The EU budget faces a tough challenge to fund more with less. The U.K.’s departure will leave an approximate €12 billion annual gap in the EU budget that needs to be covered. Emerging new priorities, mainly in the areas of defense, migration and border control, will also require more funding. Günther Oettinger, the European Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources, proposed a combination of fresh money and cuts across all EU programmes, with the exception of Erasmus+ and Horizon 2020. Culture brings EU added value and deserves additional European funding.
What will the budget for culture look like post 2020? Will there be funding allocated to a specific cultural programme in the next programming period? As the negotiations over Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) move forward, we call the European cultural sector to become loud and visible and support our demands to:
! Ensure that 1% of the budget of each EU policy field is allocated to culture #Commit1%!
Culture and the arts are deeply embedded in society and affect a range of policy fields. Robust evidence exists on the positive impact of culture on health and well-being, social cohesion and equality, education, promotion of democratic principles, external relations, alongside with growth and jobs, research and innovation.
There is evidence backed by data supporting our conviction that culture should be at the core of every policy. Culture Action Europe’s publication “The Value and Values of Culture” summarises measurements of how culture contributes to different policy fields. Spending 1% on culture in every budget line will provide a sustainable quality of life both in our cities and in our countryside and will serve to creating a more integrated society.
! Double the budget available for culture in absolute terms ! #Double4Culture
Creative Europe, the main EU programme dedicated to culture, represents 0.14% of the EU total budget (2014-2020), out of which only one third (31%) is earmarked for culture. Despite its high implementation rates, the programme is hindered by low and decreasing application success rates, due to its significant popularity and insufficient finances. Thus, a great number of high quality projects are without the deserved support. Furthermore, these very limited resources are re-allocated towards a new and ever wider range of initiatives. Given the relevance and efficacy of the programme and the need for increasing its budget, new resources should be provided independently of possible mergers with other programmes.
This campaign aims to influence the next multiannual financial framework (MFF) that takes effect after 2020 and shapes the annual budgets of the EU, covering typically 7 years. Several EU Institutions are involved in the preparation and negotiation processes of the MFF. The proposal for the MFF regulation is drafted by the European Commission. The European Council adopts the MFF regulation by a unanimous vote, after having obtained the consent of the European Parliament.
