Culture and development: towards a more strategic approach to cultural policies in the EU's external relations (European Commission, 2015)

The Conference organised by the Luxembourgish Presidency, on 3-4 September in Echternacht, was to reinforce the role of Culture in EU's external action, and promote Culture in a more transversal way in other sector policies. The purpose was also to show the strength of Culture in enhancing economic, social and cultural development, and the importance of Culture as a sector per se that needs long term strategies and vision.

Several speakers recalled that cultural rights are an integral part of human rights and by no means should cultural diversity impair the universality of human rights (Universal Declaration on Human Rights; Faro Convention; and Fribourg Declaration on Cultural Rights).