The new Creative Europe Programme for 2021-27 was launched with the adoption of its first Annual Work Programme and the opening of the first calls under the ‘Culture’ strand! The programme will finance actions in the cultural and creative sectors with a total budget of EUR 2.4 billion for the next 7 years (63% higher than the previous programme).

About the new Creative Europe Programme

Creative Europe is the programme through which the European Commission provides support to the culture and audiovisual sectors across and beyond Europe. The programme will promote the competitiveness of these sectors, while supporting them in becoming greener, more digital, and more inclusive. Moreover, special attention will be addressed to reinforce the resilience and recovery of the cultural and creative sectors following the impact of the COVID-19.

The main objectives of the programme are:

• Safeguard, develop and promote European cultural and linguistic diversity and heritage
• increase the competitiveness and economic potential of the culture and creative sectors, in particular the audiovisual sector.

The new 2021-27 programme replicates the three strands’ structure of the previous programme:

• Culture: Covering actions in the cultural and creative sectors (except the audiovisual sector)
• Media: Covering activities in the audiovisual sector
• Cross-sectoral: Covering actions across all cultural and creative sectors.

First Calls launched under the ‘Culture’ Strand

The first calls under the Creative Europe programme 2021-27 culture strand have been published on the Funding and Tender Portal of the European Commission.

Call for European Cooperation Projects (small, medium, large – depending on the size of the consortium)

• Focus: European artistic cooperation and innovation on topics as audience engagement, social cohesion, digitisation, contribution to the European Green Deal and sector-specific challenges in the book, music, architecture and cultural heritage sectors.
• Objectives of the supported actions: 1) Transnational creation and circulation of European works and artists; 2) Innovation – enhance the capacity of European cultural and creative sectors to nature talents, to innovate, to prosper, and generate jobs and growth.
• Eligible applicants: Legal entities (public and private bodies) established in the EU Member States and Non-EU countries – EEA countries and countries associated to the Creative Europe Programme (or in the process of finalising the agreement).
• Budget: Max EUR 200 000 per small scale project (lump sum grant, funding rate of max 80%); max EUR 1 000 000 per medium scale project (lump sum grant, funding rate of max 70%); max 2 000 000 per large scale project (lump sum grant, funding rate of max 60%)
• Deadline: 7 September 2021
• More information: Call for proposals CREA-CULT-2021-COOP

Call for European Networks of Cultural and Creative Organisations

• Focus: Capacity-building projects implemented by representative, multi-country, membership-based networks of European cultural organisations.
• Objectives of the supported actions: 1) Promote fair, inclusive, and diverse frameworks supporting artists and cultural and creative professionals (tackling the gender gap and related divides, and fighting discrimination); 2) contribute to the European Green Deal, particularly encouraging these sectors to adopt more environmentally sustainable practices.
• Eligible applicants: Legal entities (public and private bodies) established in the EU Member States and Non-EU countries – EEA countries and countries associated to the Creative Europe Programme (or in the process of finalising the agreement).
• Budget: Max EUR 825 000 per project (lump sum grant, funding rate of 80%)
• Deadline: 26 August 2021
• More information: Call for proposals CREA-CULT-2021-NET

Call for Pan-European Cultural Entities

• Focus: Support cultural entities – in this call, orchestras – who aim to offer training, professionalisation and performance opportunities for young highly-talented artists.
• Objectives of the supported actions: Supporting the capacity building and professionalisation of young highly-talented musicians, providing them with standards career’s development paths through recruitment, training and performance opportunities; address the cross-cutting issues covered by the Creative Europe programme.
• Eligible applicants: Legal entities (public and private bodies) established in the EU Member States and Non-EU countries – EEA countries and countries associated to the Creative Europe Programme (or in the process of finalising the agreement).
• Budget: Max EUR 1 800 000 per project (lump sum grant, funding rate of 40%)
• Deadline: 26 August 2021
• More information: Call for proposals CREA-CULT-2021-PECE

The AER Project Unit is willing to support potential applicants and co-applicants interested in one of the calls above. If you would like our support, contact the European Projects Manager Birgit Sandu!

Picture by Timon Klauser, Unsplash