” granted to the originators of films under the 1996 amendment of the Copyright Act. The amendment of the Copyright Act of 2006, FLG I No. 81/2006, served the purpose of adjusting the Act to the Directive 2004/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights.
Copyright Act - German Version (pdf, 157 KB)
Copyright collecting societies
The primary task of these societies is to assert such rights and claims as cannot effectively be asserted individually because of the large number of exploiters of a work. They do not exploit copyrights themselves, but grant licenses for the utilisation of a large number of copyrighted works to the actual exploiters, i.e. organisers of events, radio and TV stations, producers of CDs and videos, restaurant owners and the like. In the economic exploitation of a work, the Copyright secures the exclusive right of utilisation and claim to compensation for the entitled parties. For practical reasons in particular, exploitation rights are not linked to enjoyment of the work, but to acts of utilisation. Detailed accounts of the royalties which copyright collecting societies collect in asserting the rights of their members are rendered twice a year. Any artist producing works in the fields in which copyright collecting societies are active can become a member (beneficiary) of such a society.
Besides asserting exclusive rights as trustees (right of public performance, right of public citation, broadcasting rights, cable retransmission rights, right to reproduction of sound and image carriers etc.), copyright collecting societies also assert for their beneficiaries the originators' claims to appropriate compensation accruing from legal licenses. Besides ensuring the exploitation of individual copyrights, copyright collecting societies therefore also act as collection agencies for remunerative copyright cases where the utilisation of a work can no longer be assessed in individual contact between originator and user, and billed for each individual case of utilisation, e.g. as regards Copyright fee on blank tape for the reproduction of phonograms and videograms for personal use, textbook copyright fee for reproduction in schoolbooks and textbooks, Library copyright fee on borrowing at public libraries or Copyright fee for reprography on reproduction for personal use by means of reprography or similar methods.
The Federal Chancellor's Office grants and amends operating licenses for copyright collecting societies and exercises governmental supervision over these monopoly companies. The competent state commissioners are responsible for ensuring that the copyright collecting societies duly assume their legal tasks and duties. The following copyright collecting societies currently exist in Austria:
- Staatlich genehmigte Gesellschaft der Autoren, Komponisten und Musikverleger AKM, the officially authorised society of authors, composers and music publishers, specialising in (small-scale) rights of public performance and broadcasting rights for works of music and the related texts;
- Staatlich genehmigte Literarische Verwertungsgesellschaft (L.V.G.), the officially authorised literary copyright collecting society, specialising in (small-scale) rights of public citation and broadcasting rights for literary works, insofar as they are not texts related to music;
- Austro-Mechana GmbH, a private limited company specialising in the exploitation and utilisation of mechanical musical copyrights;
- Literar-Mechana GmbH, a private limited company specialising in rights to the mechanical reproduction and distribution of literary works;
- Verwertungsgesellschaft bildender Künstler VBK (visual artists);
- LSG – Wahrnehmung von Leistungsschutzrechten GmbH (music labels);
- Oesterreichische Interpretengesellschaft OESTIG (performers);
- Verwertungsgesellschaft Rundfunk VGR (broadcasting);
- Verwertungsgesellschaft für audiovisuelle Medien VAM (audio-visual media);
- Verwertungsgesellschaft für Bild und Ton VBT (image and sound);
- Musikedition – Gesellschaft zur Wahrnehmung von Rechten und Ansprüchen aus Musikeditionen, reg. Gen.mbH (music editions);
- VDFS – Verwertungsgesellschaft Dachverband der Filmschaffenden Österreichs reg. Gen.mbH. (films).
In accordance with the Collecting Societies Act (VerwGesRÄG 2006, FLG. I No.9/2006), which became effective on July 2006, the Austria Communication Authority [Kommunikationsbehörde Austria (KommAustria)] acts as supervisory body for the collecting societies. A Copyright Senate (Urheberrechtssenat), set up at the Federal Ministry of Justice, acts as an appeals body .
Act on Copyright Collecting Societies - German Version (pdf, 26 KB)
The 1996 amendment to the Copyright Act (UrhG, FLG No.151/1996) introduced a copyright fee comparable to the Copyright fee on blank tape to compensate copyright holders for the multiplication of their works for private/home use by means of reprographic processes. There are two types of reprography fees, one for single devices and one for (large-scale) operators. The device fee is payable by the party to first commercially put the respective device (copier, fax, scanner) on the market (§ 42 para 2 line 1 and para 3 UrhG). The (large-scale) operator fee is payable if such a device is operated in schools, universities, other educational or research institutions or in facilities which offer copying services commercially (e.g. copy shops). The copyright fee for reprography can only be collected by Copyright collecting societies (Verwertungsgesellschaften).
