Use some imagination

The concept of 'culture' is easily hi-jacked by politicians and interest groups for a variety of spurious purposes, argues Simon Mundy. But in the Treaty of Amsterdam, the European Union has given itself an instrument which could - if used with flair - transform the lives of its citizens for the betterCULTURE resonates very nicely in a politician's vocabulary. Slipped into a speech or the final statement of a dreary meeting, it can give just the right nuance of civilised concern.