Sweden's culture snub

“Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built through practical achievements which first create a de facto solidarity.” These lines from the Franco-German Declaration [aka Robert Schuman Declaration] of 9 May 1950, which is regarded as the founding act of the European Community, have always been a cornerstone for the construction of Europe. The “practical achievements” were initially of an economic nature: the Common Market, the Common Agricultural Policy. Then came the age of “de facto solidarity” between European citizens: the Erasmus student exchange programme, freedom of movement and the Schengen Zone.

And now for an essential link to forge a shared identity: culture. Initiatives like the European Capital of Culture or the cultural and media conference on “Promoting a Creative Generation” to be held in late July [in Gothenburg, Sweden] are gradually creating a bond between the peoples of the Union. With networks like Germany’s Goethe Institute or Spain’s Instituto Cervantes, several countries have grasped that their cultural influence can also contribute to this aspiration.

So how depressing to hear that Sweden, which is currently presiding over the European Union and out to bolster its influence in the EU, is now planning to shut down its only cultural centre abroad. The foreign ministry has included the closure of the Swedish Institute in Paris in the austerity plan it presented at the beginning of the summer. The Institute’s staff have just started up a petition to keep it open. Should it actually go, one could only regret the disappearance of this hub of exchange and discovery between Sweden and Europeans from all walks of life.