REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS A Decade of Creative Europe
Date: 2025-12-17
Institutions: Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, European Commission
Subjects: EU programme, artistic creation, arts, audiovisual production, cultural cooperation, cultural pluralism, cultural promotion, cultural transmission, culture industry, mass media

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 17.12.2025  COM(2025) 768 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS A Decade of Creative Europe {SWD(2025) 418 final}  
 
 
1.  Introduction 

Creative Europe is the European Union’s Programme dedicated to supporting the cultural, creative 
and audiovisual sectors. This Report presents the main results of the final evaluation of the Creative 
Europe  2014-2020  Programme  (hereunder  ‘CE1’)  and  the  mid-term  evaluation  of  the  Creative 
Europe 2021-2027 Programme (hereunder ‘CE2’) in line with the relevant provisions in the two 
legal  instruments1.  The  actions  of  both  Programme  iterations  have  been  organised  into  three 
strands in order to cater for specific needs: MEDIA (audiovisual and video games), Culture (all 
other cultural and creative sectors), and Cross-sectoral (including news media). 

The European Union’s role in culture is governed by subsidiarity as outlined in Article 167 of the 
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)2 whilst the role of the EU in media is 
also governed by single market (Art 26), and competitiveness (Art 173) provisions of the TFEU.  
This framework is the basis for the dual objectives of Creative Europe: to safeguard, develop and 
promote European cultural and linguistic diversity and heritage, and to increase competitiveness 
and economic potential of the cultural and creative sectors (hereunder ‘CCS’), in particular of the 
audiovisual sector. 

CE2 builds on the strengths of CE1, while introducing innovations. These were mainly in response 
to the digital shift, which represents a paradigm change. Recognising the importance of the CCS3 
and the magnitude of the challenges they face, the Programme was allocated a budget of EUR 2.44 
billion for the 2021-2027 funding period, representing a 66% increase from the previous funding 
period.  The distribution of the budget among the three strands remained relatively stable under 
both funding periods: 56-58% for MEDIA, 31-33% for Culture and 13-9% for the Cross-sectoral 
strand.  The budget has been fully executed across both programming periods, including during 
the Covid pandemic when many venues were locked down. 

The  budget  of  Creative  Europe  is  very  limited,  equivalent  to  0,2%  of  the  current  EU  budget, 
whereas  Member  States  are  the  primary  source  of  public  funding.    However,  Creative  Europe 
targets activities where the EU intervention can bring additional value compared to the actions of 
Member  States  alone.  In  particular,  it  addresses  the  fragmentation  of  the  cultural,  creative  and 
media  sectors  along  national  and  linguistic  borders.    Moreover,  national-level  funding  alone  is 
insufficient  to  support  the  overall  competitiveness  and  diversity  of  EU  media,  audiovisual  and 
other  cultural  and  creative  sectors.  In  particular,  Creative  Europe  supports  transnational 
cooperation  and  circulation  of  content  across  the  EU,  through  pan-European  activities  such  as 
collaborations, co-productions and networks, thus leveraging the value of national cultural assets 
beyond national borders. This approach also facilitates equal access to media and cultural content 
for people living in the EU. 

The wide participation of Members of the European Free Trade Association which are members 
of the European Economic Area, candidate countries and potential candidates as well as European 
Neighbourhood Policy countries constitutes a valuable asset of the Programme, strengthening its 

1 Creative Europe was established in 2013 by Regulation (EU) 1295/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council integrating the Culture, 
MEDIA 2007 and MEDIA Mundus Programmes into one single funding instrument. In 2021, a new Creative Europe was established for the period 
2021-2027 (Regulation (EU) 2021/818 of the European Parliament and of the Council  
2 CONSOLIDATED VERSION OF THE TREATY ON THE FUNCTIONING OF THE EUROPEAN UNION. 
3 The Cultural and Creative Industries ecosystem plays a key role as one of 14 key industrial ecosystems  identified following the adoption of ‘A 

New Industrial Strategy for Europe’ Communication in 2020, COM(2020) 102 final; Brussels, 10.3.2020  

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relevance and outreach. It contributes to the EU efforts for cultural diplomacy by creating tangible 
ties with these countries.  For countries on the path to EU accession, their participation in Creative 
Europe is a positive aspect in relation to Chapter 26 of the Acquis Communautaire on Education, 
Culture  and  Media.  As  regards  the  audiovisual  sector,  alignment  of  third  countries  with  the 
Audiovisual and Media Services Directive is an ex-ante condition for participation in the MEDIA 
and cross-sectoral strands, thus acting as an incentive to accelerate regulatory convergence.   

