European Commission,trade agreements and diversity of cultural expressions: Between autonomy and influence

Abstract

The Convention on diversity of cultural expressions – adopted by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in 2005 – is a main international instrument within the global governance of cultural and audiovisual industries. For its part, the European Commission played a critical role in the negotiation, leading to the Convention on Diversity of Cultural Expressions’ adoption. In this respect, the article aims to explore why and how the Commission uses the Convention on Diversity of Cultural Expressions throughout the recent European Union trade negotiations, for which purposes and how the Convention on Diversity of Cultural Expressions influences the European Union foreign policy and its objectives. The article is more concerned with analysing the policy process through which the Commission’s strategy is formulated in light of the Convention on Diversity of Cultural Expressions and of the place of cultural and audiovisual industries within the European Union trade agreements and also concerned with understanding whether the Commission’s autonomy is transformed into influence within the policy process.