Establishment of a European Cultural Fund for Exiles
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- This Recommandation was adopted by the Assembty at its 10th Sitting, on 28th May, 1954 (see Doc. 248, Report of the Special Committee to watch over the interests of European nations notrepresented in the Council of Europe).
The Assembly,
Having regard to Recommendation 40 for the setting up of a European Cultural Fund for Exiles,which was unanimously adopted by the Assembly on 27th September, 1952 ;
Having given careful consideration to the statement made by the Committee of Ministers at themeeting of the Joint Committee held on 12th December, 1953, which was communicated to theAssembly in Document 220 ;
Having noted that in that statement the Committee of Ministers expressed the view that if :
"the aim and character of the proposed fund... (is) ‘ to preserve among the exiles now inWestern Europe their cultural inheritance and national civilisations &lsquo, the question ofestablishing a special fund might be reconsidered, in the sense that Member States not wishing tocontribute thereto could perhaps agree to its establishment by the other Members" ;
Regretting the recurring delays in setting up the Fund, in view of the encouraging reply given in hispersonal capacity by M. van Zeeland, then Chairman of the Committee of Ministers, to Major TuftonBeamish in the Assembly on 8th May, 1953, and also in view of the announcement of the GermanFederal Minister of Finance, Herr Schäffer, in the Bundestag on 26th June, 1953, that the FederalGovernment had made token appropriations in that year's Budget in anticipation of the setting up ofthe European Cultural Fund for Exiles,
Recommends that the Committee of Ministers reconsider the establishment of the European CulturalFund for Exiles in the light of the following additional explanations of the purposes of the Fund.
1. The Assembly is prepared to accept the interpretation given by the Committee of Ministers as tothe essential purpose of the proposed European Cultural Fund for Exiles, namely that it should beused to preserve among the exiles now in Western Europe their cultural inheritance and national civilisations. It is considered that, in the present unnatural division of Europe, our common culturalheritage is the most important remaining link between East and West, and it is felt that it is the dutyand responsibility of the Council of Europe to uphold this link and thereby endeavour to ensure thesurvival of the Western conceptions of culture of the Central and Eastern nations.
2. One of the most effective ways of keeping alive the cultural traditions of these countries is, inpresent circumstances, to give practical encouragement and assistance, under adequate safeguards, tocultural, scientific and research institutions founded by or for refugees who have been driven intoexile by oppression. Although much attention has been given to the problem of refugees, little has sofar been done to help their cultural, educational or scientific activities. These include the setting up ofinstitutes and libraries, the publication of books, newspapers and periodicals, the organisation oflectures, seminars, special courses, art exhibitions and musical festivals. In general, such activities ashave been possible have been undertaken under great material handicaps. It is proposed that the Fundshould be used to strengthen and develop these activities and to promote others - for example,through the endowment of professorships at universities. It is hoped that, as a result, a nucleus ofteachers, scholars, scientists and artists from Central and Eastern Europe may establish themselvesamong us as the free trustees in exile of the cultural traditions of their countries. The Fund will standas a testimony to the universal brotherhood of science and learning.
3. The Assembly is well aware of the heavy financial commitments of all Member States whichrender any additional effort difficult. For this reason the Assembly proposed in its
Recommendation40, and it now reiterates this proposal, that voluntary organisations and private persons should beapproached with a view to their contributing to the Fund, once Member States of the Council ofEurope have given a lead. The Assembly proposes that the Committee of Ministers should takeappropriate steps to ensure that this is done. Similar considerations led to the suggestion, alsocontained in
Recommendation 40, that, if any Member State wished, for particular reasons, to abstainfrom participating in the Fund, this should not prevent other Member States from taking action in thisfield, if necessary by making use of the procedure accepted by the Committee of Ministers for theconclusion of partial agreements.
4. As regards the administration of the Fund, the Assembly is willing to simplify the procedureadvocated in
Recommendation 40. The Assembly earnestly requests the Committee of Ministers toinstruct the Committee of Cultural Experts to meet as soon as possible, for the purpose of preparingimmediately a draft preliminary budget together with a plan for allocating the funds, and to vote thenecessary appropriations for the first financial year in time for the Cultural Fund to begin to operatein the autumn of 1954. For the future, the Assembly suggests that the Committee of Ministers shouldvote an annual expenditure, to be reviewed from time to time in the light of experience and of thenumber of legitimate applications received. This expenditure would constitute an independent item inthe programme of cultural activities sponsored every year by the Council of Europe. The Committeeof Cultural Experts would prepare a plan for allocating the funds, which would be referred to theAssembly's Special Committee for an opinion before being finally submitted to the Committee ofMinisters.