On 20 December 1996, an agreement about the administration of the device fee was concluded between the collecting societies Literar-Mechana, VBK and Musikedition and the Bundesgremium des Maschinenhandels and the Bundesgremium des Radio- und Elektrohandels within the Austrian Economic Chamber. The agreement provides for a graduated scale of annual lump sum fees depending on the type of device used (copier, fax or scanner) and the copying speed. On 31 October 1996, an agreement about the administration of the operator fee for copy shops was concluded between the collecting societies Literar-Mechana and VBK and the Bundesinnung Druck and Bundesinnung Fotografie within the Austrian Economic Chamber. The agreement provides for a graduated scale of annual lump sum fees depending on the site (university, public library, near or not near to a university, sites where there are no universities, etc.) and copying speed.
At the end of 1997, an agreement was concluded on lump sum compensation for the operation of copying machines by universities, art academies and research institutions run by the Federal authorities between the collecting societies Literar-Mechana and VBK and the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Transport. The income from the fee is first divided between the collecting societies Literar-Mechana, VBK and Musikedition. Literar-Mechana allocates 90% of its share individually on the basis of market research data and 10% goes to its social and cultural activities.
Foundered as an intergovernmental organisation immediately after the Second World War, the CoE bases its cultural and educational activities on general humanist and democratic values. After 1989/90, the young central and eastern European democracies gradually joined the organisation. Aspects of vital significance for the sphere of culture are the European Cultural Convention and the Steering Committee for Culture (CD-CULT). Since 1989, the CoE has been engaged in a national cultural-policy review programme. In addition to a report on cultural policy guidelines, concepts, structures and budgets of the countries involved in the “European Programme of National Cultural Policy Reviews”, external experts from other European countries provide expert opinions on the basis of this report. At present, national reports on the cultural policy of the following countries have been completed: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldavia, Montenegro, Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Sweden, Slovak Republic, Slovenia.
Since 1999, the Council of Europe has also been preparing “transversal studies” on various cultural priority themes, including “VAT and Book Policy Impacts and Issues” or “Cultural Employment in Europe”. The studies involve a maximum of six to eight states; they are designed as exemplary case studies for comparable domestic studies of the other member states. The CoE has shown great commitment in its technical-assistance activities in the cultural sphere in East and South-East Europe. Special mention must be made of the MOSAIC project for Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia, Moldavia as well as Serbia and Montenegro, which was successfully concluded in 2002. Slovenia, Croatia, Bulgaria, and Romania, will not be involved in the MOSAIC II follow-up project. It was immediately followed up with MOSAIC II in which Serbia and Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as Macedonia will continue to participate. The STAGE project was carried out to provide technical assistance to the Caucasian republics of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. An “Action Plan for Russia” was launched in 2003.
A future focus area of CoE activities will be cultural diversity and conflict prevention. Necessary preparations started in 2002. In the same year, the former expert committee on culture of the steering committee “Council of European Cultural Co-operation” was upgraded into a steering committee, while the council was dissolved.
In 1998, on an initiative of the European Commission, every member state of the European Union set up a Cultural Contact Point (CCP), which serves as an advisory centre for and liaison between Austrian creative workers and artists and the European Union's CULTURE 2000 and/or CULTURE 2007-2013 grants programmes. Within the Cultural Division of the Federal Ministry for Education, the Arts and Culture the CCP forms part of the EU cultural affairs Department 8 and is in charge of contemporary art production. The CCP is managed jointly with Department 4 of the Cultural Division, which is responsible for matters pertaining to the cultural heritage. The tasks of the CCP include providing information about EU measures in support of culture and the European Union’s cultural policy activities, providing support for applicants and helping to find partners for cooperation projects as well as establishing a network of CCPs with the other member states. The CCP regularly organises information events on the CULTURE 2007-2013 programme and workshops for applicants.
This Community programme of the European Union in support of artistic and cultural activities was wound up at the end of 2006. CULTURE 2000 had been adopted at the end of 1999 replacing the prior cultural programmes Kaleidoskope, Ariane and Raphael. Initially planned for a period of five years, the programme was extended until 2006. The budget for the entire time-span amounted to ca € 240 million. With the objective of moving towards a common cultural area, all cultural activities with the exception of film (MEDIA PLUS) were promoted under the heading of CULTURE 2000. Activities supported were cultural cooperation projects running for one or several years, as well as specific cultural events with a European dimension (e.g. European Capital of Culture). The Community grant for projects extending over one year was capped at 50%, for multiannual projects at 60% of total project costs. The programme includes annual calls for proposals specifying the conditions for participation and priorities of content. (Cultural Contact Point). As of 2007, project grants will continue to be allocated under the new European CULTURE 2007-2013 programme.
Geändert am 03.08.2007