Creative Europe

Company type	Incentive
Industry	Bank
Founded	2012
Headquarters	City of Brussels, Belgium
Parent	Independent (2012-2013) European Union (2013-present)

Creative Europe is a funding programme established by the European Union to support the cultural, creative, and audiovisual sectors across Europe. The main objectives of the programme are:

• safeguard, develop and promote European cultural and linguistic diversity and heritage
• increase the competitiveness and economic potential of the cultural and creative sectors, in particular the audio-visual sector

The programme aims to promote cultural diversity, creativity, and competitiveness while safeguarding and promoting Europe's rich cultural heritage.^[1] It facilitates cross-border cooperation and mobility for artists and cultural professionals within the EU and beyond.

In its first programme period from 2014 to 2020, Creative Europe had a budget of €1.46 billion. For the second phase spanning 2021 to 2027, the budget was increased to €2.44 billion to further bolster the cultural and creative industries.^[2]

Creative Europe comprises three main strands:

1. The Culture strand - Supporting cross-border cooperation projects involving performers, artists, cultural professionals, cultural institutions, and organizations in a wide range of cultural and creative sectors (including among others performing arts, visual arts, literature, cultural heritage, architecture and other areas).^[3]
2. The MEDIA strand - Strengthening the competitiveness and promotion of the European audiovisual industry through development, distribution, training, and other measures.^[4]
3. The Cross-sectoral Strand - Facilitating collaboration across creative sectors and covering news media sector.^[5]

Creative Europe for 2021-2027 introduces several key innovations compared to the previous programme period. There is an increased emphasis on transnational creative projects and innovative approaches across the cultural and creative sectors. Access to funding has been facilitated through higher co-financing rates, with greater contribution levels from Creative Europe for selected projects. For the audiovisual industry specifically, the programme prioritizes support for EU-wide cooperation to bolster its global competitiveness. A new mobility scheme aims to promote the cross-border movement of artists and cultural professionals. Additionally, the actions and initiatives have been tailored to address sector-specific needs and challenges facing different creative disciplines.^[6]

The Creative Europe programme has its origins dating back to the previous Culture (2000-2006)^[7] and MEDIA (1991-2013) programmes launched by the European Union to support cultural cooperation and the audiovisual sectors respectively. Building on these prior initiatives, Creative Europe was established for the 2014-2020 period as a merged framework bringing together the cultural and creative industries under one umbrella programme.^[8] The initial 2014-2020 phase had a budget of €1.46 billion allocated by the European Commission and European Parliament.

The programme was approved by the European Parliament on 19 November 2013 and adopted by the European Council on 3 December 2013. It came into force on 1 January 2014.^[9] A total of 650 of the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) voted in favour of the programme, with 32 against and 10 abstaining.^[10]

After an interim evaluation, the programme was renewed and updated for the 2021-2027 period with an increased budget of €2.44 billion to bolster support for artists, cultural organizations, cross-border projects and international outreach.^[11] With its multi-strand structure and emphasis on innovation, audience engagement and global competitiveness, Creative Europe aims to safeguard Europe's diverse cultural heritage while fostering growth in creative sectors key to the EU economy.

Membership in the programme has been extended to the EU's Eastern Partnership member states. Georgia was the first neighborhood country to officially join the Creative Europe Programme in 2015^[12] followed by Moldova and Ukraine joining the Programme the same year and Armenia joining in 2018.^[13]

The current Creative Europe Programme unites 40 countries, in each country there is a Creative Europe Desk.^[14]

An integral part of Creative Europe is the Desk Network, serving as a vital link between the program and cultural/creative sectors across the participating countries. The role and objectives of these national Creative Europe Desks are formally outlined in the Regulation of the European Parliament and Council establishing the program for 2021-2027.^[15] Desks operate within this network, working to successfully achieve mandated objectives through activities like promoting Creative Europe calls, organizing events and information sessions, providing consultations to potential applicants, and continually expanding outreach efforts to engage new sectors. This decentralized network structure ensures Creative Europe maintains strong connections to creatives and organizations at regional/national levels across participant countries.

The general objectives of Creative Europe are: (a) to safeguard, develop and promote European cultural and linguistic diversity and to promote Europe's cultural heritage; (b) to strengthen the competitiveness of the European cultural and creative sectors, in particular of the audiovisual sector, with a view to promoting smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.^[9]

Creative Europe encompasses the EU's previous Culture and MEDIA Programmes which have been in effect for more than 20 years.^[9][16]

The Creative Europe programme consists of three complementary strands - the Culture Sub-programme, MEDIA Sub-programme, and Cross-sectoral Strand. The Culture strand supports cross-border cooperative projects and mobility for artists, cultural professionals, and organizations across sectors like performing arts, literature, heritage conservation and more.

