Regulatory Framework on Information Society

Another policy strand focuses on the digitisation of cultural content and challenges linked to diversity and access, as well as the specific needs of cultural and creative industries in the digital era. "The Digital Agenda for Europe" (2010) – a flagship initiative of Europe 2020 strategy – sets out the general policy framework for the next decade through 101 actions covering a wide range of issues including copyright, promoting digitisation of European cinema and measures on cultural and creative  industries. Linked to the challenges of digitisation are two other policy initiatives worth mentioning here. The Comité des Sages on bringing Europe's cultural heritage online – a High Level Reflection Group appointed by the Commission in 2010 – added another layer to the development of policies relating the digitisation of cultural content in the EU. Their report, entitled "The new Renaissance", highlights the cultural and economic potential of digitisation, signals a series of barriers to the digitisation and online accessibility of cultural material, and proposes recommendations to the Commission, the Member States and cultural institutions.44 Against this background, the Commission adopted a Recommendation on Digitisation and Digital Preservation (October 2011), updating an earlier Recommendation (2006). Conservation and safeguarding of film heritage of European significance is a core part of EU action (Article 167 of TFEU).

Europeana - Europe's digital access to European cultural heritage - is a key measure in this context. The development of Europeana is part of the broader EU policy for the digitisation and online accessibility of cultural heritage and a key action of the Digital Agenda. The overall goal of Europeana is to make European cultural resources broadly accessible in an online environment and become a hub for Europe's cultural industries. Europeana was launched in November 2008 with 2 million objects and currently gives access to more than 20 million digitised books, maps, audio and video fragments. The target is to reach 30 million objects in 2015 and get Europe's entire cultural heritage digitised by 2025. The Commission has financially contributed to the development of Europeana, through the eContentplus and CIP-programmes and has supported the aggregation of content into the site. A recent Commission proposal for the Connecting Europe Facility (October 2011) foresees the funding of Europeana and related activities as one of the digital service infrastructures to be supported.

Media pluralism, including cultural expressions, has been the focus of two initiatives, a study on indicators of media pluralism in the Member States (2008) and a High Level Group on Media Freedom and Pluralism (2011) to provide recommendations for protecting and promoting media freedom and pluralism in Europe.