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Culture Action Europe warns new EU budget proposes drastic funding cuts for Creative Europe

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- The European cultural network is launching a call to support funding for the European cultural sector

Culture Action Europe warns new EU budget proposes drastic funding cuts for Creative Europe

Culture Action Europe, the major European network of cultural networks, organisations, artists, activists, academics and policymakers, is warning professionals about the funding cuts the new EU budget proposes for Creative Europe, and launching a call against them. The future of Creative Europe 2021-27 is currently in the hands of the EU Heads of State and governments that will meet in Brussels on 12-13 December.

"Culture Action Europe had a look at the new negotiation box, which contains more detailed figures prepared by the Finnish Council Presidency. While the document details only allocations to budget headings rather than specific programmes, suggested cuts to programmes under the 'Cohesion and Values' Heading will seriously affect the amount previously proposed for the Creative Europe programme by the European Commission", explains the network in a note.

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The Commission had proposed a 17% overall increase to the Creative Europe budget in May 2018, from €1.403 million (2014-2020) to €1.642 million (2021-2027). As the overall figure for the EU budget proposed by the Finnnish presidency is lower than the Commission's proposal (€1087 bn vs €1134 bn), allocations to each of the respective Headings will also be smaller. Thus far, funding for Heading 2 "Cohesion and Values", which includes the Creative Europe programme, is proposed to be cut by €17.918 million, or 4.6%. "This may have serious implications for Creative Europe and its culture sub-programme, hindering the impact of an already deeply underfunded programme", says the network.

According to CAE, "today, Creative Europe represents a mere 0,15% of the overall EU Budget. This is by no means proportionate to the sectors' contribution to the EU economy, which contributes €509 bn in value added to GDP and over 12 million full-time jobs (7.5 % of the EU's workforce). During these difficult negotiations, the European Parliament has stood firm with the cultural and creative sectors, upholding their November 2018 proposal to double the current budget available for culture from €1.4 bn to €2.8 bn. The rapporteur for Creative Europe in the CULT Committee announced he will halt negotiations with the Council unless more reasonable figures come out of the European Council meeting on Thursday, 12 December. The European Parliament Committee on Culture and Education (CULT Committee) has promised to not let the let the Council decide on the future of culture in Europe without a good, democratic fight - and neither will the cultural sector."

CAE is urgently calling on their members, partners and all cultural stakeholders to put pressure on their Ministers of Culture, Finance and Foreign Affairs and ask for doubling of the EU culture budget by sending this letter. You can also lend your support for the cultural sector to prosper through a reinforced Creative Europe budget and recognition of culture's wide impact by signing this petition.

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