EU parliamentarian on Culture

Our first guest is Ignasi Guardans from Catalonia (Spain).

Ignasi Guardans

Qultures covers European culture, both tangible culture such as castles, museums, festivals and exhibitions, but also culture through ethics, identity and values. Qultures is dedicated to this quest for our sense of place and history in a world of both interconnectedness and local identity, unity and diversity. Who are we? Where are we going? To help us answer these questions Qultures has invited members of the EU parliament to join in on the discussions? The following weeks will feature interviews with members of the EU parliament involved in cultural issues to give us their opinion.  

Ignasi Guardans was born in Barcelona in 1964, studied law at the University of Navarra and did his doctoral thesis on international contracts. He became a member of the European Parliament in June 2004 for Converència Unio, which belongs to the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe. Amongst other committees, Ignasi Guardans is a member of the Culture and Education Committee.

You don't just come from Spain, but from a family of 16 in Catalonia. Could you describe this cultural background?

- The most important and distinctive cultural element in Catalonia is the language. Catalonian is a Latin language that is more than 1,000 years old with a distinctive collection of historical and modern literature and music.

- Catalonia is a country that is closely linked to the Catholic calendar, even if religious practice isn't as widespread as it was years ago. Families and villages still celebrate special religious days all year round. Usually a special cake or sweet food is linked to each event: a cake for Saint Anthony's day, special almond cakes for November 1st, huge chocolates for Easter, and so on. And since we supposedly are quite structured, you cannot buy, nor eat them before or after the moment they are made for. That's also "culture"!

How do you understand culture in a European context?

- I see the European Culture as a mosaic, a great composition with a richness that comes from many different elements that gives the whole its full colour and beauty. We need to protect this diversity, so that the mosaic doesn't become a single-coloured surface. On the other hand, culture is never static like a picture on the wall. A country's culture is in permanent evolution. In Catalonia for instance, we have incorporated many elements that were brought by Spanish speaking immigrants, in the 1950's and 1960's primarily from Andalusia. And in the future I am fully convinced that something similar will happen with other traditions brought by new immigrants. The same can be said of Europe as a whole.

- Catalonia has always been a very open society, open to other influences and contacts. Particularly France is our closest and strongest influence. Catalonians are proud to have the world's oldest Consulate General from the United States and the German School was founded back in the XIX century.

You have "a passion for cinema" and you are also actively involved in the European parliament to protect a diversity of films in Europe. Should the European Union actively promote European films, rather than letting American movies dominate the market? If yes, how?

- I have a passion for creativity and a deep respect for people who can transform their beliefs, their fears, their traumas or their dreams into something that can be shared with others. Among creative expressions I find cinema the best, although I am also a big fiction reader, and (a bit less, though) theatre-goer. I have always been a great cinema fan; probably since I as a child cried after learning that Bambi's mother was dead.  

- On the other side, as I've been a business lawyer for years, I am very much aware of the business side of cinema and the audiovisual industry, without which all that creativity would remain fixed on a piece of paper. In Europe, the creative element needs to be protected, if we want European culture to survive. But the best means of protection are not necessarily subsidies even though they can be beneficial. We need public policy instruments to make it attractive to invest in cinema, which shouldn't be more risky than investing in biotechnology or new IT technologies. I would also like to see us support distribution of European films outside their country of origin. The Media 2007 EU Programme meets some of these issues, although I would have preferred a bigger budget.

- As for the Americans, the film industry is one of their biggest assets and they cannot be blamed if they make extraordinarily good films from time to time. However, they can be blamed and authorities should be able to intervene, when they use unfair competition practices to force second or even third class products into European markets and movie theatres.

Which other "cultural fields" is the European Union involved in? And in what ways?

- Europe does not have the power to legislate in most cultural matters, and it should remain so. Most cultural aspects are better managed at a state or regional level. Europe's role is to support the efforts of Member States or Regions. This is the context of the Programs developed by the Commission and supported by the Parliament. Besides that, the EU can be a good place for an exchange of best practices among cultural players within Europe. Indirectly, Europe can have an effect on culture when it legislates on other issues or it promotes certain policies, such as immigration and integration approaches or neighbourhood policies. They are both areas where nothing serious and effective can be done if the cultural dimension is not taken into account.

Are there cultural areas in which the European Union should not interfere, as they are the responsibility of the individual nations?

- Europe's role in culture is one of support and of stimulation. In other areas EU works to harmonize legislation and practices, but this does not apply to culture. Of course, the European Union can have a say when under the cover of "culture" or "cultural diversity" we find practices that clash frontally with basic EU principles, such as the need to protect the free circulation of goods and workers throughout the Union; or the protection of our fundamental rights and common values. When such a clash takes place, then we can on a case-by-case basis decide what should prevail: the supposed cultural element, or the common EU principle.

Do you have a favourite European place?

- Honestly, I do not have one such place, rather I may perhaps have a best place to work, a best place to be with a lover, a best place to enjoy life with kids, a best place to be when I am an elder and weak person, and so on. If I had to say just one, just as a fantasy, it could perhaps be today's Berlin, but with the weather of Barcelona!

Related information
The man, the politician, opinions and discussion forum, Ignasi Guardans' website