REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Mid-term evaluation of the Creative Europe programme (2014-2020)
Date: 2018-04-30
Institutions: Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, European Commission
Subjects: EU programme, artistic creation, arts, audiovisual production, cultural cooperation, cultural pluralism, cultural promotion, cultural transmission, film production

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 30.4.2018 COM(2018) 248 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Mid-term evaluation of the Creative Europe programme (2014-2020) {SWD(2018) 159 final}  
 
 
INTRODUCTION 

Culture  and  creativity  play  a  crucial  role  in  our  societies  today  and  in  shaping  our  European 
future.  Economically,  the  cultural  and  creative  sectors  generate  approximately  €509  billion  in 
value added to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), representing 5.3% of the EU's total, and employs 
more  than  12  million  full-time  jobs,  equivalent  to  7.5%  of  Europe's  workforce1.  They  are  the 
third largest employer in the EU, after the construction and food and beverage sectors.  They also 
contribute significantly to investment, innovation and creation of jobs throughout the economy.  
There  are  positive  spill  over  effects  in  particular  on  the  digital  sector  e.g.  content  triggers  the 
development  of  broadband  infrastructure,  and  cultural  tourism.  Culture  and  creativity  also 
facilitate  European  exports  around  the  world  by  strengthening  the  image  of  Europe  and  the 
European way of life. 

But Europe is more than a single market, it is also a great cultural project. Creative and cultural 
sectors  are  a  stepping  stone  to  preserve  our  cultural  and  linguistic  diversity,  strengthen  our 
European identities and sustain social cohesion. They transmit European knowledge and values, 
which are conditions for healthy democracies and inclusive societies. Thus culture has helped to 
bring Europe closer to its citizens particularly in the current political context. 

Cultural and creative sectors build bridges between art, culture, business and technology. They 
contribute  to  developing  critical  thinking  and  problem  solving  skills,  as  well  as  risk-taking 
attitudes,  which  are  key  competences  in  tomorrow's  society.  Through  their  focus  on  creativity 
and  early  adoption  of  new  technologies  e.g.  the use  by  museums  of  apps  to  enhance  access  to 
collections or by theatres of video or subtitling, they are catalysts for innovation. 

"Creative  Europe"  is  the  European  Union’s  response  to  help  the  cultural  and  creative  sectors 
unlock  their  potential  for  growth.    These  sectors  are  inherently  diversified  along  national  and 
linguistic lines, thus enriching our cultural landscape. At the same time, they face obstacles that 
hinder the transnational circulation of creative works and their ability to operate transnationally 
and reach new audiences in Europe and beyond. 

The programme takes into account the dual nature of cultural and audiovisual activities: on one 
hand  as  a  driver  of  diversity  and  citizens'  engagement,  and  on  the  other  hand,  as  a  driver  of 
growth  and  jobs,  recognising  also  their  broader  contribution  to  creativity,  talent  generation, 
entrepreneurship and innovation. 

This report is presented in accordance with Article 18 (3) of Regulation (EU) No 1295/2013 of 
the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  11  December  2013  establishing  the  Creative 
Europe  Programme  (2014  to  2020),  which  requires  the  Commission  to  establish  a  mid-term 
evaluation report, based on an external and independent evaluation.  

This  mid-term  evaluation  assesses  progress  in  the  implementation  of  Creative  Europe 
programme, outlining its achievements while addressing its main shortcomings, building on the 
independent  evaluation  report,  direct  experience  in  managing  the  programme  and  wide 
consultations with interested parties. It is accompanied by a staff working document setting out 
the evidence that has informed this report. 

1 From the study "Boosting the competitiveness of cultural and creative industries for growth and jobs" published by 
the Commission in 2016 and produced by the Austrian Institute for SMEs/VVA Europe, using data up to 2013. The 
study, "Creating growth", published by Ernst and Young in 2014 estimates that in 2012, CCIs have revenues of €536 
billion,  contribute  4.2  %  GDP,  employing  7  million  people  or  3.3%  of  the  active  population.    There  is  a  lack  of 
comparable statistics on the cultural and creative sectors at European level. 

