At its inception, the EU initially left culture unregulated, with the first concrete objectives and directives outlined by the 1990 Maastricht Treaty encouraging cooperation between member states and supporting branches of art. Aims included promoting the culture and history of European peoples, preservation of cultural heritage and supporting creative work in art and literature.

László Magács, head of the Merlin International Theater

Hungary has been a full member of the EU’s Culture 2000 funding program since 2001, a program which funds virtually all cultural fields on a project-based system. The only two areas not covered by the program are education and film – the latter being coordinated by Media +, a film-specialized production program.

Europe – a way to escape
One local theater, meanwhile, has come up with some innovative ways to spread awareness of the cultural pallet of the now 25 member EU.

" Ninety percent of Hungarians would be unable to name the capitals of the accession countries: I have tested it, and this is not only speculation, but fact," explains László Magács, head of the Merlin International Theater, who, as a result, started the "bEUgró" festival, a several-month-long event showcasing the cultural product of the newly acceded EU states.

As part of the series of events that have been running since January, numerous artists from the 10 accession countries have presented their works in front of Budapest audiences.

" It is not a language issue; it is much more about the ability to think in an open way", he added.

At the same time, many have high hopes that EU membership will benefit theater. Merlin, for example, is a private theater company financed from two major government sources, with management liable to find funding for each individual production. "bEUgró" is already partially funded by Phare and the Visegrád Fund, in addition to receiving Hungarian government support. Magács says he sees the EUas a kind of "escape route," and is hoping membership will bring more support to his theater.

Prior to their premiere in Budapest, DT talked to one of the members of a Maltese contemporary dance troupe, the Contact Dance Company. Company members saw themselves a semi-professional dance group, and said they receive no fees for their performances, regardless if they are performing at home or abroad. Similarly to most Central and Eastern European countries, Malta lacks established government support systems and the legislative backing to help contemporary dance groups. This means members of the Contact Dance Company can only start rehearsals at 9 p.m., after they finish work in their chosen civil professions.

" Despite all this, we are optimistic and hopeful," said one of the pioneers of the Maltese troupe. "After accession we may be able to lodge more and more grant applications and be able to perform to a wider audience and eventually become professional dancers."

The accession ceremony organized by the Merlin Theater also saw the performance of French-Hungarian dance group Compagnie Pál Frenák. A dancer with the company, Kata Juhász, said she does not expect much from membership in the short-run.

" As long as Hungary fails to come to par with the rest of Europe in terms of thinking and life styles, I don’t expect to see major changes," she said.

In Juhász’s experience, Hungarians do not have the courage to stand behind their opinions, and regard performers with humility as opposed to understanding that they can either accept or reject a performance. Juhász says it is perfectly acceptable in many European theaters to express dislike during a performance, or not clap if the piece was not up to audience expectations. "In Hungary, everyone is quite happy to applaud after a performance and may only express dislike upon leaving the theater – if at all," she says.

Being a member of Frenák, she has performed in numerous countries in recent years, and therefore the opening of borders will have practical benefits for her. "At last we won’t have to wait for hours in line at border crossing-points to have our costumes and décor customs cleared," adds Juhász.

All accession countries look West
It has been 11 years since the City of Győr, on the Austrian border, opened the Hungarian festival season by launching a series of film and musical events, called Mediawave. The event has been an opportunity to celebrate renowned and young talented musicians, photographers and filmmakers by offering them a venue to show their works publicly. The festival takes place in May of each year, "because this is the time when nature and people meet," says Jenő Hartyándi, the main organizer of Mediawave.

The final day of Mediawave was May 1st, the same day Hungary acceded the EU. Renowned French jazz musician, Eric Truffaz, was one of the many celebrities who performed on Hungarian side of Komárom, while events and programs were held simultaneously on the other side of the Danube, in the Slovakian City of Komárom (Komarno).

Hartyándi says he is skeptical about accession and adds that his festival, the cultural festival with one of the longest tradition in Hungary has always met rebuff from the EU. One reason is that according to competition rules, existing programs cannot apply for support. For this reason, they must come up with new plans each year that somehow work around the festival.

This year, for example, six countries – France, Holland, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, and Hungary – lodged a joint application to intensify transfer and exchange between similar festivals. The plan was eventually conceived without EU support, similarly to the joint EU celebrations of Slovakia and Hungary.

" The greatest problem is that all accession countries are looking at the West and are reluctant to perform in other new entrant countries," says Hartyándi. "In the east we still lack the necessary information systems, and it is quite difficult to find the film-makers and musicians of the new generation. It is symptomatic that it is easier to bring a group from Puerto Rico to Mediawave, than from Slovakia," he adds.

Plus the films
The most important community regulation concerning audiovisual policies is the directive on "Television without Frontiers," which aims to ensure the free movement of audiovisual services while supporting the European audiovisual industry. The regulation addresses issues like the free movement of television broadcasting services and personnel, prohibition on discrimination, adherence with copyright laws and distribution of European films.

" For me, accession to the European Union means stricter adherence to copyright laws, which have been virtually completely neglected until now," says film director Mária Sós. She says she has dealt with television channels that show extracts from her earlier movies without acknowledgement or royalties.

It is a fortunate coincidence that the long-awaited Hungarian Film Act and EU accession were realized within months apart. "Hopefully, the synchronous success of these two events will have mutually beneficial impacts," says Sós.

With regard to financing, the greatest change as a result of EU accession will be brought about by membership in the Media + program – a support program designed to assist Europe’s audiovisual sector. At the same time, Sós warns we shouldn’t fool ourselves. While she admits that there will be new resources in the film industry, the manner of distribution and proportions will not change, and Hungarian film makers are unlikely to get more funds in the future because of the wide scope of enlargement.

Attila Zongor, director of Kulturpont, an EU office providing information on EU cultural programs and funding in Hungary, also believes that with accession no dramatic changes ought to be anticipated in the creative fields, since the larger share of funds have already been made available to the then-accession countries. At the same time, the country can reasonably expect to win more support from structural funds for the promotion of culture tourism. These are, however, international plans, requiring the new members to reach into their pockets and chip in for funding.