The Council agrees on a partial mandate to promote culture, the media and democratic values

The Council has agreed its position on the main elements of the new AgoraEU programme for the promotion of culture, the media and civil society in Europe. The programme will be included in the next multiannual financial framework (MFF), which will run from 2028 to 2034.

The AgoraEU programme aims to promote common values such as democracy, equality and the rule of law. It will contribute to Europe’s cultural diversity and its cultural and creative sectors, including the audiovisual sector and the news media, safeguard artistic and media freedom, and promote active citizenship. The negotiating position adopted today is ‘partial’ because it excludes financial and horizontal issues, which are currently being discussed in the context of the MFF negotiations.

“Today’s agreement marks an important step towards strengthening Europe’s cultural and democratic fabric. Thanks to AgoraEU, our cultural and creative sectors will have the tools they need to thrive, whilst safeguarding the values upon which our Union is built, from artistic freedom to active citizenship.” – Vasiliki Kassianidou, Deputy Minister for Culture of the Republic of Cyprus

The AgoraEU programme

The AgoraEU programme aims to strengthen culture, the media and civic participation in order to boost the resilience of European democracies. It builds on the achievements of existing programmes, such as the Creative Europe programme and the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme.

The programme is structured around three main strands:

• ‘Creative Europe: Culture’, which will contribute to cross-border creation and cooperation in the cultural sector;
• ‘MEDIA’, which will help to promote the diversity and competitiveness of the audiovisual and video game industries, as well as supporting free and independent journalism and media;
• ‘CERV’, which will promote fundamental rights and equality, prevent discrimination, boost democratic participation and foster the rule of law.

The Council’s position

The Council’s position on the AgoraEU Programme Regulation maintains the ambition of the Commission’s proposal and, furthermore, clarifies certain key aspects of the legislative text, strengthens the role of Member States and takes account of national differences in areas such as the audiovisual media.

Cultural and creative sectors

The Council has introduced a new definition of ‘cultural and creative sectors’ which sets out the main characteristics of the sectors covered by the ‘Creative Europe: Culture’ strand and includes a non-exhaustive list of relevant sectors.

To help promote actions across all cultural and creative sectors covered by the programme, the Council’s position provides for an approach better suited to sectors such as music, publishing and libraries, which share common needs and face specific challenges. The actions envisaged include cultural awards and peer-learning activities.

The Council’s mandate also places greater emphasis on the dual nature of the cultural and creative sectors, recognising both their intrinsic and artistic value and their economic contribution to growth, innovation and competitiveness, whilst promoting cultural diversity, strengthening the media and the information space, and contributing to an inclusive, democratic and rights-based society.

AgoraEU offices

The Commission’s proposal provides for the creation of offices, i.e. independent bodies that each EU country may set up to provide guidance and assistance regarding funding opportunities and cross-border collaboration.

The Council’s mandate clarifies and expands on the concept, referring to them as ‘AgoraEU offices’. It also specifies the type of support they will provide and ensures they have adequate resources. Furthermore, it outlines their functions, such as promoting the AgoraEU programme, training those applying to participate in the programme, and sharing best practices.

A level playing field for the audiovisual sector

Given that conditions differ across EU Member States, the Council’s mandate clarifies that, in implementing the objective for the audiovisual sector, the specific characteristics of each country must be taken into account in areas such as production and distribution, access to content, market size, and cultural and linguistic diversity. The aim is to encourage greater participation and collaboration from all countries, regardless of their audiovisual capabilities, and thus contribute to a more level playing field.

Supporting creativity in the digital age

Reflecting the impact that digital innovations are having on the cultural and creative sectors, particularly artificial intelligence, the Council’s position emphasises that human creativity must remain irreplaceable. It specifies that the ethical, sustainable and responsible use of artificial intelligence, as well as other innovative tools, must be promoted, for example by fostering the protection of cultural and creative data.

The mandate also stipulates that the AgoraEU programme must support the use of digital technologies in the cultural and creative sectors, including the development of audiovisual and media platforms and technologies that promote cultural and linguistic diversity and democracy.

AgoraEU Committee

In order to strengthen the role of EU countries during the implementation phase of the AgoraEU programme, the Council mandate provides for the creation of an ‘AgoraEU Committee’. The Committee will be composed of representatives from each Member State and will meet to discuss and vote on specific matters relating to the various strands of the programme.

Next steps

The partial negotiating position adopted today constitutes the Council’s mandate to begin negotiations with the European Parliament on the AgoraEU programme regulation. The decision on the programme’s budget for the period 2028–2034 will depend on the final agreement on the next MFF.

Background

The proposal for a Regulation establishing the new AgoraEU programme for culture, the media and civil society was published on 16 July 2025, in the context of the MFF for the period 2028–2034. It allocates €8.6 billion in funding with the aim of:

• promote cultural and linguistic diversity and heritage;
• enhance the competitiveness of the cultural and creative sectors;
• safeguard artistic and media freedom;
• protect and promote equality, active citizenship, rights and values.

As the proposed Regulation forms part of the package of proposals linked to the MFF, all provisions in the text with budgetary implications or corresponding to elements forming part of the horizontal negotiations on the MFF have been placed in square brackets and are therefore excluded from the partial general approach pending progress on the MFF. These provisions concern Recital 4 (financial envelope), Recital 30 (implementation in accordance with the applicable rules of the InvestEU instrument of the European Competitiveness Fund), Recital 31 (budgetary guarantee or financial instrument), recital 35 (compliance with the Performance Regulation), recital 40 (duration), Article 1 (duration), Article 11 (budget) and Article 15 (budgetary guarantee or financial instrument).

More information: European Council.