Inter-ministerial and intra-governmental cooperation is formalised in general through specific legal provisions (Law no. 90/2001 on the organisation of Government and Ministries) pertaining to the activity and functioning of the Government. The process of drafting, adoption and monitoring of public strategies and policies at the central level is regulated by G.D. no. 870/2006 and G.D. no. 775/2005, which establish the competences of the different ministries and the intra-governmental procedures in this respect. Thus, any public policy or strategy initiated by a ministry has to be adopted by the Government following a mandatory approval at the level of each of the ministries whose domain of activity is influenced or affected by the respective policy or strategy.
Any public policy or legislative initiative that may have an impact on the cultural sector has to be evaluated by the Ministry of Culture and National Identity, which, through its specialised services, can propose amendments or require additional information with a view to a proportionate representation of the interests of various cultural stakeholders. The Government approves and/or adopts policies, legislation and regulations only if all ministries express their agreement and validate the proposals through the intra-governmental consultation procedure. Whenever major changes are foreseen in the existing legal or public policy framework, inter-ministerial committees are created, with the participation of all ministries representing the sectors or sub-sectors targeted, influenced or affected by these changes.
The general framework for the inter-ministerial cooperation of the Ministry of Culture and National Identity with other national administrative bodies can be found in G.D. no. 90/2010 which identifies, inter alia, specific objectives for such a cooperation:
- Cooperation with the Ministry of Regional Development and Public and Administration, Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Environment for a national strategy in order to mitigate the impact on the national cultural heritage generated by spatial planning and transport infrastructure development projects.
- Cooperation with the ministries responsible for education, research, youth and sports for the development or artistic and vocational curricula and the diversification of specialised training necessary in the cultural sector.
- Cooperation with the ministries responsible for foreign affairs, regional development and tourism for the elaboration of a national strategy to promote the values of Romanian culture and to develop cultural tourism in Romania.
- Cooperation with the ministries responsible with economy, trade and business environment, labour and social protection in order to create the necessary framework for developing the cultural economy and to support cultural and creative SMEs.
- Cooperation with the law enforcement agencies and the judiciary in the fight against criminal activities related to cultural heritage.
In order to address specific issues, several inter-ministerial advisory bodies were created. In 2012, with a view to preparing the implementation of European funds for 2014-2020, an Advisory Thematic Committee for Tourism, Culture and Cultural Heritage was set up under the joint coordination of the Ministry of Culture and National Identity, the Ministry of European Affairs and the Ministry for Regional Development and Tourism. After the subsequent reorganisation of the Government whereby the Ministry of European Affairs was incorporated into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the competences of the Ministry of Regional Development and Tourism were split up between the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration, the activity of this advisory thematic committee was discontinued.
G.O. no. 5/2017 on establishing certain organisational measures with regard to the Romanian Centennial Anniversary, entrusted the Ministry of Culture with the task of coordinating the preparation, organisation and implementation of all projects dedicated to this anniversary and instituted an inter-ministerial committee with this purpose. The committee is presided by the prime minister and made up of representatives of the Ministry of Culture, the Secretariat-General of the Government, the Ministry of Public Finances, the Ministry for Regional Development and Public Administration, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the Romanian Cultural Institute. G.O. no. 5/2017 was amended by E.G.O. no. 22/2018.
In 2017 an inter-ministerial committee coordinated by the Ministry of Culture and where representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Romanian Cultural Institute, Ministry of Tourism and the General Secretariat of the Government sit as members, was created to supervise the preparations to participate in the 2019-2020 International Festival Europalia in Brussels. E.G.O. no. 16/2018 brought about several changes in the organisational framework of this committee and instituted a working group under the direct responsibility of the Romanian Cultural Institute.
Similarly, an inter-ministerial committee was set up for the organisation of the Cultural Season Romania-France from December 2018 to July 2019, where the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was designated as coordinator and the Ministry of Culture and National Identity, the Romanian Cultural Institute, the Ministry of National Defence and the Secretariat-General of the Government participate, according to E.G.O. no. 16/2018.
A national partnership for spatial planning coordinated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration, was instituted in 2016 to create specific cooperation platforms for the national public administration, local public administration, business environment and the professional and scientific sector. It is aimed at an integrated and inter-sectorial strategic approach to a balanced development of the entire Romanian territory. The Ministry of Culture is part of this partnership, having overall responsibility for the protection of historical monuments, archaeological sites and their protection zones.
The Ministry of Culture is, by tradition, a natural partner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Romanian Cultural Institute on issues related to the promotion of Romanian culture abroad. However, the level of cooperation has varied throughout the years due to the numerous changes of ministers and of the presidents of the Romanian Cultural Institute.
The Ministry of Culture cooperates with local authorities to develop balanced approaches for the restoration, conservation and valorisation of historical monuments, archaeological sites and their protection zones, as well as for the provision of cultural services by local public cultural institutions. This cooperation is developed on the basis of the specific provisions set forth in the cultural legislative framework and the main actors in this respect are the decentralized services of the Ministry. However, contrasting views are sometimes expressed, criticizing the Ministry of Culture’s tendency to focus on the protection of historical monuments and of protected areas, while the local authorities are supporting various urbanisation and spatial planning initiatives that may affect the protected areas of the cultural sites.
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