Which culture (s) for Europe?

This article analyzes in the long term and in a comparative way the contents promoted in the cultural programmes of the Council of Europe and of the EU. Both organizations initially highlighted the common European cultural heritage. The Council of Europe subsequently put the emphasis on cultural diversity and on the socio-economic potentials of culture. Although the EU’s cultural policy is now characterized by an economic approach, European heritage as catalyst of common identity remains one of its objects. The EU also integrated diversity in its cultural policy but the spectrum of the cultural expressions eventually promoted is limited.