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BACKGROUND TO THE CREATIVE EUROPE PROGRAMME  

Creative Europe is the European Union's framework programme for support to the cultural and 
creative  sectors.  In  2014  it  brought  together  three  programmes  (MEDIA,  Culture  and  MEDIA 
Mundus)  to  create  a  single  comprehensive  instrument  to  increase  efficiency,  more  effectively 
seize the opportunities of the digital shift and address market fragmentation. 

The  architecture  of  the  programme  recognises  the  heterogeneity  of  the  cultural  and  creative 
sectors, their different target groups and the need for tailor made approaches.  This is why the 
programme is structured around two independent sub-programmes and a cross sectoral strand. 

Created  in  1991  to  accompany  the  Television  Without  Frontiers  Directive,  the  MEDIA  Sub-
programme  thereafter  'MEDIA',  addressed  to  the  audiovisual  sector,  fosters  the  creation  of 
audiovisual  content  (films,  TV-series,  video  games)  and  its  access  to  European  and  global 
audiences, through all distribution channels. 

The  Culture  sub-programme,  covers  culture  sector  initiatives,  such  as  those  promoting  cross-
border cooperation, platforms, networking, and literary translation; 

A cross-sectoral strand, addressed to all cultural and creative sectors, which includes a Guarantee 
Facility,  supports  transnational  policy  cooperation.    This  strand  also  provides  support  for 
Creative Europe Desks in all participating countries, in order to reach out to stakeholders 

The  Programme  is  complementary  to  actions  at  national  level  in  the  field  of  culture  and  the 
audiovisual sector, reflecting the policy priorities the EU is following in the cultural and creative 
field. 

Creative Europe is open to cultural and creative organisations from EU Member States, as well 
as,  under  certain  conditions,  to  some  non-EU  Member  States.    Currently,  Creative  Europe 
includes 33 participating countries, from Norway to Tunisia, from Ukraine to the Balkan region. 
In  particular,  participation  to  MEDIA  is  subject  to  alignment  with  Directive  2010/13/EU 
(Audiovisual Media Services Directive – AVMSD). 

The  programme  is  established  for  the  period  from  1  January  2014  to  31  December  2020.  This 
report  covers  all  the  programme's  strands  (with  the  exception  of  the  European  Capitals  of 
Culture, which are covered by separate evaluations) and its entire geographical scope during the 
first three years of the programme's implementation.  

MAIN FINDINGS FROM THE EVALUATION REPORT

2 

The purpose of the evaluation is to: 
  Assess  the  effectiveness  of  the  measures  taken  to  achieve  the  Programme's  objectives,  the 

efficiency of the programme and its European added value.  

  Address the Programme’s internal and external coherence, the continued relevance of all of 

its objectives, and the scope for simplification. 

  Address the contribution of Creative Europe to the policy priorities of the EU.  
  Assess the long-term impact of the predecessor programmes. 

In  accordance  with  the  Better  regulation  guidelines3,  this  assessment  addresses  the  relevance, 
coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability and EU added value of the Programme.  

2 These findings are reported in SWD (2018) 159 
3 https://ec.europa.eu/info/better-regulation-guidelines-and-toolbox_en 

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Relevance 

Overall, the programme’s rationale for intervention and objectives remain relevant to EU policy 
priorities and key challenges of the cultural and creative sectors, namely fragmented markets, 
global competition and digital disruption as well as access to finance. 

Creative  Europe  has  addressed  these  challenges  and  has  continuously  adapted  its  support  in  a 
context characterised by changing consumption patterns to the needs of beneficiaries in sectors 
which are rapidly transforming themselves. 

However, despite positive achievements, more needs to be done to fully reap the opportunities 
that  the  digital  shift  presents,  taking  into  account  new  audience  and  consumption  patterns  and 
how  cultural  and  creative  works  are  made,  produced,  accessed  and  monetised  in  the  digital 
economy. 

MEDIA  has  enhanced  the  cross-border  circulation  of  European  films  and  audiovisual 
productions  and  opened  or  widened  the  possibilities  of  access  to  such  European  works  by 
European citizens. This is highly relevant as, of the more than 1 500 films produced in Europe 
each  year,  less  than  half  travel  outside  their  national  territory.    MEDIA  has  also  supported 
development of works before production to increase their potential cross-border appeal.  

MEDIA has adapted to new market trends, including through the promotion of European works 
online.  However,  greater  collaboration  across  the  value  chain  and  across  borders  would  help 
professionals work together in response to the digital shift and globalisation.  

