The future of MEDIA

Creative Europe: the Commission's proposal

In December 2011, the European Commission unveiled its proposal for the post-2013 successor to the MEDIA and Culture programmes: Creative Europe. With a proposed budget of €1.8 billion, it will run for the period 2014-2020.

Creative Europe will build on the experience and success of the Culture and MEDIA programmes which have supported the cultural and audiovisual sectors for more than 20 years to date. The proposed budget for Creative Europe represents a 37% increase on current spending levels. In 2007-13 the MEDIA programme received €755 million with an additional €15 million for MEDIA Mundus, which supports international co-operation in the audiovisual sector. The Culture programme was allocated a budget of €400 million for the current financial period.

Creative Europe will allocate more than €900 million in support of the cinema and audiovisual sector (the area currently covered by MEDIA) and almost €500 million for culture. The Commission is also proposing to allocate more than €20 million for a new financial guarantee facility, which will enable small operators to access up to €1 billion in bank loans as well as around €60 million in support of policy co-operation and innovative approaches to audience-building and new business models.

The Commission estimates that the Creative Europe proposal will enable:

More than 1,000 European films to receive distribution support, enabling them to be seen by audiences throughout Europe and the world
At least 2,500 European cinemas to receive funding enabling them to ensure that at least 50% of the films they screen are European
300,000 artists and cultural professionals and their work to receive funding to reach new audiences beyond their home countries
More than 5,500 books and other literary works to receive support for translation, allowing readers to enjoy them in their mother tongue
Thousands of cultural organisations and professionals to benefit from training to gain new skills and to strengthen their capacity to work internationally.

The European cultural and creative sectors represent around 4.5% of European GDP and account for some 3.8% of the EU workforce (8.5 million people). EU support will help them make the most of the opportunities created by globalisation and the digital shift. It will also enable them to overcome challenges such as market fragmentation and difficulties in accessing financing.

What's the latest?

At a meeting of the European Council on the next EU budget priorities on 7 and 8 February in Brussels, Member States agreed on an amount of €960 billion for the overall Union budget for the period 2014 - 2020. For the first time, this signifies a reduction in the total EU budget compared to the financial framework of the previous seven years (- 3.5%).

The section of the budget allocated to ‘Security and Citizenship’, in which Creative Europe is included, was allocated €15.686 billion by the Council. The distribution of funds within this part of the budget will now be the subject of negotiation between the Council, the Commission and the European Parliament.

Within the framework of the new Creative Europe programme, the Commission had proposed an overall budget of €1.8 billion, with 55% for the MEDIA Strand (€900 million) and 30 % for Culture, but the agreement by the European Council suggests that the budget figure may be slightly lower.

However, speaking on the matter Doris Pack, Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Culture and Education, told the magazine Screen: “I doubt that we will get as much as we want, but I am sure that we will get more than at present because of the additional activities planned in the new programme.”

In addition, 28 February marked the beginning of the collaborative work cycle between the Parliament, the European Commission and the Council of Ministers, with the objective of agreeing upon a set of rules for Creative Europe.

The process to date

Early in 2012 the UK Government held a public consultation on Creative Europe to inform its approach to negotiations in the Council and European Parliament during 2012. The British Film Institute's response can be downloaded and read in full from the left-hand panel of this page.

MEDIA Desk UK published a report on the informal briefing on Creative Europe that was held in London on 6 March 2012. Over 250 members of the UK’s creative and cultural sector attended the briefing, which was led by the European Commission’s Head of the MEDIA Programme, Aviva Silver. This report can also be downloaded and read from the left-hand panel of this page.

The Minister for Culture, Media and Sport, Ed Vaizey MP, gave evidence to the committee on 15 March 2012, and made it clear that whilst the UK government broadly supports the Creative Europe proposal, it opposes the increase in the budget and in particular the new financing facility. Agnieszka Moody gave oral evidence at the second session a week later, alongside two other witnesses, Ann Branch, the Head of the Culture Programme and Yvette Vaughan Jones from Visiting Arts, the host organisation for the Cultural Contact Point in the UK. Following this session, the House of Lords wrote to Ed Vaizey MP and asked him to reconsider his opposition to the proposed increase in the budget for Creative Europe and to "keep an open mind" about the financing facility. The full letter can be read and downloaded from the left-hand panel of this page.

On 26 April the European Parliament held a public hearing on Creative Europe. On the eve of the hearing, Europa Distribution, Europa International (association of European sales agents), Europa Cinemas and the Paris-based association of writers/producers/directors L’ARP issued a declaration supporting the proposed 37% budget increase. The core message of the declaration was that promoting the transnational circulation of audiovisual works and professionals should be at the very heart of the proposed successor to MEDIA, and that a budget increase would allow the programme to “adapt to the new realities of the digital transition: the digitisation of European theatres and online distribution of audiovisual works”.

The Federation of European Film Directors (FERA) also declared its support for the budget increase and called for all Member States and MEDIA participating countries to follow suit. FERA also asked that a way be found for “pragmatic solutions to the question of merging MEDIA Desks and Cultural Contact Points so that the quality information service and specialised know-how of each is maintained, to the benefit of both sets of users”.

Partial General Approach

On 10 May 2012 the Council of the European Union's Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council agreed to a 'partial general approach' on Creative Europe, which means broad agreement on all aspects of the proposal, with the exception of the budget and the financial guarantee mechanism. Although it doesn’t have a formal status in the legislative process, the partial general approach is a political statement by the Council. It sends a signal to the European Parliament about what is likely to be acceptable to the Council and the basis on which a final version might be agreed.

To find out more about Creative Europe, visit the European Commission's website.