The European Union's Creative Europe program, the main funding instrument supporting the cultural and creative sectors, is set to continue its strong commitment to the industry in 2025 with an increased budget of almost €340 million. This marks a notable rise from the over €320 million allocated in 2024, reflecting the EU's ongoing prioritisation of these vital sectors. While consolidating and building upon the actions implemented since the start of the 2021-2027 Creative Europe Programme, the 2025 iteration will delve deeper into integrating green, digital, and social inclusion aspects across its three main strands – Culture, MEDIA, and Cross-Sectoral.
In the culture strand, In 2024, the programme had separate calls for 'Transnational creation and circulation' and 'Innovation' objectives. In 2025, this has been streamlined to just two overarching objectives. The 2025 call will also place greater emphasis on the greening dimension and fair working conditions for artists and cultural professionals when evaluating proposals.
Among others, there will be funding for around 35 European Networks of Cultural and Creative Organisations, 15 European Platforms for Emerging Artists, and four Pan-European Cultural Entities. In a more sectoral approach, targeted support will be provided to the books and publishing sector, including enhancing the Circulation of European Literary Works funding and organising the Day of European Authors. Likewise, initiatives for the cultural heritage sector, such as the EU Prize for Cultural Heritage, will continue and EU the Prize for Jewish Cultural Heritage will be introduced. Dedicated programmes for the music sector (EU Prize for Contemporary Music) and performing arts (Perform Europe) will also enhance the sectoral approach.
On the level of policy, strategic cooperation with international organisations like the Council of Europe and ICCROM on areas like combating cultural goods trafficking will continue. Procurement funding for policy dialogue, stakeholder engagement, and knowledge-sharing activities will also be central to EU initiatives this year.
Greening
One of the standout areas of focus for Creative Europe in 2025 is sustainability and alignment with the EU's broader climate objectives under the European Green Deal. Last year, a significant portion of the budget—approximately 30%—was allocated to support climate objectives. In the upcoming year, the Commission will continue to prioritise measures that can be effectively and efficiently incorporated into Creative Europe's actions to foster a greener and more sustainable mindset within the cultural and creative industries.
This could include incentives for reducing carbon footprints, adopting circular economy principles, and exploring renewable energy solutions for cultural venues and productions.
Alongside the green transition, the digital transformation of the cultural and creative sectors has emerged as a key priority for Creative Europe in 2025. The program will seek to harness the power of data, digital tools, and even artificial intelligence to enhance the production, distribution, and accessibility of European cultural and audiovisual content.
Through the existing successful support actions, Creative Europe aims to equip cultural operators with the skills and technologies needed to thrive in an increasingly digital landscape. This could involve funding for digitization projects, immersive content development, and innovative digital marketing and audience engagement strategies.
In the MEDIA strand, the funding schemes saw several adaptations last year, including allowing companies to apply to more than one development call per year and changing eligibility criteria to incentivize larger projects in video games and immersive content. In 2025 the programme will also establish a "MediaInvest" blending facility to foster greater investment in European audiovisual productions and distribution.
Grants for European co-development will be introduced, along with slate development and mini-slate development schemes. There will also be grants for video games/immersive content development, TV and online content, skills and Talent Development, and MEDIA 360°.
Expanded support for journalism partnerships, media pluralism monitoring, and a rapid response mechanism for media freedom are the new elements introduced in the Cross-sectional strand. Creative Europe will offer grants for projects related to media freedom, pluralism, and literacy—areas that have taken on heightened importance.
The program's commitment to strengthening international relations and supporting Ukraine in the wake of Russia's invasion will continue in 2025. Creative Europe will maintain its dedicated funding for initiatives on the ground in Ukraine, fostering collaboration between Ukrainian and EU creative organisations.
Furthermore, as of 2025, Ukraine will fully participate in the MEDIA strand of the program, allowing Ukrainian professionals and companies to access a wider range of funding and networking opportunities. In addition to the continued support for existing actions, the 2025 Creative Europe Work Programme will introduce several new initiatives, including calls to support Ukrainian cultural sectors and select consortia for the “Day of European Authors” and “Culture Moves Europe” projects.
You can download the full 2025 Creative Europe report here
Image: The European Commission
