Impact Study: UNESCO-Aschberg Programme for Artists and Cultural Professionals

The Protocol on Cultural Cooperation: Redesigning external trade practices The market access granted by the EU for entertainment services is complemented with a new and innovative external trade practice instrument – the Protocol on Cultural Cooperation (PCC) 13 . With the PCC, the CARIFORUM-EU EPA has a particular significance as the very first international trade agreement that makes an explicit reference to the provisions of the 2005 Convention. The PCC, which is annexed to the EPA but is neither binding nor subject to the general dispute resolutionmechanisms, aims above all to improve “the conditions governing their exchanges of cultural activities, goods and services and redressing the structural imbalances and asymmetrical patterns which may exist in such exchanges”(article 1(2) PCC). It provides for bilateral cooperation on all cultural fronts, such as publications, sites and historic monuments and performing arts, and specifically includes activities particularly relevant to the Caribbean, such as carnivals and costume design. The PCC also has dedicated provisions for the audiovisual sector. In the latter context, the PCC breaks from EU tradition, whereby it keeps the audiovisual sector protected and leaves it out of trade agreements. It provides a solid basis for collaboration and grants access for Caribbean audiovisual content to the European market. In particular, audiovisual

20 Culture in the CARIFORUM-EU EPA

13. For a detailed analysis of the PCC, see Xavier Troussard, Valérie Panis-Cendrowicz, Julien Guerrier, The UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions , Sabine von Schorlemer and Peter-Tobias Stoll (eds), Springer, 2012, 441-455.