COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Creative Europe - A new framework programme for the cultural and creative sectors (2014-2020)
Date: 2011-11-23
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU programme, artistic creation, culture, financing

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 23.11.2011 
COM(2011) 786 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Creative Europe - A new framework programme for the cultural and creative sectors 
(2014-2020) 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
  
 
1. 

Introduction 

"Creative Europe", the new framework programme for the cultural and creative sectors (CCS) 
for the 2014-2020 Multi-Annual Financial Framework (MFF)1, will bring together the current 
Culture, MEDIA and MEDIA Mundus programmes under a common framework and create 
an entirely new Facility to improve access to finance. 

By  specifically  targeting  the  needs  of  the  cultural  and  creative  sectors  aiming  to  operate 
beyond  national  borders,  and  with  a  strong  link  to  the  promotion  of  cultural  and  linguistic 
diversity, the programme will complement other European Union (EU) programmes such as 
structural fund support for investment in the cultural and creative sectors, heritage restoration, 
cultural  infrastructure  and  services,  digitisation  funds  for  cultural  heritage  and  the 
enlargement  and  external  relations  instruments.  Member  States  support  numerous  cultural 
initiatives many of which fall under state aid rules. 

For  the  2014-2020  MFF,  the  Commission  proposes  a  significant  increase  in  the  budget 
devoted to the cultural and creative sectors, a total of € 1.801 billion (current prices), a 37% 
increase  on  current  spending  levels.  This  increase  is  fully  in  line  with  the  rationale  and 
priorities of the Europe 2020 strategy and its flagship initiatives since investing in the cultural 
and  creative  sectors  directly  contributes  to  the  Strategy's  aim  to  promote  smart,  sustainable 
and inclusive growth. In 2008 the cultural and creative sectors contributed an estimated 4.5 % 
to  EU  GDP,  and  employed  some  3.8%  of  Europe's  workforce2.  Beyond  this  direct 
contribution  to  jobs  and  growth,  these  sectors  trigger  spill-overs  in  other  areas  such  as 
tourism,  content  for  ICT3  and  provide  benefits  for  education,  social  inclusion  and  social 
innovation.  They  are  therefore  particularly  important  as  Europe  seeks  to  emerge  from  the 
current economic crisis. However, despite higher than average growth rates in many countries 
in  recent  years,  these  sectors  are  facing  particular  challenges  and  difficulties.  If  they  are  to 
realise  their  potential  for  further  growth,  a  coherent  strategic  approach  to  address  such 
constraints and put the right enablers in place is required: this is the core aim of the Creative 
Europe proposal. 

The  new  Programme  will  be  a  simple,  easily  recognisable  and  accessible  gateway  for 
European cultural and creative professionals, regardless of their artistic discipline, and it will 
offer scope for international activities within and outside of the EU. 

In preparing the proposal, the Commission has consulted widely with interested parties. It has 
also drawn on the interim evaluations of the current programmes, and independent studies. In 
addition, it takes into account the feedback to the Commission's Green paper "Unlocking the 
potential  of  cultural  and  creative  industries"4,  as  well  as  the  recommendations  made  by 

1 

2 

3 

4 

Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European 
Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions,  "A  Budget  for  Europe  2020", 
COM(2011) 500 final, 29.6.2011 
"Building  a  Digital  Economy:  The  importance  of  saving  jobs  in  the  EU's  creative  industries",  TERA 
Consultants, March 2010 
Commission  Recommendation  on  the  digitisation  and  online  accessibility  of  cultural  material  and 
digital preservation, C(2011) 7579 final, 27.10.2011 
Green  Paper  "Unlocking  the  potential  of  cultural  and  creative  industries",  COM(2010)  183; 
Commission Staff Working Document, "Analysis of the consultation launched by the Green Paper on 
"Unlocking the potential of cultural and creative industries", SEC(2011) 399 final, 24.03.2011 

EN 

2 

   EN 

 
                                                 
experts in the context of the culture open method of coordination and structured dialogue with 
the sector over the period 2008-2010. 

