MEPs vote in favour of the EU's new culture programme

2.5 billion euros to assist the creative sector in recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic

MEPs approved "Creative Europe" on Wednesday, 19 May 2021, the EU's programme for culture and the audiovisual industry, as well as the EU's largest-ever financial commitment. Creative Europe will spend 2.5 billion euros in the EU's cultural and artistic industries.

MEPs recognise the importance of the continent's cultural sector and are assisting in its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced the closure of many music and cultural venues throughout Europe.

More financing for small projects and encouraging female talent

Along with the substantial increase in funding, MEPs secured a greater emphasis on accessibility, support for the contemporary and live music markets, which have been hit the hardest by the pandemic, and higher co-financing rates for small-scale projects.

MEPs were also successful in including an obligation for the programme to encourage female talent and support women's creative and technical careers during negotiations with Council. Women continue to be underrepresented in positions of power in educational, artistic, and creative institutions.

“Around 3.8 % of Europeans work in European cultural and creative sectors. However, this sector has always faced challenges ‑ such as competition with big commercial productions and the very fragmented transnational cultural market. Now, current lockdowns have had a dramatic effect on the EU’s cultural communities, and they need our help more than ever. This significantly better-funded programme recognises the added value of culture to our European way of life and is a first step towards helping it stand up to the challenges of globalisation and digitalisation,” said Chair of the Culture and Education Committee Sabine Verheyen.

The programme has already been approved by the Council and will go into effect as soon as it is published in the official journal. To ensure a smooth transition from the previous programme era, retroactivity clauses in the regulation ensure that the current Creative Europe programme begins on 1 January 2021.

For the first time, funding will be given to the news media industry under the third, cross-sectoral strand, supporting media literacy, pluralism, press freedom, and professional journalism, as well as assisting the media in better addressing the challenges of digitalisation.