What is Creative Europe MEDIA Programme?
Creative Europe is the EU programme supporting the cultural and creative sectors. The new Creative Europe 2021-2027, with a budget of €2.44 billion, will invest in actions that reinforce cultural diversity and respond to the needs and challenges of the cultural and creative sectors. Its novelties will contribute to the recovery of these sectors, reinforcing their efforts to become more digital, greener, more resilient and more inclusive.
The programme is split in three different strands: MEDIA, CULTURE and CROSS-SECTORAL.
In 2021, the MEDIA programme celebrated 30 years of support to European audiovisual content and started a new programme for the 2021-2027 period, which supporting actions are divided in 4 thematic clusters, according to the goals they pursue:
- content: encouraging collaboration and innovation in the creation and production of high-quality works.
- business: promoting business innovation, competitiveness, scalability and talents to strengthen Europe’s industry vis-à-vis global competitors.
- audience: strengthening the accessibility and visibility of works for their potential audiences, through distribution channels and audience development initiatives.
- policy: supporting policy discussion/exchange fora, studies and reports. Promoting awareness-raising activities.
The MEDIA strand focuses on:
- encouraging cooperation both across the value chain and at EU level in order to scale up audio-visual enterprises and European content globally;
- nurturing talents, wherever they come from, and broadening participation and collaboration across countries;
- enhancing global circulation, promotion and distribution of European audiovisual works, taking into account the new digital environment;
- supporting the engagement and development of audiences of all ages, in particular young audiences, across Europe and beyond.
MEDIA in 2022
Every year, the Commissions develops an Annual Work Programme for the implementation of the Creative Europe Programme. The budget for the 2022 Creative Europe is €385.6 million, of which €226.5 million will be devoted to its MEDIA sub-programme, an increase of 31% compared to 2021.
With the objective to raise the competitiveness and the economic potential of the audiovisual and news media sector, MEDIA has been strengthened by adding new actions to its programme and by focusing on increasing cooperation at EU level, through support to co-productions, structured networks and partnerships.
View the 2022 Annual Work Programme
2022 Creative Europe MEDIA calls will be published here
Why?
The digital revolution and the COVID-19 crisis have reshaped the audiovisual sector. New issues arose as key challenges, such as the protection of intellectual property, securing access to finance in a rapidly changing sector and ensuring the proper distribution of works.
The objective of Creative Europe is to focus on initiatives that can have a real impact on the sector across Europe. This impact can come either from supporting individual works and initiatives that promote new skills in the sector or initiatives in favour of international cooperation in the sector.
In addition, the programme promotes efforts and best practices that contribute to the achievement of key European Commission priorities such as the Green Deal, inclusiveness and gender balance.
At a time when museums, cinemas, cultural heritage sites, theatres, all start to reopen, I want to reiterate the Commission's support for the cultural and creative sectors. With an increased budget, Creative Europe will strive to reinforce the recovery of the sectors while promoting the immense diversity and creativity that they offer us.
Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth
Where can I find out more?
- Creative Europe programme
- Creative Europe 2022 work programme
- Creative Europe 2020 monitoring report
- Creative Europe MEDIA 30th anniversary in 2021
- Funding opportunities available under the MEDIA strand are published in the European Commission’s Funding and Tender opportunities Portal
- You can also contact the Creative Europe Desks in your national country
Latest News
Related Content
Big Picture
These days we can watch our favourite programmes not just on TV, but also online. These shows are subject to the rules of the single market.
Dig deeper
A common European approach to the main audiovisual policy issues is essential for the consolidation of a European audiovisual single market.
The creation and production of high-quality content is the foundation of the European audiovisual industry.
The MEDIA programme will support the audiovisual sector to create a business environment that can scale up the industry’s capacity at European level.
The MEDIA programme will support innovative ways of engaging with audience at all levels to ensure the widest audience for European audiovisual works.
See Also
The transformation of the audiovisual media landscape offers the potential for new experiences and opportunities. It also poses many questions for us.
International agreements and constraints in the audiovisual sector play an important role on how the EU and Member States develop audiovisual policy.
The revised Audiovisual Media Services Directive creates a media framework for Europe's digital decade.
The European Film Forum is a platform for a structured dialogue between policy makers and stakeholders in the audiovisual sector.
The Media and Audiovisual Action Plan (MAAP) aims to boost European media and help maintain European cultural and technological autonomy in the Digital Decade.