02/05/2013 - What's the contribution of the Creative Europe program to culture economy?

This year, Cineuropa is associated with the Forum d'Avignon for a white card on "creation, Europe's engine ?". Through unique discussions the Forum d’Avignon aims at strengthening the links between culture and the economy, suggesting subjects for reflection at global, European and local levels.

What's the contribution of the Creative Europe program to culture economy?

Europe have understood that it must invest more in the culture and creative sector from now to 2020, because this sector contributes in an important way to its growth, employment, innovation and social cohesion. Investing in culture is what the EU will do for the next seven years, thanks to its new program  "Creative Europe", that shall be ready in early 2014. Creative Europe aims to boost cultural and creative sectors, that represent today 4.5% of the European GDP and about 3.8% EU working population,  that is 8.5 million of people (EU Observer -11.05.12). During the last years 1/5 of new employments in London were in creative industries. Cities as Amsterdam, Berlin, Milan, Rome or Madrid present comparable figures.

Budget proposed by creative Europe is €1.8 million for the 2014-2020 period, of which €900 million would help cinema and audiovisual sector and around €500 million are attributed to culture. It will be an overall 34% rising compared to current expenses. Moreover, and it's a Creative Europe novelty, €210 million will be used as guarantee funds in order to allow small operators to have new facilities in finincing.

Practically, in some figures,  Creative Europe will be 300 000 artists, more than 1000 European films, 2500 cinemas and 5500 books that will receive European subventions. Creative Europe will financially encourage territorial and international development, trough the creation of thousands of cultural organizations and European professionals, in order to acquire new skills and reinforce their capacities to work together beyond national frontiers.

Concerning a new audience is also one of the targets of this program that's meant to be economically productive.  Thus, opening to new markets, the digital adaptation and the new audiences research, are part of the project that wants Creative Europe to be an economic driving force for creative industries. Growth, employment and development are the words that will be related to cultural and creative sectors. Millions of citizens would be touched by the projects financed by this program.

This being said, reality is a little different. First, among all the discussions concerning the budget; the Ministers Counsel wants to reduce the amount to €1.5million. Such reduction, used for the three sectors, would penalize the three of them. Indeed, as the cultural sector is diverse (cinema and crafts have completely different production methods, for instance), each sector has its own needs and priorities. Making no difference between design and music or between documentaries and architecture would penalize some of them and help the others. That's why Parliament insists in keeping Creative Europe as a super-program , subdivided in three levels whose allowances would be previously defined and that would match with each sector needs. At the present time, Parliament is fighting to avoid this reduction and getting the €1.8 million amount, which still low.

In spite of everything, culture and audiovisuals have more revenues than Creative Europe subventions. These sectors are totally part of nowadays markets, they're everywhere and in touch with various sectors as economy or technology. This way, requested cultural projects can be financed by other funds than Creative Europe's one. Structural funds, for example, which amount raises to €278 billion, have already grant more than €6 billion, that is 1.7% of the total budget, to cultural projects.

Nevertheless, for about 20 years, MEDIA, Media mundus & Culture have been at the hearth of many success financings. In France, financing is not an exception. The MEDIA program, for example, financed more than 30% of La Rochelle Film Festival and The Mediterranean Film Festival of Montpellier. Culture program also have great figures. Last year, 29/72 projects were accepted, what makes France, with 11%  of projects granted, a leader in cultural projects financing. Creative Europe has definitively to show results as auspicious. 

The Forum d’Avignon aims at strengthening the links between culture and the economy, suggesting subjects for reflection at global, European and local levels. The Forum d’Avignon was created after the ratification of the UNESCO convention on cultural diversity, and since its beginning, has been backed by the French Ministry of Culture and Communication. Each year the Forum organizes, with its partners, international meetings which provide opportunities for unique discussions and exchanges between actors from the worlds of culture, the creative industries, the economy and the media.