The  Culture  sub-programme  invests  in  culture  to  stimulate  social  cohesion,  job  creation  and 
economic  growth  in  regions  and  cities.  The  schemes  under  Creative  Europe  continue  to  be 
relevant  to  the  objective  of  preserving  cultural  heritage  and  diversity  in  Europe  as  well  as 
promoting artistic creativity and European values.  

Under  the  Cross-sectoral  strand,  the  Guarantee  Facility  responds  directly  to  the  needs  of 
cultural and creative SMEs, which have difficulties accessing loans due to the intangible nature 
of their assets. The strong market response to its launch in 2016, with three guarantee agreements 
signed  in  January  2017,  shows  the  relevance  of  this  instrument  to  the  needs  of  the  market.    A 
top-up of € 60 million (from the European Fund for Strategic Investment), equivalent to 50% of 
the total budget, will be provided already in 2017 allowing a quicker deployment of guarantee 
support, reaching more countries and sectors and enhancing the geographic and sectoral balance.  

Coherence  

Creative Europe provides a set of actions to support the audiovisual and cultural sectors and is 
internally  coherent  across  the  MEDIA  and  the  Culture  sub-programmes.  The  MEDIA  Sub-
programme  delivers  coherent  coverage  of  the  different  stages  of  the  value  chain;  the  Culture 
Sub-programme  provides  a  largely  coherent  response  to  the  wide  range  of  needs  across  the 
cultural sector.  

The  coherence  of  Creative  Europe  as  a  whole  could  be  improved  through  greater  support  for 
cross-sectoral work under the Cross-sectoral strand. 

Creative Europe’s objectives and priorities are overall coherent and complementary with those of 
national policies and programmes, thus respecting the principle of subsidiarity.  

Creative Europe is coherent with Europe 2020’s objectives of smart, sustainable, and inclusive 
growth and its flagship, the Digital Single Market strategy launched in 2015.  

MEDIA  has  contributed  to  the  Digital  Single  Market  (DSM)  strategy.    By  encouraging  the 
circulation  of  EU  works  internationally,  MEDIA  supports  cross-border  access  of  content  and 
plays a pivotal role in the implementation of the support measures accompanying the copyright 

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reform. It also complements the promotion and prominence requirements for EU works, set out 
by the proposal for the revision of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD).  

MEDIA  impact  would  be  further  strengthened  through  greater  coherence  with  national  film 
support  programmes,  which  provide  the  bulk  of  the  support  to  the  audiovisual  sector 
(approximately  €  2  billion  per  annum  compared  to  approximately  €  115  million  for  MEDIA).  
To  this  end,  a  dialogue  was  launched  in  2015  with  the  European  Film  Agency  Directors 
(EFADs) in order to develop a common, strategic vision for the industry. Furthermore, the Open 
Method  of  Coordination  Group  of  Member  States’  Experts  on  Improving  the  Circulation  of 
European Films was established in July 2017. 

There  is  a  strong  coherence  between  Creative  Europe  and  the  European  Agenda  for  Culture’s 
objective  of  promoting  culture  as  a  catalyst  for  creativity.  This  is  evidenced  through  the 
programme  support  for  capacity-building  and  skills  development  for  Cultural  and  Creative 
Sectors  (CCS)  operators.  In  particular  capacity  building  and  skills  development  is  embedded 
across Culture sub-programme schemes, most notably Cooperation Projects and Networks. 

Creative Europe is broadly coherent with other international programmes for the cultural sector, 
which come mostly from trusts and foundations, whose funds are relatively small-scale and ad-
hoc.  The  Culture  sub-programme  complements  other  international  support  by  providing  a 
comparatively large-scale and consistent level of funding for transnational work. 

Effectiveness 

Creative  Europe  has  made  an  important  contribution  towards  the  EU2020  employment 
objective  and  the  priorities  of  the  current  Commission:  stimulating  investment  for  the 
purpose  of  job  creation;  and  a  deeper  and  fairer  internal  market  with  a  strengthened  industrial 
base.  From 2014 to 2016, Creative Europe channelled €544 million in funding to 2,580 entities 
in the cultural and creative sectors. Creative Europe generated an estimated 3,000 jobs over the 
period.  