2.  Achievements and challenges 

MEDIA strand 

MEDIA  has  successfully  contributed  to  safeguarding  cultural  diversity  and  strengthening 
competitiveness.    Over three decades the  core mission  of MEDIA has remained clear: to  bring 
quality European films and series to people across Europe. Thus, MEDIA actions are embedded 
across  the  value  chain  of  the  audiovisual  industry  helping  to  build  a  resilient  and  European 
ecosystem.  This is all the more important given the tough competition the EU audiovisual sector 
is facing from global players, including not only major Hollywood studios, but, increasingly, the 
biggest tech companies in the world. 

MEDIA has notably strengthened the transnational circulation of European films and series, in a 
sector significantly fragmented along national borders. The evaluation revealed that, on average, 
MEDIA supported4 EU films and series could be viewed by audiences in 9.5, 6.6 and 3.2 more EU 
countries across TV, cinema and video-on-demand respectively, than comparable EU works which 
did not receive MEDIA funding. It is estimated that, under the previous Programme alone, MEDIA 
supported  EU  films  and  series  attracted  at  least  241  million  admissions  more  in  EU  countries 
outside their home country compared to films and series which did not receive MEDIA support.   

MEDIA’s  support  to  European  cinemas  is  another  successful  initiative  in  respect  of  the 
transnational circulation of European films and series. Between 2014-2023, the Europa Cinemas 
network  increased  its  geographical  coverage  by  32%  to  reach  over  750  municipalities.  It  sold 
almost  40%  of  all  tickets  for  non-national  European  films  in  the  EU  by  2023,  which  shows 
significant EU added value.  

MEDIA funding has also enhanced the production and eventual release of high-quality audiovisual 
works.  In particular, it has supported films and TV series in their crucial development phase. The 
share of supported titles eventually released is estimated at 29% of all films and series supported 
for development during the evaluation period, apparently above the market average. This indicates 
a positive impact of funding. A third of video games developed with the help of MEDIA funding 
were eventually commercialised, a sign of success in a highly competitive and dynamic sector.  

MEDIA has focused on European cross-border co-productions to achieve more impact at European 
level,  both  at  development  stage  and  in  the  production  of  programming  for TV  and  video-on-
demand. Such co-productions increase competitiveness, by increasing audiences abroad, bringing 
in new sources of financing and sharing know-how. The share of supported cross-border European 
co-productions has increased substantially from 36% under CE1 to 84% under CE2 (2021-2023), 

4     Including CE1 actions: Development Slate; Development-Animation; Development-Documentaries; Development-Fiction; Support to Television 
Programming of Audiovisual European Works; Support to international co-production funds; Distribution Automatic; Distribution Selective; 
Sales  Agents;  and  CE2  actionss:  Development  Slate;  Development  Mini  Slate;  Co-development;  TV  and  online  content;  European 
Distribution; European Sales Agents; Films on the Move. 

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significantly higher than the estimated market average for EU works not supported by MEDIA 
(13.7%). 

Moreover, MEDIA supported films, series and games have consistently achieved critical acclaim 
and recognition.  Over the period 2014-2023, supported works received around 1200 nominations 
and  500  awards  from  prestigious  international  festivals  and  awarding  bodies.    For  example, 
supported works have received 127 awards at Cannes, 86 awards at the Berlinale, and 73 awards 
at the European Film Awards.  This reflects the high cultural value and international standing of 
the European works supported by MEDIA.  

Cultural  diversity has been strengthened through  measures  which  address  countries with  lower 
audiovisual capacities, notably by fostering collaboration. The share of supported works involving 
collaborations between low capacity and high-capacity countries has increased from less than 5% 
under CE1 to around 30% under CE2 (2021-2023).  Also, the share of supported works in lesser 
used languages increased from 25% under CE1 to 32% under CE2 (2021-2023). While progress 
has been made in broadening the participation of all Member States, support is still concentrated 
on a limited number of beneficiary countries.  

