Culture Action Europe presents its paper on the future of EU culture funding
As the EU begins preparing its next long-term budget for 2028-2034, known as the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), Culture Action Europe advocates for allocating 2% of the next MFF to culture.
Research by the European Parliamentary Research Service shows that every euro invested in culture can generate up to €11 in GDP.
EU leadership has announced plans to make the next MFF more focused, with fewer funding programmes and simplified rules. Although no official proposal has been made yet, we anticipate that the structural elements of the next MFF will include the Competitiveness Fund, National Plans linking reforms and investments, and the External Action Funding pillar. This assumption is based on publicly available information from the Political Guidelines for the Next European Commission 2024-2029, the mission letters and confirmation hearings of European Commissioners, and the Competitiveness Compass.
Key takeaways from the paper:
- Creative Europe must remain a standalone programme with a distinct budget line within the Competitiveness Fund.
- Existing funding lines, such as transnational cooperation projects, European networks, pan-European platforms, transnational mobility, and the European Capitals of Culture, should be preserved in the next edition of Creative Europe’s CULTURE strand.
- The co-funding rate in the CULTURE strand should be increased to 100%.
- If, and only if, the budget for Creative Europe is increased, the following new funding lines should be considered: 1) micro-grants of up to €15,000 for first-time applicants and young artists, using a simple lump-sum/unit-cost model and a short application process; 2) an acquisition programme for cultural organisations and institutions to purchase European cultural goods and services, including outputs from Creative Europe–funded projects; 3) an EU-wide Cultural Pass to grant access to cultural experiences across the EU, primarily for youth and people from marginalised backgrounds.
- The Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) should be extended to cover culture funding. This model would allow for cumulative funding and the combination of grants from multiple EU budget instruments, including Creative Europe.
- Funding for cultural projects must respect the independence of organisations and uphold the right of beneficiaries to determine the most effective ways and formats to achieve their approved objectives.
- National Plans Linking Reforms and Investments should earmark 2% of their budgets for culture. While Member States would remain free to shape their cultural policies, spending should adhere to key principles: artistic freedom, geographical balance, support for small and independent creators, and fair pay.
- The European Commission is urged to include a dedicated section on Artistic Freedom in the Rule of Law Report, making Member States’ access to National Plans funding contingent on their demonstrated commitment to upholding artistic freedom, as evaluated in the report.
- As part of the External Action Funding pillar, the Strategy for International Cultural Relations should be revised. 2% of this pillar should be allocated to the implementation of the Strategy through a Global Cultural Cooperation Fund. This fund would support cooperation with third-country organisations not associated with Creative Europe.
- 2% of frozen Russian assets seized for Ukraine’s aid should be allocated to Ukraine’s cultural recovery.
- Culture should become a strategic pillar of the European Democracy Shield. The EU can either remain constrained by its limited competence in culture—leaving citizens vulnerable to authoritarian influence and the erosion of democratic legitimacy, as seen in the 2024 elections in Romania—or invest in cultural participation as a strategic pillar for security, resilience, and critical thinking.
This document is dynamic and will evolve as MFF preparations progress.
The next MFF and the role of culture in it will be discussed at the Cultural Deal for Europe Policy Conversation on 4 February 2025. Culture Action Europe’s Policy Adviser, Luiza Moroz, will moderate a discussion on 2% for culture in the EU’s post-2027 budget. Register here for online streaming.