The newly-published Annual Work Programme for Creative Europe confirms that there will be no open call for large-scale cooperation projects in 2024, and that open calls will be announced once in every two years. Despite the mobilisation of the wider cultural and creative sectors, coordinated among others by Culture Action Europe, calling on the European Commission to reconsider such a move which will impact already existing projects, the EU’s executive arm has not changed its mind. Under the 2024 Annual Work Programme, projects supported can be small or medium scale, depending on the number of organisations involved.
“It is envisaged that the large-scale category will be included in the call only every two years,” the Commission writes in the document, reassuring that Creative Europe will have “the objective to increase the number of medium-scale cooperation projects”, a novelty of the 2021-2027 financial cycle. “Medium-scale projects,” – the Annual Work Programme reads – “have already proven their quality both in the application received and the results already achieved in the first years of the programme implementation. However, the success rate for applicants to medium scale projects has been low due to a limited budget for a high number of applications.” This is the reason behind the latest move of the Commission, impacting several organisations which had already put their consortia together to apply for funding.
In 2024, support will be given to cooperation projects contributing to the following objectives:
- to strengthen the transnational creation and circulation of European works and artists;
- to enhance the capacity of European cultural and creative sectors to nurture talents,
- to innovate, to prosper and to generate jobs and growth.
In addition, priority will be given to projects addressing at least one of the following priorities:
- Audience
- Social inclusion including health and wellbeing, particularly mental health
- Sustainability
- Digital
- International dimension
- Support to Ukrainian Cultural and Creative Sectors. Projects addressing this priority should focus on supporting Ukrainian cultural organisations and professionals (including artists) to allow them to continue creating and showcasing Ukrainian culture and/or prepare the post-war recovery.
Together with the Annual Work Programme, the EU Commission has also published an indicative timeline of the call for the CULTURE Strand. New calls for cooperation projects will be out on 19 October, with a tentative deadline for applications on 23 January 2024.