2. 

Learning from current programmes, meeting future needs 

To  ensure  the  best  use  of  the  new  and  increased  budget,  the  new  programme  builds  on  the 
many  achievements  of  the  current  programmes  while  addressing  the  main  drawbacks 
identified  by  evaluations  or  through  direct  experience  of  managing  the  programme.  It  also 
proposes  to  create  an  entirely  new  Facility  to  improve  access  by  the  cultural  and  creative 
sectors  to  finance  in  order  to  respond  to  a  need  which  was  strongly  identified  in  both 
independent research and consultations. 

2.1. 

Achievements of the current programmes 

The  evaluation  of  current  European  Union  programmes  for  the  cultural  and  creative  sectors 
shows  that  they  have  helped  to  strengthen  the  sector  and  to  promote  circulation  of 
professionals  and  works  of  art,  making  a  strong  contribution  to  cultural  and  linguistic 
diversity. 

In the case of the Culture Programme, with a small yearly average budget of € 57 million - 
the equivalent to the annual budgets of many single national opera houses/companies5 - EU 
spending is highly cost effective. It helps thousands of artists and cultural professionals – an 
estimated  20,000  each  year  -  to  develop  international  careers  by  improving  their  skills  and 
knowhow through informal peer learning, and through creating new professional pathways. 

It has provided thousands of cultural organisations – well over 1,000 organisations each year - 
with  the  possibility  to  work  together  across  borders,  to  learn  from  good  practice  through 
partnerships  with  operators  from  other  countries.  It  has  enabled  operators  to  co-produce,  to 
network  and  discover  new  professional  opportunities,  and  to  make  their  work  and  outlook 
more international. This has had a positive, structuring effect on the sector and its capacity to 
address wider markets. It has helped the development of sectors and art forms, the creation of 
new  works  and  performances,  promoted  access  and  participation,  research  and  education  in 
the field, as well as information, advice and practical support. 

Thousands of works have been able to circulate, including some 500 translated literary works 
each year. Support from the programme is perceived as a quality label for cultural projects. 
Through  the  activities  of  the  projects,  many  millions  of  citizens  have  been  reached  both 
directly and indirectly and enjoyed cultural works from other countries. The Programme has 
also contributed to developing a better evidence base for policy through studies which have 
fed into the work of the OMC. As projects are co-funded, mostly at a maximum rate of 50%, 
the  Programme  has  leveraged  a  considerable  amount  of  additional  public  and  private 
investment. 

Finally,  the  European  Capitals  of  Culture,  which  receive  an  EU  title  and  funding  from  the 
Programme (€1.5 million per Capital), have in some cases had an eight-fold leverage effect on 
generated  revenue,  triggered  between  €15  and  100  million  worth  of  investment  in  their 

5 

To put this into perspective, this € 57 million is also far below the level of the national public funding 
of arts and culture in the UK, FR, DE (respectively ₤ 590 million, € 7.5 billion, € 8.5 billion) 

EN 

3 

   EN 

 
 
                                                 
operational programmes and served as a catalyst for additional capital investment. They have 
typically  reached  millions  of  people,  involved  hundreds  as  volunteers  and  left  a  long-term 
legacy for the cities in terms of improved skills, cultural capacity and vibrancy, infrastructure 
and image. 

