Culture ministers from five European countries and regions on Wednesday defended the value of culture as an "engine for economic growth" during the closing session of the European Forum on Cultural Industries held in Barcelona, Spain.

The ministers from Spain, Germany, Finland, Portugal and the French-speaking community of Belgium also requested putting culture at the heart of the Europe 2020 economic strategy.

Spain's Culture Minister Angeles Gonzalez-Sinde gave a speech on digitization of archives, saying that the governments should "monitor and preserve the heritage" of intellectual creations "to prevent any loss of forms of culture and expression during this transitional period."

The German minister Bernd Neumann called for "legal guarantees" for the intellectual property of creators and for investments in culture.

He said that the value of culture in terms of German GDP was higher than that of the chemical industry and car industry.

The two-day forum also issued a statement proposing a series of initiatives relating to "innovation, competitiveness, the digital agenda and social inclusion."

European Commissioner for Culture and Education Androulla Vassiliou also attended the forum.

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