Leading European film and TV organisations have sharply criticised proposals to cut 30% from the budget of the new AgoraEU cultural fund, saying it would be “devastating” for the cinema and audiovisual sectors.
Plans to cut the AgoraEU budget from €8.6bn to €6bn were outlined this week by the Irish Presidency of the European Union as part of ongoing negotiations for future spending by the 27-country bloc. Ireland has put forward an overall 8% cut to the EU’s total budget for 2028 to 2034 to €1.7tn.
AgoraEU, the proposed new EU programme for culture, media and democracy, would be among the hardest hit by the proposed cuts.
Under the current proposal, AgoraEU’s new Media+ programme for 2028-2034 would receive €2.23bn, compared with €2.44bn allocated to the current Creative Europe Media programme – the EU’s main fund for the film and TV sectors – which runs 2019-2027.
The Media+ programme will effectively replace the Media programme; however, it had already become the focus of industry concern because of the widening of its funding scope – it will also be tasked with supporting the EU’s struggling news media as well as its traditional focus on the film and TV industry.
The proposed cuts to culture spend come amid pressure on the EU budget, with the Commission, the EU’s executive body, arguing that the bloc needs to spend more on defence and boosting European competitiveness.
In a statement, the film and TV organisations, which span film production, sales, distribution and exhibition, said: “A 30% cut to the Commission’s proposal would be devastating for the operators of the sectors falling under the future AgoraEU: in particular, in a context of higher costs, it would jeopardise European cinema and audiovisual operators’ capacity to create, reach audiences across EU borders and project European stories across the world in a competitive marketplace, while they are responding to the dual environmental and digital transitions.”
The statement added: “We recognise the pressure on public finances and the difficult choices facing governments. But these constraints cannot justify disproportionately cutting investment in Europe’s cultural diversity, audiovisual competitiveness and democratic resilience.”
The Irish Presidency has also proposed cuts to other programmes, including 10% from Horizon Europe and 13% from the European Competitiveness Fund.
Even with the suggested cuts, the Irish proposal still marks a 30% increase over the bloc’s total current budget of around €1.2tn, which runs from 2021 to 2027.
An agreement on the new budget is expected to be reached by the end of the year. France, Spain and Poland are among the countries openly opposing the proposed cuts, while others such as Germany are pushing for further reductions.
The statement is signed by the Audiovisual Training Coalition (ATC); Central and Eastern Europe Animation (CEE Animation); CEPI (European Audiovisual Production Association); CICAE (International Confederation of Arthouse Cinemas); Collective of Film Festivals; EPC (European Producers Club); Eurocinema; Europa Distribution; Europa International (Association of European Film Sales Agents); FERA (Federation of European Screen Directors); FIAD (International Federation of Film Distributors’ and Publishers’ Associations); FIAPF (International Federation of Film Producers Associations); FSE (Federation of Screenwriters in Europe); IVF (International Video Federation); SAA (Society of Audiovisual Authors); and UNIC (International Union of Cinemas).
In a linked move, the organisations have also protested €31.6m in planned cuts to Creative Europe’s 2027 budget, the final year of the programme, including €23.2m from Media.
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