Since Glenn Micallef has taken on the role of Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture, and Sport in December 2024, he expressed his wish to reframe and reinforce the EU cultural endeavours.
In his Mission Letter, the President of the European Commission tasked Commissioner Micallef with developing a new “Culture Compass, an overarching strategic framework to guide and harness the multiple dimensions of culture.”
This initiative is now in its initial consultation and call for evidence phase. The first consultation took place at the European Commission on March 20th, 2025 and brought together EU-funded cultural projects and other cultural stakeholders, each of which had the opportunity to suggest a priority for the future of the European cultural scene.
In this context, Culture Action Europe (CAE), the European network of cultural networks, launched the Blueprint initiative to compile the sector's proposals into a single advocacy document comprising 10 briefs. Reset! coordinated and edited the first policy brief, emphasising the importance of artistic freedom in this Culture Compass.
Artistic Freedom as the Compass Leading Direction
Reset! contributed to the CAE document by emphasising the essential role of artistic freedom in democracy and cultural pluralism. Together with 13 other cultural networks, we emphasised that artistic freedom encompasses not only freedom of expression and individual artists, but also cultural workers, and institutions. We highlighted the urgent need for safeguards against political interference, financial coercion, censorship, and online harassment.
We are calling on the EU to take concrete steps, such as integrating artistic freedom into the Rule of Law Report, establishing a European Observatory, and creating funding and protection mechanisms for at-risk artists.
By doing so, we put forward a critical analysis of the current threats and a practical plan of action to ensure that cultural expression remains free and diverse across Europe.