EU AND FRENCH USE ASIA LINKS TO GARNER SUPPORT FOR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 004568

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR IO/T, EB and
DEPT PLS PASS USTR FOR BALASSA/BLISS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ETRD KIPR SCUL FR UNESCO
SUBJECT: EU AND FRENCH USE ASIA LINKS TO GARNER SUPPORT FOR
DRAFT UNESCO CULTURAL DIVERSITY CONVENTION



1. (SBU) Summary. The European Union and France have used
the EU's links with Asian and ASEAN nations to solidify
support for its cultural policies. France hosted the Second
Meeting of ASEM culture ministers on June 7-8, 2005 in Paris
and both the French Minister of Culture and the French
Minister of Foreign Affairs spoke in support of the June
2005 Preliminary Draft UNESCO Convention on Cultural
Diversity (Draft UNESCO Cultural Diversity Convention). The
conference gave EU Culture officials a clear opportunity to
lobby Asian counterparts to support the Draft UNESCO
Cultural Diversity Convention. End Summary.


BACKGROUND


2. (U) The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM)is an informal
intergovernmental grouping of EU and ASEAN members plus
China, Korea and Japan. The unofficial group, started by
France and Singapore in 1994, provides a forum for dialogue
between Asia and Europe with the goal of strengthening
political, economic and cultural relations between the two
regions. A distinguishing feature of ASEM is its critical
cultural component, a feature that is absent for example, in
the roughly equivalent Americas/Pacific grouping of APEC.

RECENT PARIS MEETING


3. (SBU) The most significant topic at the June 7-8 Paris
meeting was the Draft UNESCO Cultural Diversity Convention.
Most ASEM ministers joined their GOF and EU counterparts and
expressed support for it. There were also workshops on
cultural exchange and cooperation, cultural and creative
industries, sustainable and responsible cultural tourism,
and culture as a development factor. Participants also
worked on a long-term ASEM plan to foster cultural
exchanges.


4. (U) French Minister of Culture Renaud Donnedieu de
Vabres clearly stated the GOF desire to exempt cultural
goods and services from WTO regulations. He declared
bluntly that France would like international recognition of
the specificity of cultural goods and the right of states to
implement measures to protect their cultural and linguistic
heritage. He also specified that France does not want the
Draft UNESCO Cultural Diversity Convention to be
subordinated to other international treaties, especially
those of a commercial nature. Donnedieu de Vabres also
proclaimed a desire for cooperation and solidarity with
developing countries with the goal of assuring wider and
balanced cultural exchange

AMERICAN "CULTURAL STEAMROLLER"


5. (U) In a press item that was published around the same
time and that apparently reflects the GOF view, "Le Monde"
stated that the French fight for the "cultural exception" at
UNESCO was in response to the "American cultural
steamroller" of American movies and music that permeates
world markets.


6. (SBU) French Minster of Foreign Affairs Philippe Douste-
Blazy emphasized the key role of culture in French foreign
policy. He evoked the importance of a strong relationship
between Europe and Asia, and cited GOF efforts to promote
the cultural heritage of its partner nations in Asia.
Douste-Blazy, who has openly supported President Chirac's
vision of a "multipolar world", also did his part to
underline the importance of the UNESCO convention, saying
that its approval would permit states to conduct their own
cultural politics.

UNESCO DIRECTOR JOINS IN


7. (SBU) UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura
underscored the need to reconcile tradition and culture with
economic progress and development. Concerning the June
2005 preliminary draft UNESCO Convention, Matsuura Matsuura
lauded UNESCO efforts to elaborate a convention on cultural
diversity, but acknowledged that it was not possible to
reach a consensus on key issues and expressed the hope that
these differences can be bridged before the October 2005
UNESCO General Conference.

COMMENT


8. (SBU) The ASEM meeting in Paris enhanced existing ties
among government officials and culture professionals in
Europe and Asia. The cultural component of ASEM gives the
GOF the means to strengthen cultural ties with Asian nations
but also to promote views on culture that could have
potentially negative political and economic consequences for
the United States. Clearly, the meeting's accent on themes
of exchange, cooperation and reciprocity between ASEM
members appear to have helped the French garner important
political capital with Asian nations and strengthened
support for the French position in the June 2005 preliminary
draft UNESCO Convention on Cultural Diversity.
WOLFF