What’s happening in EU cultural policy? A news roundup.
Background and context
With the new Multiannual Financial Framework (i.e. the European Union budget for the period 2021-2027) set to be adopted in the coming months, we’re at a critical moment in terms of European policy. Further raising the stakes, while the last few months of the pandemic have been challenging for every sector, the cultural and creative sector (CCS) has been particularly hard hit.
Cultural and creative professionals are not only crucial to the diversity and identity of the European Union, they also make a significant contribution to Europe’s GDP. In 2016, 1.2 million cultural enterprises employed more than 8.7 million people. A precarious sector by nature, the CCS is populated by many who are self-employed or work for SMEs. The average creative enterprise in Europe is one that employs no more than three people.
While many support measures have already been put in place for the CCS, there is a lot of ongoing activity on the policy level. We’ve rounded up the most recent developments in Europe and set out the key upcoming proposals that will determine the future of European funding for the creative and cultural sector.
“Cultural and creative professionals are not only crucial to the diversity and identity of the European Union, they also make a significant contribution to Europe’s GDP.”
Europe’s new budget
On 27 May 2020, new announcements were made by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on the new MFF and Next Generation EU. Next Generation EU is the Commission's new recovery plan covering all sectors of the economy, which amounts to €750 billion (€500 billion in grants, €250 billion in loans passed on to Member States). The reinforced multiannual financial framework for 2021-2027 - totalling €1.1 trillion - also sets out the budget for individual programmes that will be active in the next cycle.
Creative Europe 2021-2027
The latest version of the EU budget for the CCS stands at €1.5 billion. In short, an increase compared to the previous cycle, but a smaller overall budget than the sector hoped for. We already covered the successive revisions to the Creative Europe budget by the relevant EU institutions; we highlighted that, while the European Parliament was fully on board with giving the programme a boost, the Council and Commission pushed back to bring it to levels closer to what it had been in previous years.
The CULT committee meanwhile expressed its disappointment on the Commission’s latest budget proposal for Creative Europe (2021-2027):
“The Covid-19 pandemic has [...] ravaged the cultural and creative and media sectors across Europe. Creative Europe is the only EU programme that provides direct support to these sectors. The European Parliament has called on the Commission time and time again to put in place an ambitious plan to help the sectors recover, but the Commission is missing this opportunity and sending a terrible message”.
Discussions around the new MFF budget proposal started back in May 2018. The next round will take place on 19 June 2020, although whether definitive decisions will be made remains doubtful.
Economic recovery measures
Three horizontal measures have been introduced by the EU to help Member States deal with the economic effects of the pandemic:
The corona response initiative aims to help Member States fund their coronavirus crisis responses.
The SURE instrument mitigates the risks of unemployment in the EU. Some states have used it to guarantee three months’ salary for employees across a range of sectors, including the CCS.
The temporary state aid framework allows Member States to use direct grants and advance payments with more flexibility. The CCS has already benefited from the framework: The Dutch government requested, and secured, €12 million to compensate organisers for the cancellations of large public events.
“Discussions around the new MFF budget proposal started back in May 2018. The next round will take place on 19 June 2020, although whether definitive decisions will be made remains doubtful.”
Measures focusing on the CCS
The developments above are very much aimed towards Member State economies, and look to assist a broad range of sectors. Here we focus on measures and policy decisions which affect the CCS directly.
EU cultural policy is implemented mainly through the ongoing Creative Europe programme (2014-2020), for example:
A €5 million voucher scheme has been made available for cinemas affected by the pandemic.
Programme participants have been encouraged to engage in virtual mobility and digital culture.
Other EU measures for the CCS include two pilot projects: €2.5 million around new online media for young Europeans and €1.5 million to create innovative cultural hubs around cinema theatres.
What else can the CCS expect from Europe?
The ministers of culture recently announced that €2.5 million should be made available this year through Music Moves Europe, a Creative Europe initiative. A further €2 million is in the works through an upcoming call for “cross-border dimensions in performing arts”.
In the same press conference, Commissioner Gabriel proposed €100 million for new Erasmus+ calls which would focus on skills development, digital competences and social inclusion, linking the education & training of stakeholders with grassroots organisations operating in the cultural sector.
Horizon Europe has a proposed budget of €94.4 billion. A dedicated cluster for Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society is addressed under Pillar 2 (Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness).
Beyond these sector-specific measures that are under review, the CULT committee has highlighted a number of instruments that could also be immensely beneficial to the CCS:
Extending the Cultural and Creative Sector Guarantee Facility under the new InvestEU could address the cash flow problems of small creative companies.
European Funds for Strategic Investment, otherwise known as the EFSI, could channel direct support to the CCS, particularly digital and social creative industries.
The European Investment Fund could provide credit and finance opportunities for cultural and creative SMEs.
As Europe moves to act quickly to face the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, and the need to finalise the MFF becomes more urgent, we’ve seen a large volume of both policy decisions and measures being discussed (and passed!). Until the next round of talks (and voting) that will take place on the 19th June, the bigger picture remains unclear: the budget for the various programmes is not yet final, and the specific provisions are not yet known.
In the meantime, European networks and advocacy groups like Culture Action Europe are pushing for a more ambitious budget for Creative Europe. However, we believe that it is important not to focus only on this key cultural programme, but to ensure that other programmes and instruments such as Next Generation EU also benefit cultural operators, while promoting their cooperation with other sectors.
Arne van Vliet is the Creative Director of TrueMotion. He’s passionate about culture, creativity and the arts and specialises in finding funding for innovative projects that are reshaping the cultural landscape in Europe.