Fælles udtalelse fra en samlet kreativ europæisk branche vedr. Europa-Kommissions Creative Europe-program

European Film and Audiovisual Sector Joint Statement of Concern Regarding the Proposed Policy shift of the Creative Europe MEDIA sub-programme, June 2024

Regarding the mid-term evaluation of the Creative Europe Programme 2021-2027, the ongoing preparation of the Creative Europe 2025 Work Programme, and preceding the Creative Europe Management committee on 9 July, European (and national) organisations across the entire European film and audiovisual sector value chain would like to underline the Creative Europe Programme’s pivotal role, particularly the MEDIA strand, in supporting and promoting Europe’s culture on a global scale, encouraging cultural exchange, artistic freedom, diverse creative voices and independent entrepreneurship across the continent. We are concerned that the European Commission seems to be steering the Creative Europe programme towards an increased prioritisation of industrial objectives, benefitting a limited number of large players and the digital transformation with a particular focus on the integration with AI and virtual worlds. In doing so, the programme seems to be drifting away from its core cultural objectives that are critical to the distinctiveness and competitiveness of the film and audiovisual sector in Europe as a whole. 

We therefore:

• Urge the European Commission and the Member States to preserve the core objectives of the MEDIA sub-programme and ensure that the “intrinsic and artistic value of culture” remain “at the heart of the programme”1 by supporting and promoting cultural diversity, the circulation of European works, artistic collaboration, co-production, the strengthening of the independent European film and audiovisual sector and its SMEs, the continuous training of its professionals and European cooperation across the value chain – all these elements are essential to preserve the sector’s competitiveness.
• Call on the European Commission and Member States to secure the already limited budget of Creative Europe MEDIA for the essential activities that constitute its core cultural and artistic impact.
• Suggest to apply alternative EU funding schemes and create programmes designed to specifically and impactfully target the necessary adaptation of the film and audiovisual sector to digital and technological advancement. The Creative Europe MEDIA budget is too limited to integrate additional actions proposed as part of the current shift of policy objectives.
• Request the European Commission to engage in a regular, transparent and structured dialogue with film and audiovisual stakeholders across the value chain engaged in fostering culture and artistic creation, cinema, independent film and audiovisual companies and diversity while, at the same time, ensuring a sustainable and competitive film and audiovisual ecosystem in all Member States.
• Invite the European Commission to take into account the European Parliament’s recommendations and perspectives laid down in its Resolution 2023/2003 (INI) adopted on 16 January 2024.

1. Creative Europe – core values and principles

• As stated by the European Parliament, “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”. In budgetary terms, Creative Europe is one of the smallest EU-funded programmes, despite the European Parliament’s efforts to ensure a budget increase in 2021-2027 (with a total of EUR 2.44 billion compared with EUR 1.47 billion in 2014-2020). This significant increase aimed to re-enforce the existing highly performing schemes, which are nevertheless still extremely competitive.
• The MEDIA sub-programme, which has a secured share of 58% of the Creative Europe budget, is one of the European Union’s success stories thanks to a consistent strategy pursued over the years. The essence of MEDIA is to foster culture, cinema, independent film and audiovisual companies and cultural diversity, while at the same time ensuring a sustainable and competitive film and audiovisual ecosystem, mixing large players and a solid ecosystem of SMEs, thus ensuring the competitiveness of European audiovisual products. MEDIA will celebrate its 35th anniversary in 2026 and has always been paramount in allowing the audiovisual and film sectors to thrive, in Europe and beyond.
• We, organisations representing all segments of the European film value-chain, would like to voice our concerns on the planned policy changes for the MEDIA strand and proposed shifts focusing on supporting a few “champions” as well as digital and technological innovation (such as AI, XR, Metaverse), away from its essence that has come to define the Creative Europe MEDIA programme since its inception: striking a balance between economic and cultural objectives. We believe that this balance remains essential today. These twin objectives represent two sides of the same coin: by uniting and placing the intrinsic and diverse artistic value of culture at their core, they ensure the competitiveness of the entire European film and audiovisual sector. 
• We, the undersigned, therefore hold that it is crucial to ensure that the Creative Europe MEDIA programme retains its focus on supporting the cultural dimension of the film and audiovisual sector and its stakeholders. The MEDIA budget’s current size will not allow the introduction of new actions without hindering existing actions that are already underfunded. This concern is exacerbated by the severe impact of persistent inflation which cannot be addressed adequately by the programme, due to the fact that a third of its budget has been frontloaded into 2021 and 2022 to tackle various challenges, including those arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Digital and technological evolutions should of course be taken into consideration in various calls. However, a total shift prioritising technological innovation only (and one defined with a very narrow scope) and experimentations would be better served through a separate and dedicated larger EU programme (similar to, or potentially under the Horizon Europe and/or Digital Europe umbrellas), than a complete refocus of the essence of the MEDIA programme. Furthermore our sector is facing more challenges than just technological ones, such as greening the film and audiovisual sector. The programme integrates more and more coverable actions, and we must be mindful of the consequences of diluting the programme’s core objectives and its impact.

