(MTI) - Geza Szocs, who attended a meeting of EU culture ministers in Godollo near Budapest, said that culture can indeed help Europe recover from the crisis. "One of the main targets of the Hungarian EU presidency is to get approval for a set of documents on this subject during the cultural council meeting on May 19-20," said Szocs.
Culture is among the first areas where austerity measures are introduced in times of crisis, Szocs said. "Yet, we argue against this mentality, saying that money spent on culture is not only an investment for the future as the results can already be seen in the present," he said.
Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, said that all participants at Monday's meeting agreed about the value and importance of culture in European growth and job creation. The politicians who are to decide about the EU budget for the period from 2014 will have to understand this, she added.
"Studies and various survey shows that cultural and creative sectors yield some 3-4.5 percent of GDP in the EU, which is more than what the machine industry or the chemical industry generates," Vassiliou said.
The ministers as well as the Commission support the continuation of the EU's Culture programme, as well as the EU film promotion programme MEDIA, she added.