MEDIA  provides  support  from  training  and  development  to  distribution  and  exhibition.  In 
particular, it has sustained an internal market for non-national European films, by supporting the 
cross border distribution of over 400 films per year, equivalent to 25% of Europe’s annual film 
production.  Films  receiving  MEDIA  distribution  support  reached  over  65  million  total 
admissions  per  year4.  This  support  has  also  helped  to  increase  the  availability  of  legal  content 
across  the  Union.    Also,  the  Europa  Cinema’s  network,  MEDIA’s  biggest  single  beneficiary, 
focuses on exhibition of non-national European films in 33 countries that would otherwise have 
found it more difficult to travel. 

However,  while  cinema  admissions  in  Europe  have  increased  to  record  levels  since  2014,  the 
overall audience for European films has not significantly increased. Thus US films have been a 
driver for the growth of the European admission numbers5.  

Also,  Video  On  Demand  (VOD)  services  supported  by  the  programme  today  are  primarily 
national VOD services with a rich catalogue of European films, including non-national ones, but 
with a limited audience.  

MEDIA  must  further  work  on  the  demand  side  to  connect  those  films  with  broader  audiences 
and  in  particular  the  new  generations,  the  digital  natives  representing  the  future  of  the 
audiovisual  markets.    Moreover,  MEDIA  has  grown  in  scope  over  the  years  without  an 
equivalent  increase  in  budget  and  as  a  result,  the  funding  is  spread  too  thinly  among  many 
beneficiaries.  There  are  currently  14  schemes  addressing  different  segments  of  the  audiovisual 
industry.  This  calls  for  greater  focus  in  support  to  scaling  up  activities  and  fostering  industry 

4 Not including admissions on the national market.  
5 In 2016, US films have 67,4% of the market share of the European box office 

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collaboration  across  Europe,  notably  in  the  context  of  a  more  open  and  competitive  digital 
market.  

Culture Sub-programme has been supporting most sub-sectors in a balanced way, but concerns 
are raised about the prioritisation of economic objectives over artistic and social considerations. 
The average size of projects supported more than doubled, the number of operators reduced by 
one-third  with  increasing  the  orientation  of  the  programme  towards  competitiveness.  The  Sub-
programme was nevertheless able to attract a range of different cultural sectors, including those 
with  and  without  a  marked  industrial  dimension.  Lastly,  activities  supported  by  the  Culture 
programmes  contribute  to  creation  of  a  ‘European  cultural  space’  and  thus  helped  promoting 
cultural diversity.  

Under  the  Cross-sectoral  strand,  the  Guarantee  Facility  was  launched  as  soon  as  the  budget 
became available in 2016. The Commission has topped up its budget by 50%, with help from the 
European  Fund  for  Strategic  Investment,  in  order  to  respond  to  a  strong  market  response. 
Beyond the Guarantee Facility, the limited budget of the cross-sectoral strand has restricted the 
capacity to develop more cross-sectoral activities in practice.  

Efficiency 

Considering the huge size and range of the audiovisual and cultural sectors at European level and 
the geographical areas covered by the programmes evaluated, the budget of Creative Europe is 
not sufficient to bring about a major impact at European scale and /or sectoral level. 

The cost effectiveness of the programmes has been satisfactory and overall improved from one 
programming  period  to  another.  The  efficiency  of  most  of  the  schemes  has  improved  and  or 
remained stable. The success rate declined from one programming period to another, reflecting 
that  the  schemes  are  insufficiently  funded  compared  to  the  potential  interest  they  generate;  a 
large number of good applications are rejected. 

For MEDIA, significant efficiency gains have been made by E-Applications, the introduction of 
Lump  Sum  payments  for  three  schemes  (festivals,  development  and  distribution)  and  the 
packaging  of  grants  into  single  contracts.  However,  the  growth  in  the  number  of  small 
transactions creates administrative overheads. 

The efficiency of schemes under the Culture sub-programme was on the whole higher than under 
predecessor  programmes.  The  increase  in  the  cost  per  projects  was  usually  compensated  for 
either  by  a  higher  level  of  outputs  and  or  contributions  to  higher  levels  of  outcomes  and  or 
impacts. For instance, "platforms" were cost-effective especially in being relatively direct ways 
of  reaching  artists  and  "literary  translation  projects"  delivered  more  translations  than  those 
supported under the predecessor programme. 