Regarding the MEDIA Programmes, with a relatively small annual budget of around € 100 
million in a market worth 1000 times more, MEDIA has produced significant results thanks to 
focused actions optimising the cost-benefit ratio and leverage of the programme. Actions have 
focused on activities with a positive impact on EU competitiveness and on needs that are not 
addressed  at  national  level,  such  as  transnational  distribution.  Thanks  at  least  partly  to 
MEDIA  support,  the  proportion  of  European  films  amongst  all  first  time  released  films  in 
European  theatres  grew  from  36%  in  1989  to  54%  in  2009.  The  network  Europa  Cinema, 
comprising  over  2,000  screens  in  mostly  independent  cinemas  across  32  countries, 
representing  20%  of  all  first-run  screens  in  Europe,  provides  a  broad  and  diverse  offer  of 
films,  thereby  promoting  cultural  diversity  in  475  cities.  Their  quality  programming  has 
attracted  59  million  admissions  (against  30  million  in  2000)  representing  5.6%  of  total 
admissions in Europe (2.8% in 2000). The proportion of box office generated by non-national 
European  films  programmed  in  the  network  reaches  36%,  against  an  average  of  7-8%  in 
Europe. European films account for 57% of admissions to Europa Cinema screenings, against 
a European average of 27.7%. 

MEDIA  strengthens  the  competitiveness  of  the  sector  through  support  for  capacity-building 
such as training and development which helps to professionalise the sector and improve the 
quality of works. Some 1,800 professionals (producers, distributors, script-writers) are trained 
annually, enabling them to acquire relevant qualifications and skills and benefit from cross-
border networking opportunities. Development support enables 400 quality European projects 
to  be  brought  to  market  each  year.  The  support  to  a  portfolio  of  projects  (slate  funding)  as 
opposed  to  purely  single  project  support  –  provides  financial  solidity  and  a  longer  term 
perspective  to  production  companies  (often  small  under-capitalised  SMEs),  with  important 
structuring effects on the industry. 

Support  to  independent  producers  to  produce  specific  genres  of  audiovisual  works  such  as 
documentaries and animations for international television distribution has proven to be critical 
given  the  specific  needs  identified  in  these  genres.  Networking  activities  such  as  co-
production forums, international market and training initiatives have resulted in a significant 
increase  in  transnational  co-productions  (from  26%  of  European  films  in  1989  to  34%  in 
2009).  These  films  have  a  2.3  times  higher  circulation  potential  than  national  films6. 
Networks  such  as  EAVE,  ACE,  Cartoon,  created  with  MEDIA  support,  now  constitute  the 
backbone of the European cinema industry. 

The  MEDIA  Production  Guarantee  Fund,  which  was  launched  in  2010,  facilitates  access  to 
private  sources  of  finance  uniquely  for  film  producers  via  a  guarantee  mechanism  that 
encourages banks to grant them credits by sharing the risk incurred. With a total budget of € 8 
million for a four year duration, it is expected to generate over € 100 million in bank credits, 
thanks  to  the  leverage  effect  of  the  guarantee  mechanism.  The  Fund  was  opened  to 
applications in May 2011 and has been accepted favourably by the film industry and banks, 
resulting  in  more  than  a  dozen  guarantees  with  a  loan  value  of  around  €15  million  in  ten 
different member states. 

6 

Source: European Audiovisual Observatory, 2008 

EN 

4 

   EN 

 
                                                 
However despite the achievements of the Culture and MEDIA Programmes, more needs to be 
done  to  unleash  the  full  potential  of  these  sectors,  which  are  facing  similar  problems  of 
market  fragmentation,  challenges  from  globalisation  and  the  digital  shift,  shortage  of 
comparable data, and lack of private finance. 

2.2. 

Lessons learned for the future 

The architecture of the new Programme has been designed taking into account the experience 
of its predecessors. 

