Cultural action in the EU external commercial policy

This article addresses the “trade and culture” interface in the European external trade policy, with emphasis on the digital environment. It examines the various aspects of the legal treatment of the audiovisual sector and digital issues in European bilateral and regional trade agreements in order to identify how the European Union acknowledges the specificity of that sector and its strategy in maintaining its cultural policy space in those agreements. The article compares it to the strategy adopted by other European Union trade partners, while considering the principles and objectives recognized within UNESCO, notably under the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.