Artists' rights must be protected across the EU, says Irish MEP

An Irish Member of the European Parliament (MEP) has said artists rights across Europe must be protected. 

The European Parliament’s Culture and Education Committee has called for the creation of an EU-wide framework on working conditions and minimum standards for all artists. 

It comes in the wake of a devastating year for the creative sector across the bloc due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Ireland South MEP, Deirdre Clune, spoke about the importance of supporting our artists and said, "The arts is a huge employer in Ireland and across the EU and artists rights must be protected. There are big differences between Member States in Europe regarding support, social benefits and definitions of an artist. We need to fix that." 

She said the arts sector has been through "an enormously challenging time" and that the European Union must do all it can to help the sector recover. 

Calls from MEPs have also been made for more recognition of arts-based education degrees as well as for strongly enforced protections for works and their creators in copyright legislation. 

The Culture and Education Committee has set out a resolution to establish a common framework for working conditions and minimum standards for all EU countries.

This will be put to a vote by European Parliament in October.