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Culture and creativity are not only a spiritual treasure but also an economic force. Europe's cultural and creative industries provide millions of jobs and generate a significant share of GDP. The Creative Europe programme is the EU's main instrument for supporting this sector, offering grants of up to €2 million for international cultural projects.

Programme Structure

Creative Europe consists of two main components and one cross-sectoral strand. The "Culture" component supports projects in visual and performing arts, literature, music, design, architecture, and cultural heritage. The "MEDIA" component focuses on the audiovisual sector — film, television, video games, and new media.

The cross-sectoral strand supports innovative projects at the intersection of culture, technology, and media, as well as news media development and media literacy. Each component has its own competitive calls with separate requirements and budgets.

European Cooperation Projects — The Flagship Direction

The most accessible and popular direction of the programme is European Cooperation Projects. These grants are designed for joint projects by cultural organisations from different European countries and are offered at three scales.

Small-Scale projects unite a minimum of three organisations from three programme-participating countries, with grants of up to €200 thousand. Medium-Scale projects require at least five partners from five countries and receive up to €1 million. Large-Scale projects encompass no fewer than ten organisations from ten countries with funding of up to €2 million.

Who Can Participate?

The programme is open to a wide range of organisations: theatres, museums, galleries, festivals, publishers, design studios, architectural firms, music labels, media companies, and many others. The main requirement is that the organisation must be a legal entity registered in one of the Creative Europe participating countries.

It is important to note that the programme supports not only non-profit organisations but also business in the cultural sector. Creative companies — from animation studios to architectural firms — can certainly qualify for funding if their project includes a significant element of international cultural cooperation.

What Can You Get a Grant For?

Creative Europe funds an incredibly broad spectrum of activities. International exhibitions and festivals, joint artistic residencies, development of innovative digital tools for culture, promotion of literary translations, creation of multimedia projects — this is just part of what the programme supports.

Special priority in recent years has been given to projects related to the digitalisation of culture, improving accessibility of cultural content, working with youth audiences, and developing sustainable models in creative industries.

2026 Deadline

For the European Cooperation Projects 2026 call, the application deadline is 5 May 2026. This provides sufficient time for consortium formation and proposal preparation, but work should not be delayed. Finding international partners and coordinating a joint project is a process requiring active communication and planning.

The MEDIA component and cross-sectoral strand have their own deadlines, published on the Funding & Tenders portal.

Why Should You Apply?

Beyond the obvious financial benefit, participating in Creative Europe gives an organisation access to an international network of partners, increases its visibility at the European level, and opens doors for future joint projects. Many organisations that have received a Creative Europe grant report significant audience growth and strengthened international connections.

For commercial companies in the creative sector, it is also an opportunity to enter new markets, test a product with an international audience, and gain recognition at the European Union level.