On 24 March, the European Commission published its analysis of the 350 responses to the consultation launched by the Green Paper on cultural and creative industries. According to this analysis, the consultation confirmed that cultural and creative industries are a powerful motor for jobs, growth, export earnings, cultural diversity and social inclusion in Europe, and that they have indeed a vital contribution to make to the Europe 2020 Strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.

The consultation on the Green Paper for Unlocking the potential of cultural and creative industries (CCI), was aimed at gathering comments from the general public, public authorities and civil society bodies active in the cultural field across Europe on the type of environment that is needed for cultural and creative industries to thrive. It was based on the many studies and reports which suggest the high potential that creative and cultural industries can provide as a source of growth and competitiveness for EU economy.

The vast majority of the 350 respondents who took part on the consultation welcomed the Commission's initiative to spark a Europe-wide debate on the requirements of a stimulating environment for the EU's CCIs, and enjoyed the opportunity that was given to them to feed their own expertise and direct knowledge of the sector into the debate.

Among the main issues that emerged from the consultation, some of the most relevant included the need to make access to funding easier for companies from cultural and creative industries, especially SMEs as well as the wide support for a broad concept of innovation, encompassing culture-based creativity.

Many respondents found that local and regional development authorities must increase their support to culture and its surrounding industries as part of their smart specialisation strategies. In this regard, the report also highlights the high proportion (48%) of organisations taking part in the consultation (including companies, professional associations or foundations) whose main activities primarily lie at national or sub-national level. According to the report, this shows that the Green Paper found a strong echo in EU Member States.

The report underlines that cultural and creative industries must be encouraged to undertake experimentation, and to fully embrace technology in this respect, particularly in the field of ICT. Furthermore, more opportunities must be provided for multi-disciplinary and cross-border creative partnerships between cultural and creative institutions, businesses of all kinds, universities and research institutions.

Participants in the consultation also stressed that copyright is vital as a fair reward for creativity and that media literacy should be further promoted as well as international cooperation and exchange further strengthened.

The analysis of these data also shows that the diversity of CCIs was well covered, with a good mix of respondents ranging from scarcely "industrialised" sectors such as performing or visual arts to commercially-oriented ones such as design. The most represented sector was performing arts (11%) followed by film sector (9%) and books and press (8.5%).