Culture Programme 2007-2013 

Drawing lessons from current experience, the objectives proposed for the future Framework 
Programme  will  be  adapted  to  the  real  needs  of  project  promoters,  including  cultural  and 
creative  SMEs.  They  will  also  promote  the  job  and  growth  potential  of  these  sectors,  while 
continuing  to  have  a  strong  link  to  the  promotion  of  cultural  and  linguistic  diversity. 
Regarding  the  different  actions  under  the  programme,  numerous  improvements  and 
simplifications will be introduced. The large number of calls and categories, which increase 
complexity  and  reduce  transparency,  will  be  reduced  from  9  to  4.  Actions  lacking  critical 
mass,  a  long-term  perspective,  or  which  are  over-subscribed  due  to  their  design  will  be 
discontinued.  However  the  new  measures  will  in  principle  be  open  to  operators  currently 
addressed  by  the  discontinued  strands,  subject  to  meeting  the  necessary  conditions  and 
criteria.  Another  simplification  will  be  the  discontinuation  of  operating  grants,  which  have 
proven  insufficiently  result-oriented  and  complicated  for  applicants  and  beneficiaries.  All 
future  actions  will  use  project  grants,  which  are  simpler  and  foster  a  longer-term  approach. 
Concerning the international dimension, the current annual call with a changing country focus 
will be abandoned in favour of a greater opening of the programme to acceding, candidate and 
potential  candidate  countries,  countries  of  the  European  neighbourhood    area  and  of  the 
European Economic Area (EEA), and the Programme will continue to be open for long-term 
bilateral  or  multilateral  cooperation  actions  targeted  at  selected  countries  or  regions  on  the 
basis of additional appropriations. 

MEDIA 2007 Programme (2007-2013) and MEDIA Mundus Programme (2011-2013) 

The extent of the current changes to the audiovisual landscape (in particular digitisation and 
globalisation) necessitates a close analysis of the current support mechanisms, to ensure their 
adaptation  to  the  prevailing  conditions  (and  indeed  to  enable  them  to  evolve  over  time).  A 
number  of  simplification  opportunities  have  been  identified  both  on  a  strategic  and 
operational level. These will include: a focus on structuring actions with a maximum systemic 
impact; creation of a financial facility to progressively replace direct grants where possible; 
increasing  the  leverage  of  EU  funds;  streamlining  of  the  international dimension  previously 
covered  in  the  separate  MEDIA  Mundus  Programme  within  the  single  legal  basis;  a  cross-
cutting value chain approach which supports a number of film projects with high commercial 
and  circulation  potential  ("champions")  throughout  the  value  chain,  from  training  to 
distribution;  transversal  projects  covering  several  segments  and  players  of  the  value  chain; 
and support to sales agents with broad market reach and a global market approach. 

As regards the regional scope of MEDIA, access should be simplified and offer the possibility 
to  participate  to  "the  greater  European  audiovisual  area",  i.e.  all  acceding,  candidate  and 

EN 

5 

   EN 

 
potential candidate countries, countries of the European neighbourhood area and of the EEA. 
Certain  projects  will  be  open  to  third  country  participants.  Those  countries  in  return  would 
pay a participation fee which reflects the importance of their respective audiovisual sectors, 
following the example of Switzerland and Croatia who recently became members of MEDIA 
2007. 

A new Financial Facility 

One serious problem facing the creative and cultural sectors which needs to be addressed, but 
cannot be tackled through grants, is the difficulty encountered by small cultural and creative 
enterprises and organisations in accessing finance. 

While this is a problem for SMEs in general, the situation is significantly more difficult for 
the cultural and creative sectors for five reasons. Firstly, the intangible nature of many of their 
assets,  such  as  copyright,  are  usually  not  reflected  in  accounts  (unlike  patents).  Secondly, 
unlike other industrial products, CCS products are generally not mass-produced. Every book, 
opera,  theatre  play,  film  and  video  game  is  unique  prototype  and  the  companies  tend  to  be 
project-based,  whereas  investment  often  needs  to  be  longer  term  to  become  profitable. 
Thirdly,  "investment"  readiness  in  the  sector  is  extremely  low,  since  cultural  and  creative 
entrepreneurs  often  lack  the  business  skills  to  market  their  projects  to  financial  institutions. 
Fourthly, there is a related problem  of "investor"  readiness as  financial institutions for  their 
part  lack  knowledge  of  these  sectors,  often  fail  to  understand  the  risk  profiles  and  are  not 
ready  to  invest  in  building  up  the  expertise  required.  Finally,  there  is  often  a  shortage  of 
reliable  data  which  limits  the  possibilities  of  SMEs  in  the  sector  to  get  credit  funding,  as 
financial institutions often rely on statistical evidence in their analysis of loan applications. 

