Uphold culture in the EU budget

Culture Action Europe and its members recognise the unprecedented effort to put together the biggest EU budget of all times, but we note that the new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) reduces funding for Creative Europe, the only EU programme dedicated to culture.

So, despite its historic relevance, the revised MFF proposal presented by the European Commission on 27 May is unambitious for culture. Member States now have the opportunity to show that a forward-looking strategy for a Europe of tomorrow does not leave culture and its ecosystem behind.

Ahead of the European Council meeting on 19 June, we call on the Member States to:

1. Double the budget of Creative Europe to 2,6 billion euros, as the core programme for reinforcing European cultural cooperation. (#Double4Culture).
2. Make sure that the additional funds stemming from the Next Generation EU initiative, such as REACT-EU, reach cultural operators.

There will be no real recovery for Europe if culture is left behind. We invite you to endorse the statement.