Under  the  Cross-sectoral  strand,  the  biggest  action  was  the  Guarantee  Facility  and  this  was 
implemented  very  efficiently  following  its  launch  mid-2016.  Progress  in  implementation 
surpassed  expectations  as  in  2017  eight  Guarantee  Agreements  were  signed  in  six  territories 
whereas the target for 2020 envisaged 10 Guarantee Agreements in eight territories. 

The Commission and the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) have 
monitored  the  implementation  of  the  support  schemes  and  the  delivery  of  the  outputs. 
Nonetheless,  there  has  not  been  a  systematic  analysis  and  reporting  of  the  results  and  impacts 
obtained at programme level.  This is partly due to a focus on implementation in the first phase 
of the Programme and partly due to the absence of performance indicators sufficiently robust and 
linked  to  the  activities  of  the  Programme.    This  leads  to  a  weaker  documentation  of  the 
achievements of the programme and hampers the evaluation of results.  

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Sustainability 

The  sustainability  of  the  results  lies  primarily  in  the  continuation  of  partnerships  started  under 
Creative  Europe  and  the  predecessor  programmes.  Under  both  MEDIA  and  Culture, 
collaboration between project partners is continued in some form beyond the projects’ lifecycle. 
Under  MEDIA,  sustainability  is  also  found  in  the  intention  and  capability  of  organisations  to 
continue  collaboration,  i.e.  a  sustained  interest  in  (co)producing  or  distributing  works  with  a 
European dimension.  

The  sustainability  of  the  impacts  is  materialised  through  the  exchange  of  learning  during  the 
implementation  of  projects  and  the  dissemination  of  such  learning.  This  in  turn  leads  to 
professionalization of the sector via higher capacity to work internationally and the development 
of new skills and competences or exploitation of project results across the sector. This was the 
case  across  programmes  but  especially  for  the  Culture  Sub-programme  and  predecessor 
programme.  

EU added value 

Creative  Europe  has  delivered  EU  added  value,  in  particular  by  focusing  on  transnational 
cooperation  while  building  on  national  support  programmes.  Only  a  few  international  funds 
support  transnational  cooperation  and  those  that  do  are  of  significantly  smaller  scale.  Most 
supported activities would have been significantly reduced in scope and size or would not have 
happened, without the funding provided by Creative Europe and the predecessor programmes.  

MEDIA  has  helped  to  bring  together  different  players  from  different  Member  States,  creating 
value  for  the  whole  audiovisual  sector.  Specialised  transnational  networks,  such  as  Europa 
Distribution  or  Europa  International,  have  allowed  distributors  and  sales  agents  respectively  to 
join  up  their  efforts  to  promote  and  distribute  European  works.  Thanks  to  MEDIA  support,  a 
significant  number  of  European  works  have  travelled  and  been  watched  beyond  their  national 
borders,  thereby  contributing  to  promoting  the  diversity  of  the  European  culture.  MEDIA  has 
also contributed to the achievement of the DSM objective of wider access to content online. At 
the same time, At the same time there is room for further improving the circulation of European 
works through a better selection process, promotion and marketing of European works.  

No  two  countries  are  confronted  with  the  same  challenges  in  developing  their  audiovisual 
industries.  Therefore  MEDIA  has  also  striven  to  address  the  issue  of  the  level  playing  field 
between  countries  with  different  capacities,  through  a  number  of  positive  discrimination 
measures, in favour of low audiovisual capacity countries and this has widened the participation 
of professionals from across the Union. 

For Culture, the activities funded are less closely embedded in existing processes, although they 
can generally be closely aligned with the general activities of the organisation. For most part of 
the activities is very unlikely to have taken place without the EU funding. 

Under the Cross-sectoral strand, the Guarantee Facility is expected to have a leverage effect of 6, 
which  is  a  very  effective  way  of  increasing  access  to  finance.  From  an  initial  budget  of  €121 
million, over €700 million in loans are expected to be passed on to SMEs and cultural operators 
across Europe. 

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MAIN RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE EXTERNAL EVALUATION AND COMMISSION ACTIONS 
PROPOSED  

Relevance 

The  success  of  Creative  Europe  will,  to  a  large  extent,  be  based  on  the  capacity  to  connect 
culturally diverse content with audiences. Therefore the external study has underlined the need to 
strengthen the focus on audiences. 

