Creative Europe: increased budget to support the cultural and creative sectors in 2022

Today, the Commission adopted the Work Programme for 2022, followed by the publication of new calls for proposals. The budget of the programme is almost 100 million euros more than in 2021 – almost 385 million euros. This will allow the Programme to increase its support to creative and cultural partners, taking into account the challenges posed by the COVID-19 crisis and growing global competition.

Mariya Gabriel , Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, said: "The cultural and creative sectors are the soul of Europe. We know how resilient they've been in the last two years. In 2022, Creative Europe's budget will be at an all-time high. The EU will support the recovery, creativity and innovation of these sectors. We invite artists, creators and cultural professionals to explore and take advantage of the funding opportunities offered by the program."

Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton added: "In 2022, we will step up our support for the pandemic-ravaged European cultural and creative sectors, from cinemas to festivals. Under Creative Europe, we are allocating a record €226 million to the audiovisual sector and €35 million to cross-sectoral cooperation, including news media. Creative Europe is investing in innovation in digital technologies and new types of content, from cutting-edge TV series to virtual reality. To protect media freedom, we will fund cooperation between journalists, strengthen professional standards and promote media literacy."

The Culture sub-programme of the programme includes new support schemes and initiatives in the fields of music, cultural heritage, performing arts and literature. In addition, artists, creators and cultural professionals are offered opportunities to go abroad to further their professional activities or to participate in international cooperation and to find a new audience, co-produce, co-create or present their work.

The MEDIA sub-programme focuses on the audiovisual sector and several innovations are expected in 2022. Funding will be provided for the development of innovative video games and virtual reality. The new MEDIA 360 degree action is aimed at leading business forums that work with businesses across the audiovisual value chain. To encourage innovation, a media market portal will be launched for promising start-ups. Cooperation between film festivals will be strengthened through networks.

The cross-sectoral strand will increase funding for the Creative Innovation Lab for the implementation of multi-creative innovation projects. It also supports the New European Bauhaus initiative. Support will also be extended to news media by taking additional measures to protect media freedom.

Creative Europe also seeks to address other issues affecting the cultural and creative sectors. In order to receive funding from the media, the project must include a strategy to increase environmental performance and diversity, including gender balance. The programme therefore provides significant support to the Commission's policy priorities in the area of sustainability and inclusion. The programme includes initiatives that also cover other EU priorities. For example, it contributes to a strategy to combat anti-Semitism and promote the Jewish way of life , as well as to the European Year of Youth.

The cultural and creative sectors are invited to take a look at the recently produced CulturEU online guide, which provides an overview of all the EU funding opportunities available to them. The interactive website describes a total of 75 funding opportunities from 21 EU programmes, ranging from Creative Europe and Horizon Europe to the Structural Funds and InvestEU .

Background

The cultural and creative sectors have always had an enriching dimension to life in Europe, increasing Europe's social cohesion and diversity, but also affecting the EU economy – they account for 4.2% of the total EU GDP and 3.7% of the EU workforce.

The total budget for Creative Europe for the period 2021-2027 is around €2.4 billion, an increase of 63% compared to 2014-2020. The increased budget reflects the European Union's commitment to help the sector recover and build its resilience in the coming years. The programme has three strands:

• the cultural strand covers all areas of the cultural and creative sectors, with the exception of audiovisual and news media;
• the media strand supports the audiovisual and film sectors;
• The cross-sectoral orientation is intended to strengthen cross-sectoral cooperation.

Public and private bodies operating in the creative sectors can apply for funding from the Creative Europe Desks located in all EU Member States and third countries associated to the Programme.

More detailed information on specific measures and deadlines for submitting applications can be found here.

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