Creative Europe is the European Commission's flagship program to support the cultural and creative sectors. It has a budget of €2.44 billion for 2021-2027, nearly double the previous period. The program is divided into two main strands - Culture and MEDIA - plus a cross-sectoral strand. The Culture strand supports cross-border cooperation projects, European networks, platforms for emerging artists, and initiatives in sectors like music, books, and cultural heritage. The MEDIA strand focuses on strengthening the European audiovisual industry through development funding, distribution support, and training programs. Key priorities include fostering artistic creation, promoting European works, supporting artist mobility, and stimulating the digital and green transitions in cultural sectors. The program aims to safeguard cultural diversity while boosting the economic potential of creative industries. Typical grants range from €60,000 to €2 million for cooperation projects. Eligibility is open to cultural organizations from EU member states and some non-EU countries. Selection criteria emphasize European added value, quality of content and activities, dissemination, and project management. Recent beneficiaries include pan-European music platform Liveurope, literature translation project Versopolis, and film distribution initiative Europa Cinemas. The program also funds prizes like the EU Prize for Literature and European Heritage Awards.
Creative Europe could potentially support the development of the European Housing Cooperative (EHC) through its Culture strand, which aims to promote cross-border cooperation and mobility for cultural and creative actors. The most relevant program for EHC would likely be the Cooperation Projects action, which supports transnational cultural cooperation projects involving cultural and creative organizations from different countries. This could help EHC build partnerships across Europe and develop its pan-European cooperative housing model. Creative Europe also offers support for networks and platforms that facilitate transnational cooperation and exchange of practices. EHC could potentially benefit from joining or creating such a network focused on cooperative housing initiatives across Europe. Additionally, the Cross-sectoral strand of Creative Europe supports innovative approaches to content creation and distribution across cultural sectors. This could potentially fund technological or organizational innovations that EHC aims to implement. While not directly comparable, Creative Europe has funded projects related to urban development, sustainable living, and social inclusion. For example, it supported the "Urban Alternatives" project exploring collaborative city-making and the "Co-Create" initiative on participatory arts and urban communities. To maximize chances of support, EHC should emphasize its goals of fostering European cooperation, mobility, and innovative approaches to housing challenges aligned with EU priorities.