Co-ops and the third sector call for a discussion at the MiC on CCIs

In a letter sent on 16 July to the Undersecretary for Culture Lucia Borgonzoni, the representatives of the cooperative system and organisations of the Third Sector asked to be more involved in the final drafting of the implementing decrees concerning Cultural and Creative Enterprises envisaged by Law 206/2023; better known as the law for Made in Italy. The letter, signed by the Alleanza delle Cooperative Italiane Cultura, Confcooperative Cultura, Turismo, Sport, AGCI Culturalia, Culturmedia Legacoop and Forum Terzo Settore, recalls how the Ministry of Culture had involved the sector's operators in the preliminary meetings prior to the drafting of the decrees and how approval had been expected in a short time. However, with the legal deadline now passed, the organisations hope to be heard before the implementing decrees are adopted, as they are experts on the strengths and weaknesses of the CCIs and, in particular, on the contribution that the social economy can make in this important asset. After this step, the associations await a positive response from the Ministry of Culture.

The issue of the implementing decrees is a delicate matter that Arteconomy24 has been dealing with since the law came into force and the subsequent preliminary meetings between ministries and practitioners.

The implementing decrees foreseen in Articles 25, 26, 27, 29 and 30, without which the CCI reform is unfeasible, were due on 11 April. To date, more than three months have passed since the deadline set by law, but the traces of the administrative measures have been lost, creating discontent among industry representatives and operators.

Which articles make the reform incomplete?
Let us briefly summarise the points of the law that need implementation decrees. Article 25 identifies the cultural and creative enterprise by attributing the qualification to organisations, regardless of their legal form, and to the self-employed. The law defers to a subsequent provision the modalities and conditions for recognising the qualification and its revocation. Innovative cultural and creative start-ups are identified and, in addition, a special section is established at the CCIAAs in which cultural enterprises must register with the obligation for the chamber system to transmit the list every year to the Ministry of Culture. Article 26 provides for the double registration in a second register of cultural and creative enterprises of national interest held at the Ministry of Culture. Article 27 concerns the definition of digital creative artists, who develop original works with a high digital content. For these works, a special public register is established by special decree at the Ministry of Culture, for the protection of authors. A fund of EUR 3 million per year from 2024 to 2033 is established in Article 29, while Article 30 provides for the implementation of the three-year National Strategic Plan for the promotion and development of cultural and creative enterprises, in agreement between the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, after consulting the Conference between the State, the Regions and the Autonomous Provinces of Trento and Bolzano.
It is clear that without the implementing decrees the reform is comparable to a Ferrari body without an engine.

In addition to the letter, we collected some statements from those who have been working in the sector for years to sound out the state of mind. 'There is a lot of bewilderment among operators,' according to Giovanna Barni of Culturmedia Legacoop, 'and the lack of implementing decrees risks having a negative impact on the future of many young people and on employment levels in the sector. Moreover, many hot topics such as taxation, special public-private partnerships, bureaucratic simplification, the use of European and national funds, and the challenges posed by new technologies such as artificial intelligence and the rights of creative people cannot be addressed'. "If Italy is not ready with a national strategy for CCI, we risk missing many important appointments," Barni concludes. For Ermete Realacci of Fondazione Symbola 'The cultural and creative sector is an enabler for other sectors and not only for operators in the strict sense. It is an intangible infrastructure for the entire Made in Italy and, therefore, the delays fall on the entire economy'. For Andrea Cancellato and Umberto Croppi of Federculture 'We are waiting and do not understand the reasons for the delay'.