What is the future of Creative Europe?
*This piece is excerpted from the April 2025 issue of the Decoder, Culture Action Europe’s monthly members-only publication dedicated to decoding what is happening in European cultural policy as seen from Brussels. Find out more about CAE member benefits.
Last month, we breathed a sigh of relief when we saw a draft structure of the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2028–2034, the EU’s long-term budget, which will determine the future shape and delivery of cultural funding. In that draft, Creative Europe was marked as a standalone programme—something Culture Action Europe has long advocated for.
But we warned: it was too early to celebrate. Now, we’re hearing troubling whispers once again. This time, about the Commission, namely the ‘central offices’, wanting to merge Creative Europe with the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme under a broader ‘Values and Democracy’ heading.
Rumour has it that the proposed merged programme may place a stronger emphasis on media, particularly in the context of disinformation. Media would likely take a more prominent role, and the Commission’s DG CNECT, which currently oversees the MEDIA strand of Creative Europe, is allegedly interested in this merger.
At Culture Action Europe, we have a growing intuition that the merged programme could be used as a vehicle to implement the European Democracy Shield (see below). Indeed, culture is crucial for defending democracy and countering disinformation, and this is precisely why it deserves its own budget line as a strong, standalone Creative Europe programme.
On the one hand, Creative Europe clearly has its advocates in high cabinets. Commissioner Micallef reiterated during our meeting on 22 April that the EU needs a standalone culture programme. Emma Rafowicz, Member of the European Parliament and rapporteur for the Creative Europe file, told us she would call for Creative Europe’s budget to be doubled in the next MFF. National culture ministers are also on our side. At the same time, Culture Action Europe is hearing from institutional contacts that more public pressure is needed outside the cultural sector.
| So here’s what you can do:
1. Sign and share our ‘Ask, Pay, Trust the Artist’ statement. On 1 May, the Culture Action Europe team will also take the campaign to the streets of Brussels—join us there or organise a similar action in your city. More details are here. 2. Write to your national ministers. Not just culture ministers, but first and foremost finance and foreign and European affairs ministers. Make it clear that you expect their support for a strong, standalone Creative Europe programme in the upcoming MFF negotiations. Culture Action Europe has prepared a letter template. 3. Fill out the MFF questionnaire for the Commission by 6 May. Ask your colleagues and members to do the same. The MFF survey that specifically focuses on education, culture, and civil society already has over 3,500 responses. Help push that number even higher by completing it and encouraging your members and colleagues to do the same: here’s the guide. The key message: Creative Europe must remain a standalone programme with a robust budget. We also encourage you to respond to other MFF consultations with cultural relevance. At Culture Action Europe, we completed MFF surveys on:
If your organisation works at the intersection of these areas, consider filling out these consultations too. We need to show that culture belongs across all pillars of the EU’s future budget. |