Small  under-capitalised  enterprises  find  it  therefore  very  difficult  to  finance  their  activities 
and to grow and maintain their competitiveness. It is estimated that there is a funding gap of 
some €2.8 billion to €4.8 billion in terms of bank loans for these SMEs. The problem is more 
acute in some Member States than in others: well-developed expertise on the part of financial 
institutions is only to be found in a limited number of countries. 

The programme will therefore set up for the first time a financial Facility for the cultural and 
creative sectors. It will be complementary to other EU facilities under the Structural Funds or 
the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme, which has a transversal approach and very 
limited  impact  on  extending  activities  in  sectors  in  which  intermediaries  (financial 
institutions)  have  little  activity,  such  as  the  cultural  and  creative  sectors.  This  Facility  will 
provide  strong  European  added  value  and  enable  valuable  networking  and  peer  learning.  It 
will seek to achieve a systemic impact by increasing the number of financial institutions with 
expertise  in  the  cultural  and  creative  sectors,  broadening  their  geographical  spread  and 
helping  to  leverage  significant  private  investment.  It  will  also  seek  to  change  behaviour 
among  some  parts  of  the  sector  by  encouraging  a  shift  from  a  mentality  of  grants  to  loans, 
strengthening their competitiveness while reducing reliance on public funding. 

3. 

Key actions and priorities of the Programme 

A  single  framework  programme  will  be  the  most  coherent  and  cost-effective  solution  for 
supporting the cultural and creative sectors and to help promote their important contribution 
at EU level. It offers the best basis to focus attention on the challenges currently facing these 
sectors and to target EU support on those measures that provide EU added value by helping 

EN 

6 

   EN 

 
them  optimise  their  potential  for  economic  growth,  job  creation  and  social  inclusion.  There 
will  be  significant  benefits  in  terms  of  easier  knowledge  sharing  and  cross-fertilisation  of 
ideas on common problems. In management terms, a single framework programme will bring 
benefits in terms of streamlining, simplification and cost-efficiency, thanks to the merging of 
information points and committees, and fewer work programmes. 

3.1. 

Architecture of the Creative Europe Programme 

The design of the programme recognises the complexity and heterogeneity of the cultural and 
creative  sectors,  which  include  publically  funded  organisations,  non-profit  organisations  as 
well as commercial enterprises. In addition, the various sub-sectors have very diverse value 
chains.  For  example,  in  most  cultural  sub-sectors  the  value  chains  are  more  interconnected 
than  in  the  audiovisual  industry  (the  main  exception  being  the  publishing  and  book  retail 
chain  and  popular  music  production,  distribution  and  retain  chain),  since  the  development, 
production,  distribution  and  sale  of  a  work  and  the  related  customer/audience  relations  are 
normally  the  responsibility  of  the  producer  of  the  work.  This  means  that  generic  calls  and 
actions for the entire programme would not be adapted to the needs of the different actors and 
would lack clarity and in some cases even generate confusion. 

This  is  why  the  option  of  a  framework  programme  has  been  chosen,  comprised  of  three 
Strands: 

– 

– 

– 

An Cross-sectoral Strand addressed to all cultural and creative sectors; 

A Culture Strand addressed to the cultural and creative sectors; 

A MEDIA Strand addressed to the audiovisual sector. 

The indicative budgetary allocation will be 15 % for the Cross-sectoral Strand, 30 % for the 
Culture Strand and 55% for the MEDIA Strand.  