European  culture  needs  to  embrace  the  digital  revolution  to  retain  its  diversity  but  also  create 
quality content that can travel globally. Indeed the evaluation has shown the need to adapt to the 
changing  landscape.  Digitalisation  can  fuel  a  virtuous  circle  of  greater  access  to  cultural  and 
creative works, entrepreneurship and new investment opportunities.   

In  the  context  of  its  annual  monitoring  activities,  the  Commission  will  report  on  the  way  in 
which the programme is reaping the opportunities offered by the digital transformation, from the 
creation of high value content to new distribution channels. 

The evaluation points to the need in a successor programme, for MEDIA  to sharpen the focus of 
its support on content that has the potential to travel across borders.  The future MEDIA could 
privilege  development  and  co-productions  with  potential  for  cross-border  success.  As  the 
audiovisual sector continues to change, experimentation of new types of storytelling may also be 
supported at the European level. 

Distribution and promotion will play a strategic role in connecting with audiences. Content needs 
to  be  made  available  where  the  audience  is,  for  example  through  wider  possibilities  of  access 
online.  Therefore,  post-2020  MEDIA  could  consider  innovative  models  for  content  promotion 
and distribution which bring together authors producers, sales agents, distributors and platform 
services. Also, MEDIA support to online distribution may become more strategic. For example, 
players having the ambition to scale up could be encouraged to collaborate and develop genuine 
cross-border strategies and business models enabling them to compete with global platforms. 

From  2018-2020  the  Commission  will  launch  a  dialogue  on  content,  in  particular  to  see  how 
support to television could be made more effective in the light of changing audiovisual formats 
(TV  series,  online,  transmedia).  The  Commission  will  also  launch  a  dialogue  on  how  best  to 
support  promotion  and  marketing.  It  will  in  this  context  launch  a  small  scale  pilot 
experimentation using big data to match content with audiences. 

Even if the Culture Sub-programme is proving relevant in supporting the capacity-building needs 
of cultural organisations and in contributing towards cultural diversity in Europe, there is a need 
to  take  better  in  consideration  the  ambitions  of  small  cultural  operators.  To  this  end  the 
Commission  will  assess  whether  small  operators  have  access  to  financial  support  that  matches 
the  ambitions  of  growing  outside  their  national  markets.  At  the  same  time  it  will  reconsider 
whether  the  distinction  between  small  and  large  cooperation  projects  is  relevant  for  the 
development and growth of cultural operators. 

While  projects  funded  under  European  Networks  potentially  generate  positive  effects,  their 
initial design has not given beneficiaries the flexibility they would like, to adapt their activities to 
wider  sectoral  or  market  evolutions.  Even  if  new  aspects  and  other  similar  adjustments  can  be 
accommodated  on  the  basis  of  the  work  programmes  they  submit  annually.  Therefore  it  is 
necessary  to:  -  enable  European  Networks  beneficiaries  to  modify  aspects  of  their  project 
activities  in  response  to  new  technological  or  market  trends;  -  ensure  continued  thematic 
relevance  for  Cooperation  Projects  by  enabling  beneficiaries  to  more  easily  change  or  modify 
their activities. 

In spite of the broad relevance of the Literary Translation scheme, it needs to further support to 
linguistic diversity by encouraging the translation of literature works from the smaller countries 

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into  English,  French,  German  and  Spanish;  and  by  considering  better  recognition  of  smaller 
genres like children's books, plays and poetry. 

As regards the Cross-sectoral Strand, the successor programme will build on the experience and 
understanding gained with the Guarantee Facility about the financing needs of cultural operators 
and companies. The experience shows that financial instruments leverage private investment into 
projects  by  sharing  the  risk  burden  and  increasing  their  market  potential.  A  variety  of 
instruments  could  be  considered,  blending  public  and  private  funding  and  including  an  equity 
instrument for higher risk, larger projects. 

In the period up to 2020, the flagship initiative of the Guarantee Facility will respond to strong 
market  demand  by  pursuing  additional  Guarantee  Agreements  up  to  the  ceiling  of  the  top  up 
provided  by  the  European  Fund  for  Strategic  Investments  (EFSI).  This  will  widen  the 
geographical  participation  of  financial  intermediaries  in  lending  to  the  cultural  and  creative 
sectors.  

