US embassy cable - 05PARIS4568

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