The  Culture  and  MEDIA  Strands  will  be  the  successors  to  the  existing  Culture  and 
MEDIA/MEDIA  Mundus  programmes.  The  new  Cross-sectoral  Strand  will  have  two  parts. 
The  first  will  establish  a  Facility  to  improve  the  access  of  cultural  and  creative  SMEs  and 
organisations  to  finance  by  providing  credit  risk  protection  to  financial  intermediaries 
building  portfolios  of  loans;  it  will  also  support  capacity/expertise  building  to  correctly 
analyse the relevant risks. The second part of this Strand will include measures for the support 
of: transnational policy cooperation and exchanges of experience between policy-makers and 
operators;  new  approaches  to  audience-building  and  business  models;  cultural  and  media 
literacy; and data collection including membership of the European Audiovisual Observatory. 
Funding  will  also  be  provided  for  the  network  of  Creative  Europe  Desks  (former  Cultural 
Contact  Points  and  MEDIA  Desks).  The  measures  under  this  second  section  are  mostly 
covered  by  the  current  Culture  and  MEDIA  programmes,  but,  given  the  cross-cutting 
elements,  there  are  benefits  –  both  in  terms  of  knowledge  transfer  and  administrative 
efficiency – to be gained from a joint, transversal approach. 

3.2. 

Expected impact of the programme 

The impact sought for the programme will be to strengthen the adaptation of the cultural and 
creative  sectors  to  globalisation  and  the  digital  shift.  Overall,  the  more  targeted  focus  on 
transnational  circulation  of  works  should  lead  to  higher  level  of  circulation  of  works,  more 
trade  within  the  internal  market,  more  international  trade  and  increased  revenues  for  the 

EN 

7 

   EN 

 
sector.  In  the  Culture  Strand,  this  will  include  a  clearer  focus  on  capacity-building  and 
transnational  circulation,  including  international  touring,  new  European  platforms  with  a 
large-scale  structuring  effect,  and  more  strategic  packages  of  support  for  literary  translation 
for publishing houses including promotional support. 

The  MEDIA  Strand  will  increase  resources  for  distribution,  including  increased  and  more 
focused  funding  for  sales  agents  to  allow  for  the  emergence  of  stronger  sales  agents  with 
higher  buying  and  selling  power  on  the  international  market.  Strengthening  support  to 
Europe-based  international  co-production  funds  will  boost  co-production  between  European 
and non-European producers, increasing the number and improving the quality of the works, 
and  thereby  contributing  to  further  opening  international  markets.  Independent  video  games 
developers will benefit from new growth markets through facilitated access to funding. The 
result would be increased competitiveness of SMES, increased revenues, bigger market share, 
and widening the audience. 

As well as increasing the global competitiveness of the European cultural and creative sectors 
and their scale, the Culture and MEDIA Strands will improve the offer of content available 
for  consumers,  with  positive  impacts  on  cultural  diversity  and  European  cultural  identity. 
New  direct  and  focused  support  to  audience-building  measures  is  expected  to  generate  new 
audiences  and  thereby  increase  consumer  demand,  although  the  scale  of  this  effect  is 
uncertain  and  will  require  a  long-term  approach.  By  reaching  previously  excluded  social 
groups,  this  could  also  have  benefits  for  social  cohesion.  The  benefits  of  increased  demand 
would flow through the value chain to stimulate increased circulation of works, new revenue 
streams and to improve the competitiveness of the sectors. 

By  improving  access  to  finance  for  the  cultural  and  creative  sectors  through  improved 
investment  and  investor  readiness,  the  new  financial  Facility  will  increase  the  capacity  of 
these sectors to attract private finance, strengthen their financial capacity and the commercial 
potential  of  works,  thereby  strengthening  their  competitiveness  and  opening  up  new 
opportunities  for  growth  and  employment.  It  will  also  lessen  SMEs'  dependence  on  public 
subsidies in some cases, while opening up new revenue streams in others. 

The  support  for  transnational  policy  cooperation  will  help  to  increase  the  availability  of 
comparable data which will facilitate more effective evidence-based policy-making. This can 
strengthen national policy environments for the cultural and creative sectors and contribute to 
systemic change. The possibility to test and share experience and knowledge on new business 
models  will  contribute  to  helping  the  sectors  adapt  to  the  digital  shift,  bringing  new 
employment and growth opportunities. 