Other  types  of  cross-  sectoral  projects  also  need  to  be  boosted.    The  Commission  will  aim  to 
increase  collaboration  and  synergies  in  implementing  cross-sectoral  projects  and  actions,  for 
example,  the  Refugee  Integration  Projects  and  the  Modules  for  Master  Degrees  in  Arts  and 
Sciences. 

Coherence 

Further  efforts  will  be  made  to  strengthen  the  coherence  of  Creative  Europe  with  EU  policy 
objectives such  as the European Agenda  for Culture and the Digital  Single Market  strategy by 
"mainstreaming" said policy objectives in the programme. 

The Creative Europe programme complements other EU funding programmes, notably Erasmus 
+, H2020 as well as programmes in the areas of migration and citizenship.  To address the need 
for  more  information  on  complementary  opportunities  from  other  EU  funding  sources  the 
Commission will consider any solution including the publication of a booklet in order to enhance 
stakeholders' awareness of available general business and economic support as well as funding 
for culture in different contexts (e.g. education, training, research, infrastructure).   

In order to strengthen coherence with international and national funding sources the Commission 
will  share  more  information  with  sector  bodies  from  Member  States  to  foster  alignment  with 
Creative  Europe.  Dialogue  with  international  funding  organisations  such  as  for  example 
EURIMAGES could be promoted to facilitate complementarity. 

MEDIA will continue to accompany the efforts to foster availability of European content online, 
as envisaged in the reformed copyright framework. It will support the strengthened promotion of 
European works envisaged by the Audiovisual Media Services Directive. 

In  its relations with Member State funds, increased  coherence,  alignment and complementarity 
with  MEDIA  will  be  ensured.  For  this  purpose,  MEDIA  could  earmark  support  to  policy 
dialogue fostering cooperation and synergies among Member States towards the achievement of 
the EU policy objectives in the area. 

In the meantime, the dialogue will be taken forward with the European Film Agency Directors 
Association (EFAD) in 2018. By the end of 2018, the Open Method of Coordination Group on 
circulation  of  European  films  gathering  representatives  of  Member  States  will  provide  useful 
insights  on  cross  border  circulation  and  promotion  of  European  works  as  well  as  on 
complementarity between national and EU funding.  

The  Commission  will  continue  to  engage  with  the  audiovisual  stakeholders  through  the 
European  Film  Forum.  The  main  conclusions  from  this  dialogue  will  be  produced  every  two 
years.  Also,  the  studies  and  analysis  of  the  European  Audiovisual  Observatory  will  be  more 
systematically used for policy making and steering the implementation of MEDIA.  

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Effectiveness 

Creative Europe will address in a balanced manner the two general objectives of the programme 
i.e.  cultural diversity and competitiveness, taking account of the multifaceted dimension of the 
programme as well as its cultural, social and economic objectives. 

The evaluation shows that innovation and experimentation may be more effectively supported to 
boost  innovative  forms  of  collaboration  and  cross-over  projects  between  creative  sectors  (e.g. 
film and fashion, architecture and virtual reality) to take advantage of the digital shift. 

Concerning  MEDIA,  in  the  successor  programme  flexibility  could  be  strengthened      to  allow 
swift adaptation to emerging needs while at the same time increasing focus on a limited number 
of actions and on key priorities will incentivise collaboration to overcome industry silos. 

In  the  meantime,  in  the  period  2018-20,  MEDIA  will  further  support  the  scaling  up  of 
audiovisual  companies  by  promoting  new  models  of  collaboration  and  joint-up  distribution 
strategies  and  by  reviewing  the  selective  distribution  scheme  to  incentivise  a  more  sustained 
collaboration across borders. 

Following  the  adoption  of  the  European  Animation  Plan  by  the  industry  in  2017,  the 
Commission  will  help  implement  the  identified  actions  in  order  to  scale-up  the  European 
Animation Industry, a sector that has a good potential to develop and compete internationally. 

Efficiency 

Under the successor programme, the future MEDIA and Music Moves Europe may seek ways to 
reward good results and success. 

