Culture Action Europe calls for reversal of 27 million EUR proposed cuts from the 2026 Creative Europe budget
This week, Culture Action Europe, together with 30 European cultural networks and organisations, sent a letter to the European Council and national ministers of finance and culture to urge to reverse the proposed 27.56 million EUR cuts to the Creative Europe Programme in the 2026 financial year.
What’s happening?
The Council has proposed €27.56 million EUR cut in commitment appropriations and €9.86 million cuts in payment appropriations outlined by the Council of the European Union for the Creative Europe Programme. Despite its very modest financial allocation, currently representing just 0.2% of the total EU budget (€2.44 billion over seven years), Creative Europe has had a measurable and strategic impact.
As recalled by the Council in its conclusions in May 2025, European artists and cultural professionals are “an engine of creativity and innovation […] often marked by precarity,” which is why the reduction in financial support outlined threatens not only the sustainability of one of the European Union’s flagship programmes, but also livelihoods across the cultural and creative sectors. In the letter, the signatories expressed their expectation for the Council to act upon their commitment to a strong Creative Europe programme, as expressed in the letter from national culture ministers in November 2024.
Why we acted
As the Council recalled in May, the European cultural and creative sectors and industries provide a “critical contribution” not only to European creativity and innovation, but also to “maintaining and promoting international peace and security.” Reducing cultural funding is an affront to its transformative power and disregards the importance of creative, innovative thinking to overcome the challenges of our time.
The letter acknowledges the concerns raised by the Budget Committee of the Council and the importance of resilience and preparedness in financial planning to confront current and future challenges, but goes on to state that the budgetary cuts outlined to the Resilience and Values sub-heading of the 2026 budget only risk undermining these objectives, harming financial flexibility and adaptability in the process.
During the presentation of preliminary findings of the interim evaluation of Creative Europe programme 2021-2027, the Commission shared that a recent call for proposals which received over 1,600 applications will only see 10 to 15 % of projects selected for funding, with many ‘extraordinary projects’ missing out. In other words, current levels of funding are already insufficient to meet the demand for Creative Europe calls for applications. While acknowledging the current fiscal constraints, the signatories highlight that Creative Europe is not a major expenditure line; it is a strategic, low-risk investment with cross-sectoral impact.
In addition, current levels of funding are already insufficient to meet the demand for Creative Europe calls for applications.
Our call
Culture is a vital building block for the common future of a more sustainable, global Europe. The cultural sector urges to reverse the proposed budget cut to Creative Europe, the EU’s sole dedicated instrument for cultural funding. These cuts would only serve to harm the interests of European citizens, cultural and creative sectors, and international partnerships. On the contrary, the letter calls for additional funding to be allocated to the Creative Europe programme for the 2026 financial year to ensure the programme may carry out its objectives and not reject future outstanding, high-quality project applications.
We are urging European leaders to:
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reverse the proposed budget cut to Creative Europe, the EU’s sole dedicated instrument for cultural funding.
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2% of the next Multiannual Financial Framework (2028-2034) should be allocated to European cultural content creation and the reinforcement of Europe’s democratic cultural ecosystem, both through AgoraEU and across other funding programmes.
Culture Action Europe supports the position expressed by the CULT Committee of the European Parliament, which proposes an increase of €20 million above the draft budget in its opinion report.
Signatories
Culture Action Europe
AEC — European Association of Conservatoires
Arty Farty
CEATL — European Council of Literary Translators’ Associations
Circostrada — European Network for Contemporary Circus and Outdoor Arts
ECSA — European Composer and Songwriter Alliance
EFA — European Festivals Association
EIBF — European and International Booksellers Federation
ELIA — European Network in Higher Arts Education and Research
EMMA — European Music Managers Alliance
EURead — European Reading Promotion and Literacy Network
Europa Nostra
European Choral Association
European Cultural Foundation
European Music Council
European Music School Union
European Network of Cultural Centres
European Theatre Convention
European Writers’ Council
Europe Jazz Network
Federation of European Publishers
IETM — International Network for Contemporary Performing Arts
JMI — Jeunesses Musicales International
Michael Culture Association
NEMO — Network of European Museum Organisations
On the Move
Opera Europa
Pearle — Live Performance Europe*
REMA — European Early Music Network
Reset! Network
Trans Europe Halles
YOUROPE — The European Festival Association
Image Credit: Mariana Pedroza