Europe’s cultural diversity is expressed particularly clearly through the arts. Arts and culture are also spawning grounds for talent and innovation, generating billions of Euros every year directly and indirectly for the EU economy through performance, sales and tourism, while also creating jobs.

Apart from larger state-funded institutions, however, most European arts organizations and venues are run as small and medium-sized enterprises, which are the backbone of our economy. The European Commission’s Creative Europe programme aims to support these organisations in the sustainable use of their resources so that they can continue to create opportunities for employment and promote solidarity.

An economy that works for people – one of the core priorities of the European Commission – also means striving for greater equality, whether between women and men, old and young, east and west, or north and south. The Creative Europe programme has a key role to play in this respect, both by encouraging good practice in the arts world and by supporting innovative ways to bring the arts to new and wider audiences.