3.3. 

EU added value 

EU  intervention  will  aim  to  deliver  systemic  impact  and  to  support  policy  development.  In 
this respect the European added value will consist of: 

– 

– 

transnational  character  of  activities  and 

the 
complement national, international and other EU programmes; 

their 

impact  which  will 

the economies of scale and critical mass which EU support can foster, creating 
a leverage effect on additional funds; 

EN 

8 

   EN 

 
– 

– 

transnational  cooperation  can  stimulate  more  comprehensive,  rapid  and 
effective responses to global challenges and have long-term systemic effects on 
the sector; 

ensuring  a  more  level  playing  field  in  the  European  cultural  and  creative 
sectors by taking account of low production capacity countries and/or countries 
or regions with a restricted geographical and linguistic area. 

4. 

Key aspects of programme implementation 

4.1.  Management mode 

The  vast  majority  of  grants  under  the  Culture  and  MEDIA  Strands  will  continue  to  be 
managed  through  the  Executive  Agency  for  Education,  Audiovisual  and  Culture  (EACEA) 
through calls for proposals. As confirmed by various evaluations this has proved to be a cost-
effective management mode for cross-border projects. A network of information points (the 
current Cultural Contact Points and MEDIA Desks) will continue to provide information and 
advice on applying under the programme. They will not redistribute funds. 

Some  aspects  of  the  programme  will  be  managed  directly  by  the  Commission,  notably  the 
special  actions,  including  prizes,  cooperation  with  international  institutions  including 
international  audiovisual  co-production  funds,  and  the  funding  for  the  European  Capitals  of 
Culture and the European Heritage Label. 

Management of the cultural and creative sector financial Facility will be mandated to a third 
party financial institution, most likely the European Investment Fund (EIF) due to the nature 
of the expertise required for the running of such an facility. 

4.2. 

Budget distribution 

The  programme  committee  will  assist  in  the  preparation  of  the  annual  work  programme.  In 
line  with  the  current  practice,  after  consultation  of  the  Committee,  more  detailed  calls  for 
proposals  will  be  issued  specifying  the  exact  criteria,  deliverables,  target  publics,  planned 
budgets. 

4.3. 

Simplification 

A considerable number of simplifications were already introduced for the management of the 
current Culture and MEDIA programmes. However further improvements will be introduced 
in Creative Europe. 

As stated earlier, the number of calls for proposals managed by the EACEA under the Culture 
Strand  will  be  reduced  from  9  to  4.  Greater  use  will  be  made  in  general  of  flat  rates,  more 
grant  decisions  and  framework  partnership  agreements,  electronic  application  and  reporting 
for all actions, and an electronic portal to reduce paperwork for applicants and beneficiaries. 

Another  significant  simplification  measure  will  be  the  merging  of  the  two  information 
networks to reap economies of scale, greater transparency for the public by having only one 
EU entry point, and a higher quality service. 

The establishment of a single Programme Committee would also contribute to a more cost-
effective  and  lean  management  of  the  programme,  not  only  via  savings  in  implementation 

EN 

9 

   EN 

 
costs  but  also  through  more  effectiveness  resulting  from  stronger  synergies  among  relevant 
policies and sectors. 

The financial Facility will lead to improved use of EU funds through the financial leverage it 
will  generate  and  its  re-use  of  revolving  funds,  which  will  offer  the  Commission  greater 
efficiency than traditional grants to beneficiaries. 

*** 

In preparing the proposal for the new programme, the Commission has consulted widely. It 
will  continue  to  engage  with  these  stakeholders,  and  above  all  with  Member  States  and  the 
European Parliament to take forward this new vision and strategy for the cultural and creative 
sectors in Europe. 

EN 

10 

   EN