EU indie producers' 'serious concerns' over proposals to replace Creative Europe

Independent European producers have issued a powerful joint statement to express concerns over AgoraEU, the European Commission’s proposed replacement for the Creative Europe programme.

The statement, signed by 24 influential independent European producer groups, describes the AgoraEU proposals, published earlier this summer, as “a risky turning point for the future of independent audiovisual creation in Europe”.

Among the signatories are the European Producers Club (EPC), Eurocinema, CEPI, Italy’s APA, Germany’s Prog, France’s L’ARP and Switzerland’s SFP. The statement was published during the San Sebastian Film Festival.

The proposed AgoraEU programme will be backed by a €8.6bn ($10bn) budget over seven years from 2028-36, up from Creative Europe’s current €2.5bn for 2021-27.

But its funding scope is much wider, encompassing the EU’s Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme as well as support for the news media. 

AgoraEU’s proposed Media+ strand, which effectively replaces the Creative Europe Media programme, comes with a proposed €3.2bn budget to support the EU’s struggling news media on top of its traditional backing for film and audiovisual content.

Strong statement

The producers’ statement said the Commission’s ambition to increase the budget, strengthen the media ecosystem, support pluralism, press freedom, and the fight against disinformation deserves recognition.

However, the new Media+ strand raises serious concerns for the future of independent European audiovisual creation, they said.

“The proposed reform strays significantly from the founding spirit of the Creative Europe Media programme, a European success story over the past three decades and a cornerstone in protecting cultural diversity and independent creation,” said the statement. “The programme appears now downgraded into a “specific objective” of a much larger programme with an extended scope, that threatens its clarity.”

The European producer groups have outlined four specific concerns. First, they highlight weakened support for independent productions, describing the removal of the independence criterion as alarming. “Media has always been dedicated to supporting independent productions. Its absence in the AgoraEU proposal risks directing funding to subsidiaries of broadcasters and platforms, including non-European ones. This choice directly threatens the diversity of works and the competitiveness of small and medium-sized production companies.”

The groups also flagged “unclear budget and shifting priorities” in the AgoraEU proposals.

“The budget for the support to the European audiovisual creation and circulation is not specified nor guaranteed and it is merged with the funding for News media. This creates uncertainty and undermines predictability for the sector. By mixing support for audiovisual creation with political objectives linked to news and the fight against disinformation, Media+ blurs its mission, to the detriment of clarity and its impact on the audiovisual sector.”

Third, the producer groups said the AgoraEU proposals open doors to non-European entities. “Allowing third-country entities to benefit from funding undermines cultural sovereignty and exposes the sector to further market concentration in favour of global giants.”

Fourth, the statement expressed concern about “complex and opaque governance” within the AgoraEU proposals, citing the absence of mechanisms to consult Member States and stakeholders, and the centralisation of decisions within the European Commission’s hands. It also states that a lack of detail on the different support schemes limits transparency and accountability in future programme implementation.

The producer groups have set out four of their own proposals to “ensure Media+ meets its ambitions and promotes Europe’s cultural diversity.”

• Reinstate the criteria of independence as a mandatory condition for support.
• Strictly separate funding for the audiovisual sector from funding for news and the fight against disinformation, ensuring clarity and dedicated budgets.
• Restrict access to funding for companies from non-associated, non-European countries.
• Reintroduce annexes specifying different support objectives, in order to provide the sector with predictability and sectoral stability.

Producers reaction

Julie-Jeanne Regnault, the managing director of the European Producers Club, told Screen that her members welcome the ambition of AgoraEU and the European Commission’s willingness to give more resources to culture and the creative sectors in the future budget. 

“When we first saw the AgoraEU, we were reassured to see that the European Commission proposed a stand-alone programme covering culture and creative sectors, with a stronger budget,” said Regnault.

“However, looking more closely, we cannot hide our concerns. The Media programme which will celebrate its 35th anniversary in 2026, has been an EU success story and a quality label for so many European works and projects. It is now being diluted and is merged with support to news media and journalism.”

Regnault noted that AgoraEU’s Culture strand gets a strong increased envelope, up 115% compared to 2021-2027, but there is currently no specific budget line provided for the support to the film and audiovisual sector.

“In addition, the draft no longer mentions the support to independent producers. Yet it is precisely independent producers who stand at the heart of the three main AgoraEU’s objectives: contributing to cultural diversity, competitiveness, and democracy.”

“We are ready to work with the EU institutions to improve the draft and bring greater clarity and predictability,” said Regnault. “With this joint statement, European Independent producers’ associations stand united in their determination to improve AgoraEU so that it can fully deliver on its ambitions.”

This story originally appeared on out sister site Screen