Press Release: Malta Chamber of SMEs welcomes launch of direct flights to New York
17 September 2025
The Malta Chamber of SMEs welcomes the positive news that direct flights between Malta International...
EESC: Focus on Cultural and Creative Industries
21 November 2010
There is a need for more focus on cultural and creative industries (CCIs). This is the essential message in a recent Opinion adopted by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), which also comments on the Commission's Green Paper entitled "Unlocking the potential of cultural and creative industries".
Whilst the share of manufacturing industries in the European economy diminishes, culture and creativity are essential assets for Europe's future. CCIs -investments, jobs- are expected to grow disproportionately. The EESC calls for an "internal market" and a "European space" for creativity.
To that end, it pleads for a better definition of the sector, for more accurate statistics and for attention for the social impact of creativity clusters.
Among the main aspects to take into account, is the requirement to offset the vulnerability of the sector's businesses -especially SMEs- and the shaping of a "critical mass" of investments, smart tax concessions, new funding models and instruments and the protection of intellectual property. It can also be useful to draw up Europe-wide business plan guidelines for creative projects/services/works, as well as performance indicators.
The full text of the Opinion in all EU languages is available on: http://www.eesc.europa.eu/?i=portal.en.creative-industries along with information on related CCMI activities in Valencia and Essen.
Director General Vince Farrugia is one of Malta's representatives on the EESC and amongst others also member of the Consultative Commission on Industrial Change (CCMI)