The  evaluation  pointed  to  the  need  to  develop  a  comprehensive  performance  monitoring 
framework  consisting  of  a  set  of  indicators  which  are  closely  related  to  the  objectives  of  the 
programme, both in terms of the outputs and benefits for beneficiaries as well as the wider, more 
long-term cultural, economic and social impacts. 

Meanwhile,  the  Commission  services  will  propose  to  strengthen  the  monitoring  framework 
systems, processes and indicators for the Creative Europe Programme during 2018. It will adopt 
supplementary  qualitative  and  quantitative  performance  indicators  in  accordance  with  the 
procedure set out in, in line with Article 20 of the Creative Europe Regulation (Delegated Act). 
The Commission will address the challenges associated with the current monitoring framework, 
namely  the  nature  of  the  indicators  and  data  currently  reported  on  and  the  roles  and 
responsibilities with regard to Programme monitoring. 

Also, application procedures will be further streamlined and timely information to beneficiaries 
about selection results will be ensured.  For MEDIA, the system of lump sums will be monitored 
to  ensure  alignment  with  the  evolution  of  real  costs  in  the  sector,  thus  continuing  to  provide 
simplified,  speedier  grant  support.    Implementation  of  MEDIA  will  be  simplified  and 
streamlined,  for  example,  by  grouping  together  beneficiaries  and  reducing  the  number  of 
underlying grant contracts and payment transactions.   In particular in the Distribution schemes, 
which  represent  30  %  of  the  MEDIA  budget,  it  is  intended  to  reduce  the  transactions  by  30% 
thus lowering administrative overheads. 

Sustainability 

Creative  Europe  reaches  citizens  through  the  supported  works  and  activities,  enriching  their 
European  identities.  However,  citizens  are  not  always  aware  of  the  role  played  by  Creative 
Europe.  Building  on  recent  experiences,  such  as  online  competitions,  communication  through 
social  media  will  be  increased  to  reach  larger  audiences.  On  the  ground,  the  Commission  will 

9 

 
 
organise  conferences  and  showcase  events  to  disseminate  results,  with  an  emphasis  on  cross-
sectoral issues and collaboration. 

Creative Europe Desks will be encouraged to develop their role, by sharing success stories not 
just from their own country but rather on a pan-European level, to raise the visibility of co-
productions and collaborative distribution strategies. 

As the projects supported by Creative Europe potentially reach large audiences and present a 
good communication potential vis a vis citizens, the Commission will strengthen and closely 
monitor  the  compliance  with  appropriate  visibility  requirements.  The  Commission  will  also 
continue  to  showcase  success  stories  and  provide  beneficiaries  with  suitable  tools  and 
guidelines enabling them to share their stories online. 

Creative  and  culture  works  supported  by  Creative  Europe  constitute  a  portfolio  of  content 
with  a  European  dimension.  On  the  other  hand  stakeholders  recognised  that  there  is  a 
potential for greater exploitation of programme outputs. The Commission will consider a new 
award  criterion  to  develop  a  sustainable  exploitation  plan  of  project  outputs.  Furthermore  it 
should  be  considered  to  set-up  new  mechanisms  for  ensuring  the  exploitation  of  project 
outputs in the Culture Sub-programme. 

EU added value 

To  capitalise  on  the  existing  partnerships  and  networks,  the  Commission  will  monitor  the 
development of new partnerships e.g. between high and low capacity countries. 

As  regards  MEDIA,  the  Commission  has  extensively  engaged  in  discussion  with  Member 
States on how to provide a level playing field between countries with a different audiovisual 
capacity while ensuring that the overarching selection criterion remains the excellence of the 
projects. Accordingly, a new definition of 'capacity' based on a set of measurable indicators 
will be developed in the successor programme. 

Recent  developments  show  the  importance  of  creativity  and  culture  in  sustaining  healthy 
democracies, diversity and a shared sense of European identity. Culture plays a unique role in 
strengthening  awareness  on  common  social  challenges  and,  through  good  storytelling,  can 
bring people together across Europe.  Creative Europe has a strong yet untapped potential to 
support new forms of citizens' engagement across borders which should be fully exploited. 

The successor programme may play a valuable role in responding to populism by reinforcing 
cultural  diversity  and  increasing  tolerance  and  mutual  understanding.  Therefore  the 
programme will intensify the citizens' dimension of its activities. 

10