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

Qualifications may also be required for entry in the EU market. These include diplomas, certificates and other evidence of formal qualifications issued by a designated authority and certifying successful completion of a professional training (for instance to qualify as a member of a musical orchestra). If the qualifications have not been obtained in an EU Member State, the country concernedmay evaluate if they are equivalent to its qualifications. Again, and similarly to the ENTs, this is a burden but not an unsurmountable one. The lack of harmonization across EUMember States and the associated lack of awareness of CARIFORUM services suppliers, especially those from the less structured and smaller-scale entertainment sectors, present a hurdle. It is also important to stress that the EPA itself did not trigger any changes at the EU Member State level. First, although the EPA has been provisionally applied since 2008, actual domestic ratification has taken much longer; in some cases, like Germany, Croatia and Romania, it was only completed in recent years. It also appears that EU Member States have not yet adopted or dedicated additional measures to implement market access provisions for the entertainment sector, as their legislation was already in line with EPA requirements. Indeed, in most situations, the commitments made under the EPA simply reflect the status quo - also with regard to ENTs and professional qualifications. Through the EPA, these conditions are nowmore transparent and legally binding, thus providing a level of legal certainty for CARIFORUM service suppliers. The question of facilitating market access and increasing market presence in services has often been discussed by the various joint institutions, especially after the sobering results of the First Five-Year Review. One initiative that has followed up is in the area of mutual recognition of certain professional services, which will render qualification requirements obsolete and allow for swifter market entry. CARIFORUM and EU professional associations have discussed the development of mutual recognition agreements for architecture and engineering services; however, entertainment services have not been included in these discussions. Arguably, such mutual recognition may be even easier in the entertainment sector, as qualification requirements and conformity assessments may be easier to satisfy.

47 Culture in the CARIFORUM-EU EPA