»Culture as an Component of European Foreign Policy«

Introduction by Günter Gloser, Minister of State for Europe, Federal Foreign Office, Berlin
Subsequent panel debate with Christoph Bartmann, Head of the Culture and Society Division, Goethe Institute, Munich, Kathinka Dittrich van Weringh, Chair of the Board of the European Cultural Foundation (ECF), Amsterdam, Günter Gloser, Minister of State for Europe, Federal Foreign Office, Berlin, Monika Griefahn, Member of the German Bundestag, Berlin, Richard Kühnel, Cabinet of EU Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner -  DG External Relations and Neighbourhood Policy of the EU, Brussels. Moderation: Hansjürgen Rosenbauer, Berlin-Brandenburg Media Council, Berlin

In today's frontierless, digitised world of competition, no nation can survive alone any more. Communities of states are forming on every continent. The European Union is the most highly integrated of these communities, based on the European interpretation of universal human rights. What does it see as being its role in this networked, conflict-ridden world? What cultural, confidence-building measures can the EU initiate/intensify/better coordinate/support in agreement with the Member States? How can the EU and the Member States communicate to the world, credibly and in a two-way system, that they respect the cultural diversity of "the others" as being of equal value? Are they convinced that Europe's multicultural societies and the culture industries are inspired by "the others"? Is it understood that a cultural policy of diversity for Europe and a coordinated cultural policy outside Europe are two sides of one and the same coin? That they contribute not only to cohesion within Europe, but also to confidence-building outside Europe? There are already a number of points of contact between national cultural policy and European foreign cultural policy today. How can they be strengthened? And: is closer cooperation in the cultural sector conceivable between the inward-looking EU Directorate-General for Education and Culture and the Directorate-General for External Relations - as is increasingly the case at the national level? What form could European "added value" take in cultural projects in third countries that are considered worthy of EU support?