More  broadly,  MEDIA  has  also  leveraged  equity  investment  by  providing  blended  support  to 
MediaInvest,  which  was  introduced  as  of  2021  under  InvestEU.   This  novel  equity  investment 
platform is dedicated to European audiovisual and gaming projects.  The aim of MediaInvest is to 
stimulate more private investment, thus strengthening competitiveness. The target is to leverage 
up to €400 million equity investment between 2022-2027.  Four investment deals have already 
been signed under MediaInvest, and it is well on track to meet its target.  This is also an effective 
complement to loan guarantees (see below under the assessment of cross-sectoral actions). 

Overall MEDIA has helped to shape a European ecosystem and complements policies of Member 
States which have a domestic focus. However, this effect cannot in itself counter powerful market 
forces  which  are  transforming  sector  and  arise  from  changing  consumer  behaviour  and 
technological advances. 

Culture strand 

The Culture strand has constantly served as an instrument to empower CCS organisations across 
Europe to cooperate beyond national borders and this happens in a way and on issues that are not 
covered  by  national  funding.  In  sectors  facing  challenges  such  as  market  and  linguistic 
fragmentation, digital transformations, a high share of very small organisations, limited mobility 
and work precariousness, the Culture strand provides a platform for cross-border collaboration, 
enabling actors to engage in joint creation and exchanges that are generally not supported at this 
scale at national level. Moreover, the strand supports the efforts of the EU through its cross-cutting 
elements  of  social  inclusion  and  gender  equality,  sustainability  and  contributes  to  the  EU 
diplomatic efforts in the field of culture. 

Under CE1, it facilitated over 1,200 transnational projects, creating over 7,500 cultural activities 
supporting  more  than  22,000  professionals  in  internationalising  their  careers  and  gaining 
experience in other countries. Under CE2, from 2021 to 2023, the Culture strand supported 630 
projects, channelling EUR 294 million to over 2,000 organisations in 39 countries. It facilitated 
the translation of more than 1,500 books, bolstering linguistic diversity and access to literature 
from  lesser-used  languages.  Culture  Moves  Europe  offered  over  3,800  emerging  artists 
opportunities  for  mobility  and  exposure  enabling  them  to  forge  new,  (often)  sustainable 

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international partnerships. Additionally, the strand has supported initiatives such as networks of 
cultural organisations, platforms supporting young artistic talent, orchestras and cultural prizes.  

Through the development of skills of CCS professionals, as well as the evidence found that 8 in 
10 collaborations continued after the completion of a project, the strand makes a contribution to 
developing lasting partnerships and a European cultural space. 

The strand’s relevance has become especially evident during the crises faced over the 2014-2023 
period. While COVID-19 posed an existential threat to the CCS, the Programme responded with 
flexibility,  designing  innovative  instruments  such  as  Culture  Unite  or  by  adapting  its  financial 
support to aid the CCS. Similarly, as a response to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, 
the strand developed a EUR 5 million call to support Ukrainian CCS.  

However,  it  must  be  noted  that  some  sectors  are  not  sufficiently  represented  in  the  horizontal 
actions of the strand, such as fashion and design, to this day. 

The  Programme  relies  on  the  principle  of  excellence  with  no  pre-defined  budget  envelope  per 
participating country. Indeed, funds are allocated based on the projects’ quality and not depending 
on  the  organisations’  country  of  origin. As  a  result,  the  allocation  of  funding  through  grants  is 
influenced  by  several  factors.  For  instance,  countries  with  strongly  established  cultural  and 
creative sectors and/or  which serve  as  regional  hubs  tend to  receive  a  more important  share of 
funds (such as France, Italy, Germany and Belgium). However, under CE2, some countries such 
as  Croatia, Slovenia  and  Serbia have started playing a more prominent role in  the Programme. 
However, some efforts are still needed to reach out to countries that are not sufficiently engaged 
with Creative Europe. 

There is  a persistent gap between demand  and available funding.5 To address  this, adjustments 
have been made in recent years to increase accessibility and balance funding across project scales; 
by capping the number of projects the same organisation can be a part of in the same call, as well 
as the publication of large-scale Cooperation Projects every two years instead of every year. 

Cross-sectoral strand 

Support  to  news  media  was  launched  in  2021  and  high-quality  projects  have  been  funded  to 
address  key  structural  and  technological  changes  and  promoting  media  independence  and 
pluralism as well as media literacy. Revenues in news media are sharply declining as advertising 
has shifted to global online platforms whilst the Media Pluralism Monitor6 shows risks for media 
pluralism and editorial independence across Member States. Few Member States are dedicating 
significant financial resources to supporting the safety of journalists or resilience and innovation 
in media outlets.  

