The path of the European Union towards a strategy of international cultural relations

Abstract

The European Union has developed a solid foreign policy, with common policies as well as intergovernmental agreements. In spite of the cultural dimension being present since the beginning of the integration process, cultural policies remained at the national level of its member States. However, the ongoing demand for a common policy, as well as the advanced level of integration, calls for a natural step: an EU strategy for international cultural relations. With the aim to describe the path followed by the Union in the cultural field, the document engages on the EU’s decision to use the term “international cultural relations” over others, such as cultural diplomacy; it approaches the previous actions, finding that the EU cultural policy it is based on three main principles: the promotion of intercultural dialogue towards the establishment of peaceful relations, support for culture as the engine of economic growth and social development, as well as cooperation for the cultural heritage protection.