The MEDIA strand focuses on enhancing the competitiveness and international presence of the European audiovisual industry through development funding, distribution support, training programs and other measures.

The Cross-sectoral strand promotes transnational policy cooperation, innovative approaches to audience engagement, as well as actions supporting the Creative Europe Desks' operations and communication efforts. ^[17]

Overall, Creative Europe aims to safeguard Europe's cultural diversity while boosting the economic potential of creative sectors which employ millions across the EU. ^[18]

Programmes that existed under the Culture and MEDIA strands, such as the European Capitals of Culture, European Heritage Label, European Heritage Days^[9] and the five European prizes (EU Prize for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Awards, EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture, EU Prize for Literature, European Border Breakers Awards, and EU Prix MEDIA) continue to operate under Creative Europe. Also the project Re-Imagine Europe, which was initiated by Sonic Acts, is co-funded by Creative Europe.

Creative Europe was allocated a budget of €1.46 billion for its initial implementation period spanning 2014 to 2020,^[19] For the current second phase from 2021 to 2027, the programme's budget has been significantly increased to €2.44 billion to bolster support for the cultural and creative sectors across Europe.^[2][10]

During its initial 7-year implementation period, Creative Europe's widespread impact is evidenced by the distribution of over 13,000 grants to support cultural, creative, and audiovisual initiatives across Europe. The program co-financed training opportunities for more than 16,000 professionals working in these sectors. Its funding facilitated 647 cross-border cooperative projects involving 3,760 participating organizations from European countries. This promoted cultural exchange and networking among artists, creatives and institutions.

Within the audiovisual domain specifically, Creative Europe aided the development and/or distribution pathways for upwards of 5,000 European films to reach audiences. It also supported the operational sustainability of 1,144 cinema venues programming European cinematic works.

Furthermore, the program enabled 3,500 literary books and publications to be translated into other languages, increasing access to written works across linguistic borders on the continent.

These cumulative outputs from 2014 to 2020 highlight Creative Europe's multifaceted role in catalyzing cultural cooperation, nurturing creativity, promoting artistic mobility, bolstering audiovisual competitiveness, and safeguarding Europe's rich creative diversity.^[20]

For the 2021-2027 program period, Creative Europe has allocated a minimum of 58% of its total budget towards the MEDIA sub-program. This funding stream focuses on initiatives to support and strengthen the European audiovisual sector, including film, television, and cinema. At least 33% of the budget is dedicated to the Culture sub-program, providing funding for projects involving the performing arts, visual arts, heritage conservation, and other cultural domains across Europe. This budget division broadly maintains the previous funding shares received by the audiovisual and cultural sectors respectively.^[21]

Up to 9% of Creative Europe's budget has been provisioned for the newly introduced Cross-sectoral Strand. This forward-looking component recognizes that the challenges and opportunities facing these diverse sectors are increasingly interlinked in our digital age.

At its core, the Cross-sectoral Strand aims to catalyze collaboration and knowledge sharing across different cultural and creative domains. From performing arts to news media, audiovisual to literature - these sectors grapple with common hurdles around content creation, distribution, audience engagement, and technological disruption. The strand's initiatives open up new cross-pollination avenues.

A pioneering example is the Creative Innovation Labs,^[22] which incentivizes players from different sectors to co-develop cutting-edge digital solutions with commercial potential. This promotes an ecosystem of innovation transcending traditional industry silos.

Moreover, the strand extends vital support to domains facing acute pressures. The news media sector, grappling with structural shifts and threats to media pluralism, receives targeted funding for journalism partnerships, media literacy projects, and efforts to uphold press freedom across Europe.^[23]

Underpinning this cross-sectoral approach is the expansive Creative Europe Desks Network operating at national/regional levels. These desks act as connectors, facilitating program awareness, stimulating cross-border cooperation, and ensuring outputs benefit stakeholders locally.^[24]

As cultural and creative sectors increasingly converge in the digital sphere, the Cross-sectoral Strand positions Creative Europe as an enabler of boundary-crossing synergies. Its initiatives catalyze innovative and sustainable solutions to shared challenges facing Europe's dynamic artistic and expressive landscape.

• Creative Europe–Armenia
• MEDIA Programme

• Official website