The European Dimension

Abstract

The increasingly important role that the European Union (EU) plays for the national politics of its member states has become something of a political truism and is simply another example of the erosion of national sovereignty that has been taking place as a consequence of the increasing interconnectedness of the world over the past 100 years (Nugent, 1999, pp. 1–2). The development of a meaningful political role for the EU has led to the creation of an increasingly complex set of European structures, decisions and policies that affect many areas of everyday life. This is potentially as true for the arts as for other areas of policy, although there are certain peculiarities of the arts that make them different, in EU terms, from, for example, agriculture, trade and immigration.