On 2 October 2025, Culture Action Europe invited to an online meeting and exchange regarding the EU Culture Compass, currently being developed by the EU Commission.
Organized as part of Culture Action Europe’s Ask, Pay, Trust campaign, the meeting provided insight into the jointly developed discussion paper Towards the Culture Compass: A Sector Blueprint, which outlines perspectives for future cultural strategies at EU level.
30 European cultural networks jointly developed this paper, which directly comments on the preparations and drafts of the Culture Compass, whose publication is expected in November 2025.
In ten thematic fields of action – including artistic freedom, fair working conditions, international cultural relations, cultural participation, and culture & sustainability – the paper formulates concrete policy guidelines and visions. Amongst others:
- Culture as a fundamental right and democratic foundation – The paper calls for culture to be recognised as a foundational public good and cultural participation as a fundamental right in EU policy, with access to culture and cultural participation embedded across all levels of governance.
- Stronger EU-level protections for the cultural sector – There is a clear demand for binding EU measures, such as an Artistic Freedom Act and a directive on decent working conditions for artists and cultural workers, to ensure artistic freedom, fair labour conditions, and structural support across Member States.
- Adequate and strategic funding within the next EU budget – The blueprint emphasizes the need for a well-resourced Creative Europe culture strand (e.g. under AgoraEU) and structural culture components in other EU funding programmes to support sustainability, innovation, participation, and international cultural relations
In addition to the exchange on the paper, the meeting also discussed next steps within the Ask, Pay, Trust campaign. The aim of the campaign is to disseminate knowledge and arguments, enable networking among cultural actors, and work with them towards a stronger integration of culture into European policies.
There is a recording of the session available on the Culture Action Europe event website.