Public notebook

Creative Europe 2027: Council proposes €31.6 million cut in the programme's final year

The Council of the European Union has established a negotiating position involving a reduction of 31.6 million euros in Creative Europe commitment appropriations for 2027 relative to the European Commission's draft. It also proposes 10.53 million less in payment appropriations. This is not yet the approved budget: the European Parliament must establish its position and both institutions will be required to negotiate a common text.

The Commission had proposed 417.35 million euros in commitments for the programme. More than two hundred cultural organisations have endorsed a letter coordinated by Culture Action Europe calling for that amount to be restored. The reduction proposed by the Council is distributed across the three strands: 7.8 million in Culture, 23.2 million in MEDIA, and 0.6 million in the cross-sectoral chapter.

Commitments and payments are not the same thing

The budgetary distinction matters. Commitment appropriations allow the EU to enter into legal obligations to finance projects; payment appropriations are used to settle obligations arising from current or previous commitments. A reduction in commitments limits what may be contracted during 2027. A reduction in payments affects the funds available to meet obligations.

Council document 11547/26 proposes both reductions for Creative Europe: 31.6 million in commitments and 10.53 million in payments. Consequently, the debate is not limited to a symbolic figure or a minor accounting adjustment.

Why 2027 matters

Creative Europe is the Union's specific programme for supporting the cultural, creative, and audiovisual sectors. It finances transnational cooperation, networks and platforms, the circulation of works, literary translation, audience development, and audiovisual activities.

2027 is the final year of the 2021-2027 programme. The decision will affect its conclusion and coincides with the negotiation of the 2028-2034 financial framework and AgoraEU, the Commission's proposal to integrate European support for culture, media, and civil society from 2028. I wrote about the portion reserved for culture in that proposal in "Nine cents in every hundred euros".

The fourth cut proposal

Culture Action Europe maintains that this is the fourth financial year of the 2021-2027 cycle in which the Council has proposed reducing Creative Europe relative to the figure put forward by the Commission. Precision is required: these are four proposed cuts, not necessarily four cuts that were ultimately approved.

A similar situation occurred for 2026. The Council proposed reducing 27.56 million euros in commitments and 9.86 million in payments, while the Parliament's Committee on Culture and Education demanded an increase of 20 million in the draft budget amount. These data describe negotiating positions; they do not prove the final effect on each call for proposals.

The position for 2027 does not affect the entire programme equally. MEDIA accounts for 23.2 of the 31.6 million reduction proposed in commitments. A second letter, published on 16 October by audiovisual sector organisations, further demands that this reduction be reversed and that the 15 million increase proposed by the Parliament's Committee on Culture and Education be accepted.

The distance between the signature and the figure

On 18 June 2026, the Presidents of the European Parliament, the Council, and the Commission signed the joint declaration Europe for Culture – Culture for Europe. The text politically commits the three institutions to artistic freedom, the independence of cultural institutions, fair working conditions for artists and professionals, and the sustainability of the cultural and creative sectors. The declaration was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 25 June.

The letter coordinated by Culture Action Europe presents the 2027 budget as the first opportunity to translate that commitment into a budgetary decision.

In my view, that is the crux of the matter. Governments may cite fiscal constraints and the need to preserve margins for unforeseen expenditure; the Council itself employs these arguments to justify its general position. However, if it proposes reducing the only programme specifically dedicated to these sectors mere months after signing a political declaration of support, it must explain the discrepancy between the commitment and the allocation. Without such an explanation, the declaration risks remaining a mere gesture.

What could happen now

As of 18 October 2026, the cut remains open to negotiation. The Parliament's Committee on Budgets has already voted on its amendments to the Council's position, and the plenary is scheduled to establish the parliamentary position during the session from 19 to 22 October.

Should the positions of the Parliament and the Council differ, a twenty-one-day conciliation period will commence, scheduled between 27 October and 16 November. If both institutions agree on a joint text, they must approve it. If they fail to reach an agreement, the Commission will be required to present a new draft budget. The Council's proposed reduction does not apply automatically simply because it forms part of its position.

Those monitoring Creative Europe calls must therefore distinguish between three stages: the Commission's proposal, the Council's position, and the budget ultimately adopted by the two branches of the budgetary authority.

An open conversation

The preceding data are derived from official budgetary documents and organisations' correspondence. The assessment regarding the disparity between political commitments and budgetary allocations is my own.

Should you work with Creative Europe projects or follow these negotiations and wish to clarify any details, you may contact me.