Europe as a Global Actor

Specific challenge: At a time when other major global players, such as China or South Korea, are stepping up their public diplomacy efforts around cultural issues, including science and education, cultural diplomacy is also of increasing interest in the European Union. While there is a strong history of cultural diplomacy both within Europe and between Europe and the wider world, a  number of recent initiatives have been launched by the European Commission and the European Parliament to reinforce the link between EU foreign and cultural policies. The Commission's "European Agenda for Culture in a Globalising World" has led to the establishment of a Member States' expert group on culture and external relations (taking China as a test case), which has delivered a report with recommendations. Following its 2011 resolution on "Cultural dimensions of EU external actions", the European Parliament has launched a Preparatory Action on culture in external relations, implemented by the Commission. These initiatives are based on the assumption that European cultural heritage and the long-standing experience with protecting it, as well as European science, need to be promoted, and therefore included in a broader global strategy.

Effective and coherent EU cultural and science diplomacy cannot only be a major means of furthering inter-cultural dialogues with third countries and regions, but it can also help in promoting trade in (cultural) goods and services to and from the EU as a basis for building relationships.

Moreover, it provides a significant tool for projecting Europe's immensely rich and diverse cultural heritage to the world and of allowing the EU to contribute to the global governance of culture and science. Inversely, cultural and scientific exchanges can also contribute to facilitating diplomatic relations and cultural diplomacy can be (co-)delivered by actors in a "bottom up" manner.

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