Creative Europe budget increased to 2.2 billion EUR

11 November 2020

On November 10, the EU Parliament, Commission and Council struck a landmark political agreement on a new budget of 2.2 billion EUR for Creative Europe’s 2021-2027 programme, 58% of which should go to the MEDIA sub-programme dedicated to the audiovisual sector. It marks a 50% increase compared to the 2014-2020 programme budget of 1.46 billion EUR. The decision is part of a larger compromise package on the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) pending approval of the Member States.

This is generally accepted as a good compromise, although the initial demands of the EU Parliament to double Creative Europe Programme’s budget from 1.4 billion EUR to 2.8 billion EUR, and to earmark 2% of the massive EU Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) budget to culture, outlined in its September resolution on the “Cultural Recovery of Europe”, were not met.

Alongside other European organizations, FERA has advocated intensely throughout the negotiations process to call on the allocation of EU funds in support of our sector.

Recently, FERA was part of a joint call to invest in all our creative futures, signed by filmmakers and other audiovisual creators throughout Europe, as well as a letter to the European Commission on Behalf of Europe’s Cultural and Creative Sectors, signed by 110 networks and associations, asking the EU Commission to encourage Member States to fully integrate culture in their national recovery and resilience plans.