Mémoire
| Résumé : | EU cultural diplomacy has been progressively raised on the EU agenda, with the most significant step being the adoption of the Joint Communication ‘Towards a Strategy for International Cultural Relations’ in 2016. This thesis examines how the EU cultural diplomacy is being implemented and to what extent Creative Europe and Erasmus+ contribute to this, as two of the main programmes of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Culture and Sport, that are also part of the EU long-term budget. It aims to present the current implementation of EU cultural diplomacy via those programmes and through the EEAS; to analyze existing challenges; and unfold the potential of EU cultural diplomacy in the future. The thesis proves that Creative Europe and Erasmus+ have a great impact on EU cultural diplomacy; however, the international dimension of Creative Europe is not being promoted as Erasmus+. It also indicates that the European External Action Service is implementing the EU cultural diplomacy independently from the European Commission, without particularly promoting Creative Europe and Erasmus+. The thesis concludes that there is a need for a more coordinated approach for the implementation of EU cultural diplomacy, which would contribute both to strengthening the international dimension of Creative Europe and Erasmus+ and the reinforcing of EU external relations in general. The research has been carried out through the analysis of EU official documents and interviews of EU officials. |
