The European Identity Rationale in the EU Free Trade Agreements: Economic rather than Cultural Objectives?

Abstract

In recent years, we can observe an increase of the EU Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) addressing cultural matters. The focus of the Union seems to lie on the audiovisual services sector, which is excluded by the scope of all these Agreements. This so-called ‘cultural exception’ clause does not apply to other cultural sectors, which are however still regulated in EU FTAs. The regulation takes the form of either commitments and reservations made by the Parties to a specific sector, or cooperative provisions mainly found in the Protocols of Cultural Cooperation supplementing some EU FTAs. Although not explicitly mentioning culture, other EU FTA Chapters, such as Subsidies and Intellectual Property, also entail cultural considerations. Rhetorically, the EU has considered the inclusion of cultural aspects into its FTAs as a tool to protect and promote the European identity and cultural diversity. However, both the negotiations as well as the texts of these Agreements illustrate that the motives behind this exclusion are mainly economic and political.Received: 02 July 2018 Accepted: 16 July 2018 Published online: 27 February 2019