The Committee on Culture and Education adopted the report by Silvia COSTA (S&D, IT) on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the Creative Europe Programme (2021 to 2027) and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1295/2013.
The committee recommended that the European Parliament's position adopted at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure should amend the Commission's proposal as follows:
Objectives of the programme
Members proposed adding a new general objective to recognise the intrinsic value of culture, preserve and promote the quality of European culture and creativity as a distinctive dimension of personal development, education, social cohesion, freedom of expression and opinion, and the arts, by strengthening democracy, critical thinking, sense of belonging and citizenship to shape a pluralistic cultural and media environment.
The programme should also:
- to promote European cooperation on cultural, artistic and linguistic diversity, including through enhancing the role of artists and cultural operators, the quality of European cultural and artistic production, and of the common tangible and intangible European cultural heritage;
- to foster the competitiveness of all cultural and creative sectors and to increase their economic weight, in particular the audiovisual sector, by means of job creation in, and of increasing innovation, creativity of, those sectors.
The programme would only support actions and activities that have the potential for European added value.
Several amendments aim to better define the priorities and actions of the different components (Culture, Media and Cross-Sectoral).
Budget
While the European Commission is planning a financial envelope for the implementation of the programme for the period 2021-2027 of EUR 1 850 000 000 000 for the period 2021-2027, Members have proposed that this envelope be set at EUR 2 806 000 000 at constant prices. They proposed to distribute the budget between the various strands in percentages rather than figures, ensuring a special allocation for cooperation projects in the cultural sector.
Grants would be awarded on the basis of the quality of the project, its impact and the quality and effectiveness of its implementation.
Third countries associated with the programme
In order to ensure the participation of these countries from the beginning of the programme to ensure its international dimension, third countries could participate in the programme's governance structures and stakeholder forums in order to facilitate the exchange of information. Agreements with new countries would be encouraged.
Work programmes
In order to strengthen parliamentary scrutiny, Members proposed that work programmes setting out strategic priorities and corresponding budgetary allocations should be adopted by means of delegated acts and not implementing acts. The adoption of the work programmes would be preceded by consultations with the various stakeholders, in order to ensure that the planned actions best support the different sectors concerned.
Monitoring, evaluation and indicators
The Commission should carry out a mid-term review as soon as possible in order to submit its report to Parliament and the Council in time (31 December 2024) for a thorough preparation of the next programme.
Members stressed that the programme should include both quantitative and qualitative indicators such as the impact on citizens and their active participation, the benefits for the EU economy in terms of growth and employment, the spill-over effects on other sectors of the economy, and the skills of people working in the cultural and creative sectors.