The Creative Innovation Lab has provided seed funding for collaboration between audiovisual and 
other cultural and creative sectors. After initial difficulties in attracting relevant proposals, it has 
gradually  provided  added  value  by  funding  multidisciplinary  projects  which  address  common 
challenges,  notably  reaching  wider  audiences  and  monetisation,  through  harnessing  digital 
applications  such  as  artificial  intelligence  and  block  chain.  Despite  this,  innovation  remains  a 
formidable challenge for the EU CCSs. Only 30% of EU CCS companies have adopted a digital 

5 This gap is particularly acute in the European Cooperation Projects, the strand’s largest action, where the action faces massive and increasing 
oversubscription. It went from receiving 463 submissions in 2021 to 831 in 2023 and due to a stable budget, had its success rate dropping 
from 27% in 2021 to 17% in 2023. The trend of oversubscription for each Cooperation Projects call continued in the years following 2023. 

6 Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (2025) Media Pluralism Monitor 

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transformation strategy and investment in AI represents less than 1% of their total investments. 
The evaluation also pointed out that transmedia exploitation of the same Intellectual Property has 
a positive impact on the popularity of the works covered and on competitiveness. In this respect, 
synergies are more pronounced between audiovisual and other copyright-intensive media sectors 
(music  and  publishing).  They  face  to  some  extent  common  challenges  and  opportunities  for 
competitiveness  and  digital  transformation,  at  a  time  in  which  large  extra-EU  platforms  have 
increased control over what content people spend they time on.  

As regards financial instruments, the first Cultural and Creative Sectors Guarantee Facility (CCS 
GF) made a very effective contribution. Through effective collaboration between the Commission 
and the European Investment Fund a strong market response was cultivated in sectors previously 
perceived as high risk due to the intangible nature of the companies’ assets, cash flow difficulties 
and  shortage  of  reliable  economic  data.  Over  EUR  1.8  billion  in  loans  was  leveraged,  which 
exceeded by far the initial goal of EUR 600 million. It thus reduced the  gap in debt financing, 
estimated to be EUR 837m – EUR 2.07 bn per year, by 15%-30%. The audiovisual and multimedia 
sectors represented 44% of loans, but several other sectors including music, performing arts and 
video games also benefited. The CCS GF was subsequently incorporated into InvestEU as of 2021. 

Creative  Europe  Desks  set  in  all  participating  countries  have  been  of  great  importance  for  the 
promotion of the Programme and support to potential applicants, in particular micro-organisations 
with limited capacities. 

3.  Administrative efficiency  

The European Education and Culture Executive Agency, which implemented the bulk of Creative 
Europe, provided efficient centralised implementation of calls and management of grants.  Overall, 
the cost of administration as a proportion of the total budget for the previous Programme, was well 
below expected benchmarks and has been further reduced under the current Programme. It went 
from  7,74%  of  the  grand  total  budget  in  2014  to  6,74%  in  2023.  Administrative  costs  have 
increased less than the operational budget, indicating that efficiency savings have been achieved.   

A  number  of  measures  (lump  sums,  higher  co-funding  ceilings,  multiannual  agreements)  were 
taken  to  simplify  procedures  and  reduce  the  application  burden  on  applicants.    Feedback  from 
beneficiaries suggest that the administrative burden decreased under the current Programme, with 
73% of participants from CE1 considering application costs to be high, reduced to 66% in CE2. 

4.  Looking into the future 

The  evaluation  has  provided  valuable  lessons  for  the  design  and  implementation  of  EU  level 
funding for culture and media going forward, with its results feeding into the impact assessment 
of the successor Programme of Creative Europe, i.e. AgoraEU.    

MEDIA strand 

Circulating  European  films,  series,  documentaries  and  other  audiovisual  works  across  national 
borders  brings  Europeans  closer  together  by  sharing  powerful  European  stories,  while  also 
strengthening European companies competing with global media and tech giants. However further 
efforts are needed to attract wider cross-border audiences on all platforms, in particular younger 
generations. Furthermore, despite significant developments in improving the level playing field 

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between MEDIA countries,  continuous  efforts  are needed  to  increase geographic and linguistic 
diversity and broaden participation. 

