Changes from plenary report to adopted text

– having regard to 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),

– having regard to the Commission proposal of 5 May 2018 for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the Creative Europe programme (2021 to 2027) and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1295/2013 (COM(2018)0366),

– having regard to its position at first reading of 28 March 2019 on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the Creative Europe programme (2021 to 2027) and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1295/2013,

– having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 12 December 2018 on ‘Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the Creative Europe programme (2021 to 2027) and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1295/2013’,

– having regard to the opinion of the European Committee of the Regions of 6 February 2019 on ‘Creative Europe and A New European Agenda for Culture’,

– having regard to the Commission report of 30 April 2018 entitled ‘Mid-term evaluation of the Creative Europe programme (2014-2020)’ (COM(2018)0248),

– having regard to Commission Implementing Decision C(2023)3227 of 5 June 2023 amending Implementing Decision C(2021)3563 on the financing of the Creative Europe Programme for 2021-2025 and the adoption of the work programmes for 2021, 2022 and 2023,

– having regard to Commission Implementing Decision C(2022)6138 of 31 August 2022 amending Implementing Decision C(2021)3563 on the financing of the Creative Europe Programme for 2021-2023 and the adoption of the work programmes for 2021 and 2022,

– having regard to Commission Implementing Decision C(2021)3563 of 26 May 2021 on the adoption of the work programme for the implementation of the Creative Europe Programme for 2021,

– having regard to the Commission 2022 Annual Work Programme for the implementation of the Creative Europe Programme,

– having regard to the Commission 2021 Annual Work Programme for the implementation of the Creative Europe Programme,

– having regard to the Commission communication of 11 July 2023 entitled ‘An EU initiative on Web 4.0 and virtual worlds: a head start in the next technological transition’ (COM(2023)0442),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 3 December 2020 entitled ‘Europe’s Media in the Digital Decade: An Action Plan to Support Recovery and Transformation’ (COM(2020)0784),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 22 May 2018 entitled ‘A New European Agenda for Culture’ (COM(2018)0267),

– having regard to the Council Resolution of 7 December 2022 on the EU Work Plan for Culture 2023–2026,

– having regard to its resolution of 14 September 2023 on the future of the European book sector,

– having regard to its resolution of 14 December 2022 on the implementation of the New European Agenda for Culture and the EU Strategy for International Cultural Relations,

– having regard to its resolution of 20 October 2021 on Europe’s Media in the Digital Decade: an Action Plan to Support Recovery and Transformation,

– having regard to its resolution of 17 April 2020 on EU coordinated action to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences,

– having regard to its resolution of 15 September 2020 on ‘Effective measures to ‘green’ Erasmus+, Creative Europe and the European Solidarity Corps,

– having regard to its resolution of 17 September 2020 on the cultural recovery of Europe,

– having regard to Rule 54 of its Rules of Procedure, as well as Article 1(1)(e) of, and Annex 3 to, the decision of the Conference of Presidents of 12 December 2002 on the procedure for granting authorisation to draw up own-initiative reports,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Culture and Education (A9-0425/2023),

A. whereas the data gathered confirms the considerable interest of the cultural and creative sectors in the programme; whereas higher co-financing rates for different actions under the Culture and Media strands have proven beneficial in supporting the cultural and creative ecosystems and have provided better opportunities for small-scale projects too, especially in the aftermath of the pandemic;

B. whereas the Creative Europe programme 2021-2027 features an overall budget increase of about 68 % compared to its predecessor; whereas this increase is significantly depreciating due to the constantly rising inflation rate associated with energy costs; whereas the overall budget has been frontloaded with a third of the financial allocation committed in the years 2021 and 2022 to address, inter alia, the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic;

C. whereas Creative Europe is the only programme that solely provides support to all cultural and creative sectors whose activities are based on cultural and artistic values, especially by supporting creators and artists, such as authors and performers, in addition to small-sized projects;

D. whereas the programme recognises the intrinsic and artistic value of culture, which should remain at the heart of the programme, while striking an equal balance with its broader contribution to innovation and growth; whereas Creative Europe, as an EU funded programme, should contribute to the implementation of the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights and promote fair practices and working conditions in the cultural and creative sectors;

E. whereas one of the main novelties of the programme is that it mainstreams the cross-cutting priorities of inclusion, diversity, in particular gender balance and greening; whereas the 2021 and 2022 annual work programmes pay particular attention to fostering social inclusion and gender equality; whereas the implementation of the programme should ensure the broadest cultural participation with a view to including, inter alia, people with disabilities and those from disadvantaged backgrounds;

F. whereas the programme aims to support the digital transition of the cultural and creative sectors as technology has transformed how these sectors create, produce and disseminate content; whereas while digitalisation may provide opportunities to increase cultural participation, it may also lead to different challenges from those of the analogue era;

G. whereas the administrative management procedures of the Creative Europe programme (application, evaluation and reporting) are still considered by a significant number of beneficiaries and potential beneficiaries to be highly time-consuming and burdensome, despite some progress in terms of simplification;

H. whereas the onerous administrative management procedures often discourage the participation of less experienced applicants, including young creators, in addition to small-sized organisations, especially those from disadvantaged areas; whereas the application procedure needs to be simplified and improved, primarily due to the increase in the number of procedural steps and its user-unfriendly interface, which may not be compatible with widely used applications;

I. whereas the platform for the programme includes a complex reporting procedure which is difficult to navigate and which was not originally designed for the type of projects funded by the programme;