2. Planned policy shift for Creative Europe MEDIA subprogramme

• We are well aware that technological innovation and tools, in particular Artificial Intelligence (AI), are reshaping the film and audiovisual sector. Implementing technological innovation has always been an integral part of the work of our members along the length of the value chain in development, training & skills, creation, production, distribution, festivals, exhibition and heritage. Our organisations, the individual professionals and companies we represent, are embracing new technologies in their daily operations. The initiatives and activities that we have implemented have furthermore proven our sector to be progressive and innovative and provide measurable results.
• For some years now, the MEDIA programme has integrated an ever-wider focus on XR, Metaverse, AI and video games in content creation, production, distribution and exhibition, dedicating part of its limited budget to these specific actions.
• The Creative Innovation Lab scheme (for video games, innovative tools, immersive content, creative innovation lab), currently under the cross-sectorial strand, already comprises a significant budget of more than 6 million EUR per year on average. The same goes for the Innovative Tools and Business Models action, under the MEDIA strand, with a yearly budget of over 15 million EUR. In our view, increased means should be dedicated to up the level playing field and upskill the sectors that are part of the film and audiovisual ecosystem.
• The deployment of new technology supported by Creative Europe must abide by standards ensuring the sustainability of Europe’s cultural diversity: we therefore support the European Parliament’s call to the European Commission to promote a human-centric and transparent use of AI across the cultural and creative sectors.
• In several actions, we notice a shift towards strengthened support for economic champions and new technologies to the detriment of the core principles of the programme. Departing from the original objectives of MEDIA would endanger the sector and diversity as a whole, while also diverting more public funding to big players and sectors that already enjoy the availability of a high number of funding strands (technological innovation) or are less in need of public support. In a radical change of paradigm, the EU would hence leave to the Member States the sole responsibility and duty of promoting a diverse SME marketplace in the EU.
• We are also concerned about the changes in the TV and online content production scheme regarding the criteria related to the ownership of rights by the eligible producer. The film and audiovisual sector as well as the Member States should be closely consulted before any changes are made relating to the definition of independent producer within MEDIA, and we ask the Commission to reinstate the language which was previously deleted.
• Distribution is by essence a very risk-prone sector, hence stability in the dedicated support schemes is essential. Worryingly, the last changes proposed in the 2025 Work Programme would make it more challenging for the beneficiaries of “European Film Distribution” to reinvest in the acquisition of certain titles, de facto reducing the competitiveness of the players – which would clash with the ambition of the scheme. On the other side, the opening of “Films on the Move” to films with a (far) higher budget than the current cap of € 15 M would have the unintended consequence that a handful of higher budgeted films disproportionately benefit from the whole support to the detriment of smaller budget films that need it the most to reach audiences.
• We would like to recall the importance to support cinemas and individual festivals. They remain crucial for the health of the audiovisual ecosystem and committed to promoting independent and arthouse films. This support should be continued at least the same level as previous years.
• Finally, we support the European Parliament’s position stressing that MEDIA does not currently provide adequate support to cultural and professional co-operation in the European film and audiovisual sector as required by its legal basis

3. The way towards a future-proof film and audiovisual sector

• Strengthening the programme for a future-proof independent European film and audiovisual sector is only possible with a focus on MEDIA’s core values and principles and by using the already existing and highly specialised infrastructure of the Programme in order to strategically build on its success and implement innovation. In order to reach this ambition securing a fine balance between cultural and economic objectives is key, since together these determine the sector’s competitiveness.
• In the context of the preparation of the next programme, and in view of the rapid increase of costs across the board, increasing the budget of the programme is essential to retain and increase impact. As highlighted by the European Parliament “the current Creative Europe programme, despite the significantly increased budget for the period 2021-2027, is still oversubscribed; calls on the Commission and the Member States, in this regard, to substantially increase the financial allocation of the Creative Europe programme 2028-2034”.

We thus ask the European Commission to reconsider the proposed changes, to enter into a meaningful dialogue with the sector, to ensure that the programme may continue in the coming years to support schemes that fulfil the scope and mission of the MEDIA programme, and to ensure that it remains anchored in the real world, where audiences, creative talent and professionals are, as well as cinemas and festivals.

Signatories:

ATC – Audiovisual Training Coalition

CEPI – European Coordination of Independent Producers

CICAE – International Confederation of Arthouse Cinemas

EPC – European Producers Club

EUROCINEMA – Association de Producteurs de Cinéma et de Télévision

EUROPA DISTRIBUTION – European Network of Independent Film Publishers and Distributors

EUROPA INTERNATIONAL – European organization for films international distributors

EUROPEAN MARKET ALLIANCE

FERA – Federation of European Screen Directors

FIAD – Federation of Film Distributors’ and Publishers’ Associations

FIAPF – International Federation of Film Producers Associations

FSE – Federation of Screenwriters in Europe

IVF – International Video Federation

SAA – Society of Audiovisual Authors

UNIC – The International Union of Cinemas