MEDIA  has  evolved  through  a  sharpened  focus  on  innovation  and  cross-border  collaboration, 
including co-productions and pan-European distribution. This adaptability is key as it responds to 
market  trends  and  new  challenges,  such  as  the  growth  of  streaming.  Since  media  markets  are 
global, innovative and dynamic, it will be important to continue monitoring trends to steer MEDIA 
so that it keeps pace with developments.  On videogames, demand for support in this dynamic and 
fast-growing  sector  largely  exceeds  current  budget  envelopes.  While  adjustments  have  already 
been made in several MEDIA actions to reflect both its economic importance and appeal among 
Europeans of all ages, further reflection is needed on how best to strengthen this support in the 
future. 

The  combination  of  grant  funding  and  financial  instruments  has  served  the  industry  well  by 
catering for different needs, from access to seed funding and co-financing to bridging loans and 
equity for ambitious pan-European ventures.  

Intellectual Property intensive content industries share common challenges, for example to attract 
wider audiences in the digital age and to respond to changing consumer preferences (especially 
when it comes to digital native young people).  The success of and experience with MEDIA in 
reaching wider cross-border audiences through co-productions and pan-European distribution for 
example is very relevant in this regard.  

Given the scale of the challenges, MEDIA needs to be accompanied by collaboration with Member 
States and the whole audiovisual industry in order to better exploit synergies. 

Culture strand 

Under  both  iterations  of  the  Programme,  the  Culture  strand  has  helped  the  CCS  address  key 
challenges, such as the fragmentation of the European market along national and linguistic lines 
and  the  transformations  resulting  from  the  dual  transition.  However,  some  needs  have  become 
more acute in recent years, while new ones have emerged, such as attacks on artistic freedom or 
the rise of artificial intelligence. There is a need to better respond to them, in line with the ambition 
of the upcoming Culture Compass for Europe.  

The  demand  for  funding,  up  to  four  times  greater  than  the  current  available  budget  for  the 
Cooperation  projects  action,  shows  the  high  demand  from  the  CCS  for  the  strand.  Funding  is 
crucial for the strand to continue helping CCS unlock their full potential and project themselves 
into the future, while widening access to a diversity of cultural content across borders.  

The  strand’s  sectorial  approach  addressed  specific  challenges  of  certain  sectors,  while  the 
horizontal  approach  offers  more  agility  and  leeway  for  cultural  and  creative  operators.  It  is 
important to keep a combination of both, to ensure the strand keeps a strong policy focus.  

Further efforts are needed to increase the visibility of the Culture strand in CCS and countries not 
sufficiently engaged with it. Outreach could be further improved by sharing and better targeting 
information about the strand for organisations in such sectors and countries.  

There  is  a  need  to  have  a  regular  review  and  close  monitoring  of  the  simplification  measures 
introduced  in  CE2.  In  this  respect,  the  Culture  strand  should  maintain  its  focus  on  addressing 
accessibility challenges and continue to expand its reach to CCS organisations that have no prior 
experience working at EU level. 

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Several  lessons  have  emerged  as  well  regarding  the  regular  monitoring,  evaluation  and  data 
availability.  The  Commission  will  implement  concrete  measures  to  develop  a  more  systematic 
approach  to  the  strand’s  data  collection.  These  include  a  thorough  analysis  of  data  currently 
available, for a better use of them without increasing the burden on beneficiaries. In parallel, efforts 
and additional resources will be put on further developing in-house reporting tools and collecting 
data from the CCS representatives.  

Cross-sectoral strand 

Support to news media amounts to only about EUR 15 million per year, yet it is subject to strong 
demand.  For  example,  the  Journalism  Partnerships  action  has  been  oversubscribed  by  700%. 
Going forward support will be crucial as challenges across the EU have kept increasing in areas 
such as media freedom and pluralism, media viability and disinformation, negatively impacting 
societal resilience and democratic participation. 

Future  Creative  Innovation  Lab  calls  need  to  continue  to  refine  criteria  to  ensure  that  funded 
projects  are  genuinely  innovative  and  contribute  to  the  long-term  digital  transformation  of 
audiovisual  and  other  cultural  and  creative  industries. There  is  also  scope  under  the  Creative 
Innovation Labs action for better targeting cross-sectoral innovation synergies, which allow for 
the development and exploitation of cross-sectoral Intellectual Property in particular. 

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