On Wednesday 7 January 2015, a terrorist attack on the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris killed 12 people, most of them journalists and artists working for the magazine.
JOINT STATEMENT OF THE MINISTERS OF CULTURE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
On Wednesday 7 January 2015, a terrorist attack on the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris killed 12 people, most of them journalists and artists working for the magazine.
Despite regular death threats, they had vowed to continue expressing their freedom to think and to create with humour and talent. They were murdered because they drew and published cartoons.
This unspeakable act was intended to silence them forever, to terminate the publication of the magazine and more broadly, to restrict the freedom to think, to speak and to create. These freedoms are core values of European democracy. They are universal democratic values.
In this time of profound sadness and grief, we, the ministers of culture of the European Union, condemn this senseless barbarity, which attempts to undermine our essential values in the most violent way.
We unanimously express our belief that artistic freedom and freedom of expression stand firm and unflinching at the heart of our common European values. France and her allies in the EU safeguard these values and promote them in the world. We affirm our determination to continue to do so in the future.
We, the ministers of culture of the European Union, do not accept terrorists’ attempts to impose their own standards. Since time immemorial, the arts have been an inspiration for reflection giving rise to new ideas and fighting against intolerance and ignorance. It is the freedom of expression in a culturally diverse environment that brings these ideas into meaningful dialogue.
We, the ministers of culture of the European Union, stand in solidarity to defend the freedom of expression and vow to protect the rights of artists to create freely.
Dace MELB RDE, Minister for Culture Holder of Rotating EU Council Presidency, Latvia
Josef OSTERMAYER, Federal Minister for Arts and Culture, Constitution and Media, Austria
Fleur PELLERIN, Minister for Culture and Communication, France
Joëlle MILQUET, Vice Minister President of the French-speaking Community and Minister for Education, Culture and Childhood, Belgium
Jean-Claude MARCOURT, Vice Minister President of the French-speaking Community and Minister for Higher Education, Research and Media, Belgium
Isabelle WEYKMANS, Vice-minister-president of the German-Speaking Community and minister of Culture, Employment and Tourism, Belgium
Sven GATZ, Flemish Minister for Culture, Media, Youth and Brussels, Belgium
Vezhdi RASHIDOV, Minister for Culture, Bulgaria
Prof. Costas KADIS, Minister for Education and Culture, Cyprus
Daniel HERMAN, Minister for Culture, Czech Republic
Ph.D Andrea ZLATAR VIOLIĆ, Minister of Culture, Croatia
Prof. Monika GRÜTTERS, Minister of State for Culture and Media, Germany
Marianne JELVED, Minister for Culture, Denmark
José Ignacio WERT ORTEGA, Minister for Education, Culture and Sport, Spain
Urve TIIDUS, Minister of Culture, Estonia
Pia VIITANEN, Minister of Culture and Housing, Finland
Zoltán BALOG, Minister of Human Capacities, Hungary
Konstantinos TASOULAS, Minister of Culture and Sports, Hellenic Republic
Heather HUMPHREYS, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Ireland
Dario FRANCESCHINI, Minister of Cultural Heritage and Activities and of Tourism, Italy
Šarūnas BIRUTIS, Minister for Culture, Lithuania
Maggy NAGEL, Minister for Culture, Luxembourg
Dr. Owen BONNICI, Ministry for Justice, Culture and Local Government, Malta
Dr. Jet BUSSEMAKER, Minister for Education, Culture and Science, The Netherlands
Sander DEKKER, State Secretary for Education, Culture and Science, The Netherlands
Prof. Małgorzata OMILANOWSKA, Minister of Culture and National Heritage, Poland
Jorge Barreto XAVIER, Secretary of State for Culture, Portugal
Ioan VULPESCU, Minister for Culture, Romania
M.Sc. Julijana BIZJAK MLAKAR, Minster for Culture, Slovenia
Marek MAĎARIČ, Minister for Culture, Slovak Republic
Alice BAH KUHNKE, Minister for Culture, Sweden
Ed VAIZEY, Minister of State for Culture and the Digital Economy, United Kingdom
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