J. whereas the Culture strand promotes the networking of creative communities and fosters cross-border collaboration, with a particular focus on cooperation projects; whereas, within the first two years of implementation, the cooperation project scheme emerged as the most popular under the Culture strand, providing support to 291 projects; whereas the Commission should consider expanding the Culture strand’s outreach activity in order to increase participation across all cultural and creative communities, including those from the peripheral and rural areas;

K. whereas the Media strand plays a significant role in fostering growth and resilience within the audiovisual sector; whereas it has attracted 2 124 applicants in the two-year period 2021-2022, with a 66 % average success rate;

L. whereas the ‘Writing European’ preparatory action, supported as of 2021, has been developed with the aim of supporting creators, in particular authors, in conceiving and developing high quality fiction series able to travel across borders and reach new audiences;

M. whereas the Cross-sectoral strand features a greater number of novelties reflecting new objectives; whereas the cross-cutting actions supporting the news media sector constitute a brand new focus of the Creative Europe programme;

N. whereas enhancing mobility in Europe’s cultural and creative sectors is a specific objective of the programme pursued through a dedicated new scheme under the Culture strand;

O. whereas Culture Moves Europe is the largest EU mobility scheme for the cultural and creative sectors and had attracted around 4 660 application by mid-2023; whereas approximately 85 % of applications are from sectors such as the visual arts, performing arts and music;

P. whereas the programme acknowledges the importance of the music sector as an essential component of Europe’s cultural diversity, which can benefit from the horizontal approach under the Culture strand; whereas during the 2021-2022 period the Music Moves Europe Initiative allocated EUR 5 million to strengthening the competitiveness, innovation and diversity of Europe’s music sector;

Q. whereas the Literary Translation Action plays a unique role in promoting authors across borders, reaching new audiences and contributing to a more culturally and linguistically diverse Europe;

R. whereas the public support source for the audiovisual ecosystem in Europe originates mainly from the national level with the Media strand complementing the national systems by supporting projects with a long-lasting impact;

S. whereas the Creative Europe desks play a key role as intermediaries between the Commission, the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA), applicants and beneficiaries; whereas more than 60 % of all applicants in 2021-2022 contacted their local desk before submitting an application;

T. whereas, in light of the crucial role of the Creative Europe desks in promoting and informing the cultural and creative sectors about all aspects of the programme, cooperation and exchanges between the Commission - including the EACEA - and the Creative Europe desks must be strengthened and encompass the sharing of relevant information on upcoming calls for proposals;

U. whereas the Creative Europe programme plays a strategic role in enhancing the external dimension of the European Union’s cultural relations by fostering partnerships between different actors from the cultural and creative sectors, availing of a people-to-people approach, in addition to promoting cultural diversity within Europe and beyond;

V. whereas the programme recognises the importance of safeguarding and promoting the artistry and craft sectors, especially in the cultural heritage field, in addition to acknowledging their vital role in supporting both the urban and rural economies across Europe as well as their role in enhancing cultural diversity;

W. whereas the Seal of Excellence is a novelty of the Creative Europe programme 2021-2027, which was introduced with the aim of enhancing synergies and simplifying the search for alternative funding in the event of budgetary constraints;

X. whereas the European Capital of Culture, as a special action, is a prestigious initiative enjoying a well-established place on global cultural agendas and which has highlighted the richness and uniqueness of the diversity of cultures and cities since its creation in 1985;

1. Highlights that the new generation of the Creative Europe programme continues to generate significant interest within the cultural, creative and audiovisual sectors, as well as the news media, with an increasing number of applications received under the three strands, resulting in a proportionate decrease in the success rate of applications, which may cause a sense of disillusionment with the programme in these sectors;

2. Welcomes the programme’s response in mitigating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which severely disrupted the cultural and creative sectors even before the beginning of the current programme; reiterates, however, its call on the Commission and the Member States to strengthen efforts to address the long-term effects of the pandemic on creators and cultural professionals, particularly those relating to their upskilling and reskilling to address the needs arising from developments and challenges affecting the sectors;

3. Regrets that not all Member States allocated at least 2 % of the Recovery and Resilience Facility to ensuring these sectors’ resilience, as requested by Parliament; calls on all Member States, therefore, to strengthen synergies and ensure sufficient targeted investments for these sectors through other EU programmes;

4. Acknowledges the flexibility of the Commission and the EACEA in implementing the programme, which was adapted to take into account the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic; highlights, however, the need to strike a balance between harmonised administrative management systems for all EU programmes, on the one hand, and the specific needs of different beneficiaries, on the other; urges, therefore, the Commission and the EACEA to step up their efforts to simplify the administrative management procedures of the Creative Europe programme 2021-2027; emphasises, nevertheless, that streamlining and simplification should not result in the reduction of financial and human resources devoted to project monitoring and evaluation;

5. Acknowledges that the application process is often complex, especially for individuals, micro and small organisations with limited financial and human resources; calls on the Commission and the EACEA, therefore, to permit the costs associated with the application process to be included in the overall estimated budget costs; calls, moreover, on the Creative Europe desks to further strengthen support to all applicants;

6. Calls on the Commission to schedule regular capacity-building exchanges with beneficiaries to outline novelties such as new requirements under the reporting system, including deliverables compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation; emphasises, as part of the programme’s aim to enhance diversity, inclusion and gender equality, the urgent need for improvements to the reporting system in order to ensure accessibility and ease of use for all beneficiaries, including people with disabilities;

7. Acknowledges the progressive introduction of inclusion incentives across all strands in the first two years of the programme’s implementation; notes, however, the lack of comprehensive data on how the programme’s objectives are being pursued in a way that encourages inclusion, equality, diversity and participation; urges the Commission to provide, in this regard, a detailed report on this in its interim evaluation;