REBOOT research results in the international context

In the framework of  REBOOT project  REBOOT project, Evangelia Psychogiopoulou and Anna Kandyla participated in the 19th Biennial Conference of the European Union Studies Association (EUSA), held on May 8-10, 2025, in Philadelphia (PA). They contributed to the panel titled ‘The EU’s Engagement in Trade, Investment, and Antirust’ with a presentation on ‘EU External Trade Policy, Development and the Cultural Sector: An Impossible Nexus?’.

The presentation examined the enduring tension between trade liberalization, development policy, and the protection of cultural diversity, focusing particularly on the audiovisual sector. It analyzed how, following the adoption of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, the EU began to develop new approaches to integrating culture into its external economic relations. A notable example was the 2008 Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the EU and the Cariforum countries, which featured a Protocol on Cultural Cooperation annexed to it. However, the presentation highlighted that despite its promising design, the Protocol did not manage to enhance audiovisual cooperation between the EU and the Cariforum countries. It also assessed whether EU instruments supporting cooperation through funding, particularly the NDICI–Global Europe instrument, might be more effective.

The presentation is based on research conducted by ELIAMEP under the REBOOT project, focusing on EU law and governance related to the European film industry in the international scene.