Moldova officially joins Creative Europe

The Republic of Moldova has officially joined Creative Europe, thus becoming the forty-first country participating in the European Union’s flagship programme which supports the cultural and creative sectors.

Since 1 January 2026, Moldovan organisations, artists, and cultural professionals are eligible to participate in the actions published under the Culture strand of the current programme, benefiting from EU funding on equal terms with peers across Europe.

The Republic of Moldova has already been associated with Creative Europe in the previous programme period (2014-2020). The country’s re-association to the programme was made possible by an agreement signed on 2 September 2025 during Commissioner Glenn Micallef’s visit to the Republic of Moldova and ratified by the country in mid-December 2025.

The association agreement also foresees the Republic of Moldova’s future participation in Creative Europe’s MEDIA strand and full participation in the Cross-Sectorial strand, once the country’s audiovisual legislation is fully aligned with the EU’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive. The European Commission is supporting the Republic of Moldova in its efforts to achieve this alignment as soon as possible.

Background

Creative Europe plays a key role in strengthening Europe’s cultural and creative sectors. With a current budget of €2.44 billion, it supports thousands of projects and professionals promoting cross-border cooperation, artistic mobility, and cultural diversity.

Since 2014, the programme has been supporting projects to foster cultural diversity, promote artistic expression, and boost the economic potential of the creative industries. As well as EU countries, the Creative Europe programme (2021-2027) is open to the participation of third countries, such as candidate countries.