WHAT IS CREATIVE EUROPE?
Creative Europe is the European Commission’s flagship programme supporting the cultural and audiovisual sectors. With a budget of €2.44 billion—almost double the amount from the previous cycle—Creative Europe invests in activities that strengthen cultural diversity and respond to the needs and challenges of the cultural and creative sectors.
Legal basis: The programme is implemented based on Regulation (EU) 2021/818 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2021, establishing the Creative Europe Programme (2021–2027) and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1295/2013 (OJ L 189/34, 28.5.2021). You can find the full text of the Regulation here.
Creative Europe aims to: support the creation of European works and help the cultural and creative sectors harness the opportunities of the digital age and globalization, in order to reach their economic potential while contributing to sustainable development, employment, and social cohesion; promote the competitiveness and innovation of the European audiovisual industry; help the cultural and audiovisual sectors in Europe access new international opportunities, markets, and audiences; promote cross-sectoral innovative actions and diverse, independent, and pluralistic media. Preserving, developing, and promoting European cultural and linguistic diversity and heritage remains a core objective of Creative Europe.
WHO IS THE PROGRAMME FOR?
Creative Europe is intended for organizations from the cultural and creative sectors, cinemas, and organizations from the film and audiovisual sectors. The programme encourages audiovisual, film, cultural, and creative artists to operate across Europe in order to reach new audiences and develop the skills needed for the digital era.
PROGRAMME STRANDS
Creative Europe is divided into three strands:
- Culture strand, which includes initiatives that promote and enhance artistic and cultural cooperation at the European level.
- MEDIA strand, which includes initiatives that boost the competitiveness, innovation, and sustainability of the European audiovisual sector.
- Cross-sectoral strand, which includes initiatives that promote innovative activities and cooperation between the audiovisual and cultural sectors.
From the overall budget of Creative Europe, 33% is allocated to Culture, 58% to MEDIA, and 9% to the Cross-sectoral strand.
WHO MANAGES THE PROGRAMME?
At the European level, the programme is managed and implemented by the European Commission and the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA).
At the national level, Creative Europe is implemented by Creative Europe Desks, which function as information and advisory offices in the countries participating in the programme. These offices not only provide information about the programme but also facilitate cooperation between organizations from Creative Europe countries and help potential applicants develop their projects.
More information about the Creative Europe Desks can be found here.
ELIGIBLE COUNTRIES
The Creative Europe programme is open to organisations from the cultural, creative and audiovisual sectors, including the film sector, from the 27 EU Member States, the countries of the European Economic Area, the candidate and potential candidate countries for accession to the European Union, as well as the countries covered by the European Union’s neighbourhood policy.
More information can be found here.
CROSS-CUTTING HORIZONTAL PRIORITIES
The Creative Europe programme pays particular attention to cross-cutting issues, which include current EU policies and priorities such as:
Already in the previous programme cycle, the European Commission introduced a set of guidelines, activities, recommendations, and evaluation criteria for projects in order to monitor the implementation of the European Green Deal, one of the Commission’s political priorities for the 2019–2024 period.
More information and examples related to the Commission’s policy priorities—such as the European Green Deal, gender equality, and digital transition—can be found in the European Commission’s publication Creative Europe 2014–2020: Gender Equality, the European Green Deal, Digitisation, with Perspectives for Cooperation.
In 2023, the European Commission published the document The Green Transformation of the Creative Europe Programme, which provides an overview of how the creative and cultural sector can contribute to the Commission's efforts to integrate climate actions through the Creative Europe programme.
These cross-cutting topics are incorporated as EU priorities in the Annual work programmes of Creative Europe, including the 2025 work programme, as well as in specific actions, categories, and calls within the programme.