Raad Onderwijs, Jeugdzaken, Cultuur en Sport (10-11 mei); achtergrond informatie (en)
Vice-President Kroes i will welcome draft conclusions on a European Commission Recommendation which aims at making European cultural heritage more widely available and boosting growth in Europe's creative industries. The Commission presented this proposal last October, in which EU i Member States are asked to step up their efforts, pool their resources and involve the private sector in digitising cultural material. The digitised material should be made available through Europeana, Europe's digital library, archive and museum. The goal is for 30 million objects to be placed in Europeana by 2015; at getting more in-copyright and out-of-commerce material online; and at adapting national legislation and strategies to ensure the long-term preservation of digital materials.