Creative Europe programme 2014-2020

PURPOSE: to establish the Creative Europe Programme 2014-2020, following on from the Culture, MEDIA and Media Mundus.

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Regulation (EU) No 1295/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the Creative Europe Programme (2014 to 2020) and repealing Decisions No 1718/2006/EC, No 1855/2006/EC and No 1041/2009/EC.

CONTENT: this Regulation establishes the Creative Europe Programme for support to the European cultural and creative sectors for the period from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2020.

General objectives of the programme: the programme aims:

• to safeguard, develop and promote European cultural and linguistic diversity, and to promote Europe's cultural heritage;
• to strengthen the competitiveness of the European cultural and creative sectors, particularly that of the audiovisual sector.

Specific objectives: the specific objectives shall be:

• to support the capacity of the European cultural and creative sectors to operate transnationally and internationally;
• to promote and enhance the transnational circulation of European cultural and creative works and the mobility of cultural and creative operators, in particular artists (especially female and young ones), as well as to reach wider and under-represented audiences;
• to strengthen the financial capacity of SMEs, micro, small and medium organisations in the cultural and creative sectors, so as to assure geographic coverage as well as a balanced sectoral representation;
• to favour policy development, innovation, creativity, audience development as well as new business models, managed by the support of transnational policy cooperation.

European added value: the European added value aspect of the programme is underlined so that the following elements would be taken into consideration:

• the transnational character of the actions;
• the development and promotion of transnational cooperation between cultural and creative actors, including artists, audiovisual professionals, cultural and creative organisations and audiovisual sector operators;
• the economies of scale and critical mass which Union support fosters;
• ensuring that proper account is taken of the conditions obtaining in the European cultural and creative sectors, in particular the situation in low-production-capacity Member States and/or EU regions with a restricted geographical and/or linguistic area.

Structure of the programme: the programme shall consist of three main sections:

1. a MEDIA programme;
2. a Culture programme;
3. a Cross-sectoral strand.

Logos and visibility: the Commission must assure the visibility of the programme by the use of specific logos for each sub-programme such as the MEDIA logo presented in the annex.

Access to the programme: the programme shall foster cultural diversity at international level in line with the 2005 UNESCO Convention and be open to the participation of:

• the Member States;
• acceding countries, candidate countries and potential candidate countries, in accordance with the general conditions outlined in the text;
• European Free Trade Association countries which are members of the European Economic Area (EEA);
• the Swiss Confederation;
• countries of the European Neighbourhood area.

A number of these countries, however, would be excluded from the MEDIA Guarantee Facility foreseen by the programme.

Cooperation is also foreseen with UNESCO, the Council of Europe, the OECD and WIPO.

Financial envelope: the financial envelope for the implementation of the Programme for the period from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2020 is set at EUR 1 462 724 000. The annual appropriations shall be authorised by the European Parliament and the Council within the limits of the multiannual financial framework.

The financial envelope shall be allocated as follows:

• at least 56 % for the MEDIA Sub-programme;
• at least 31 % for the Culture Sub-programme;
• a maximum of 13 % for the Cross-sectoral Strand, with at least 4 % being allocated for the transnational cooperation measures and for the Creative Europe Desks.

Support measures of the MEDIA sub-programme: overall, MEDIA shall reinforce:

• the development of a comprehensive range of training measures promoting the acquisition and improvement of new skills and competences by audiovisual professionals, knowledge-sharing and networking initiatives, including the integration of digital technologies;
• the development of European audiovisual projects, notably films and television programmes, such as fiction, children's and animated films, documentaries and short films, as well as interactive works, notably video games;
• measures to support the activities of European audiovisual production companies;
• measures to help European co-producers and international partners to provide indirect support to audiovisual works;
• the establishment of systems of support for the distribution of non-national European films through cinema distribution platforms and all other platforms, notably the subtitling, subtitling, dubbing and audio-description of audiovisual works;
• measures to facilitate circulation of European films worldwide;
• initiatives to promote eclectic European audiovisual works, including short films, such as festivals and other promotional events;
• activities to promote film literacy, including for younger audiences.

Provisions are made as regards the Union’s participation in the European Audiovisual Observatory throughout the programme.

Support measures of the Culture Sub-programme: the Culture Sub-programme shall provide support for:

• transnational cooperation projects bringing together cultural and creative organisations from different countries;
• activities by European networks of cultural and creative organisations from different countries;
• activities by organisations with a European vocation fostering the development of emerging talent and stimulating the transnational mobility of cultural and creative players and circulation of works, with the potential to exert a broad influence on the cultural and creative sectors and to provide for lasting effects;
• literary translation and its further promotion;
• special actions designed to make the richness and diversity of European cultures more visible and to stimulate intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding, including Union cultural prizes, the European Capitals of Culture action and the European Heritage Label action.

Cross-sectoral Strand:

1) Guarantee Facility: this Facility aims to facilitate access to finance for SMEs and micro, small and medium-sized organisations in the cultural and creative sectors. It shall operate as a self-standing instrument and shall be set up and managed in accordance with the titles of the Financial Regulation, in line with the principles established by the annex of the Regulation.

The Commission shall provide a set of clear and precise parameters to the European Investment Fund (EIF). The annual allocation to the EIF and the eligibility and selection criteria for financial intermediaries shall be included in the annual work programme.

2) transnational policy cooperation: measures are laid down to promote transnational policy cooperation, the Cross-sectoral Strand shall support the transnational exchange of experiences and know-how as well as to ensure the financing of the Creative Europe Desk in the Members States that assist the Commission in the implementation of the programme.

Implementation: the Commission shall implement the Programme in accordance with the Financial Regulation. It shall adopt by means of implementing acts an annual work programme concerning the Sub- programmes and the Cross-sectoral Strand. For grants, the annual work programme shall include the priorities, the eligibility, selection and award criteria, and the maximum rate of co-financing. The financial contribution from the Programme shall be a maximum of 80 % of the costs of the operations supported.

Performance results and dissemination: the Commission, in cooperation with the Member States, shall ensure the overall consistency and complementarity of the Programme with relevant Union policies and other relevant Union funding sources.

Both quantitative and qualitative indicators specific to each programme would be applied (particularly in terms of participation in the programme).

Evaluation: the Commission shall submit the mid-term evaluation report to the European Parliament and the Council by 31 December 2017. On the basis of a final external and independent evaluation, the Commission shall establish a final evaluation report which assesses the longer-term impacts and the sustainability of the Programme on the basis of the selected quantitative and qualitative indicators. This report shall be submitted to the European Parliament and the Council by 30 June 2022.

Repeal: Decisions No 1718/2006/EC, No 1855/2006/EC and No 1041/2009/EC are hereby repealed with effect from 1 January 2014.

Annexes: the Regulation includes annexes on the implementation arrangements for the cultural and creative sectors guarantee facility as well on the logo of the media sub-programme.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 21.12.2013. It shall apply from 01.01.2014.

DELEGATED ACTS: the Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in order to supplement the qualitative and quantitative performance indicators. The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission for the entire duration of the programme.

The European Parliament or the Council may raise objections with regard to a delegated act within two months of the date of notification (which may be extended by two months). If Parliament or Council raise objections, the delegated act will not enter into force.