In Brussels, 2026 has begun with the EU’s handling of major geopolitical agendas, tariffs, and trade agreements with other parts of the world. But make no mistake: the EU’s vast legislative machinery continues to run at full speed, and AEC will also in 2026 be focused on seeking influence over the agendas that have consequences for our members.
Creative Europe: Cuts cancelled
Let us begin with a celebration: when the European Commission presented its EU budget for 2026 in the autumn, it included a cut of EUR 27.5 million to Creative Europe. Together with 30 other European cultural organisations and networks, AEC took part in a joint approach to the European Council and national ministers of finance and culture, which – together with the European Parliament – was able to ensure that the cut was taken off the table.
We put forward two main arguments: first, the European Council itself has stated that it considers European artists and cultural professionals to be “an engine of creativity and innovation […] often marked by precarity.” In addition, the mid-term evaluation of the Creative Europe programme shows that the share of approved projects relative to applications continues to decline, and that many high-quality projects are being rejected. The programme’s current resources are therefore already insufficient, and there is no basis for further cuts. Parliament and the Council agreed with this assessment and consequently reinstated the amount.
AEC at The Annual Policy Conversation
The Cultural Deal for Europe initiative was launched by the European Cultural Foundation, Culture Action Europe and Europa Nostra (also as coordinator of the European Heritage Alliance) in November 2020 as a response to the devastating effects of Covid-19 on Europe’s cultural and creative sectors.
Since 2020 The Cultural Deal for Europe has hosted numerous culture organisations and EU top policy makers around an annual event, The Annual Policy Conversation, which will take place on 3rd February in Brussels. AEC will be present and participate in the discussion with Commissioner Glenn Micallef and CULT Committee Chair Nela Riehl on the financing of the AgoraEU programme (the successor of Creative Europe) and how the key European challenges can be addressed in the Culture Compass for Europe. As the Cultural Compass was described in detail in the November 2025 newsletter, here are more details on the AgoraEU proposal.
AgoraEU: opportunity or risk for culture and music education?
As part of its proposal for the EU’s next long-term budget (MFF 2028–2034), the European Commission has proposed a new programme called AgoraEU. The programme would become the EU’s main funding instrument for culture, media, civil society and democratic values.
AgoraEU brings together major parts of the current Creative Europe programme and the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme into a single framework. The Commission’s stated aim is to simplify EU funding and strengthen links between culture, democracy and media freedom.
What will AgoraEU fund?
The proposal foresees three strands:
- Culture, continuing support for cultural and creative sectors, artistic freedom, diversity, heritage, international cooperation and mobility;
- MEDIA+, supporting the audiovisual sector and media freedom;
- Democracy, Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV+), supporting civil society, participation and fundamental rights.
For the cultural sector, including Higher Music Education, the Culture strand is the most directly relevant – but its position within a much broader programme raises important questions.
How much money is at stake?
The Commission proposes a total budget of around €8.6 billion for AgoraEU over seven years. This represents a significant increase compared to today’s combined programmes. However, only around €1.8 billion is currently earmarked for the Culture strand.
While this is welcome, it also means that culture risks becoming less visible and more vulnerable inside a very large, cross-sectoral programme unless safeguards are put in place.
Why this matters for AEC and its members
For AEC and AEC membership, AgoraEU could offer:
- continued support for cooperation projects, networks and mobility,
- stronger recognition of culture as part of Europe’s democratic and societal resilience.
At the same time, the merger creates real challenges:
- competition for resources between culture, media and democracy actions,
- the risk of diluted cultural priorities,
- and uncertainty about how sector-specific needs – including those of music education – will be addressed in practice.
What happens next?
AgoraEU is still a proposal and will now be negotiated by the European Parliament and the European Council. Advocacy will be crucial to ensure that culture – and with it Higher Music Education – remains clearly defined, well-funded and strategically positioned.
For AEC, the coming months will be decisive in arguing that culture is not an add-on to democracy, but one of its foundations – and that HME is a vital part of Europe’s cultural ecosystem.
What AEC is calling for
AEC calls on EU institutions to ensure that culture – including HME – remains clearly visible, well-funded and structurally safeguarded within AgoraEU. In particular, AEC advocates for:
- A strong and ring-fenced Culture strand, with dedicated resources for cooperation, networks and mobility;
- Clear recognition of music and music education at all levels as part of Europe’s cultural ecosystem and democratic resilience;
- Simple and accessible funding rules, not least for music and arts education
- Meaningful dialogue with the sector during the design and implementation of the programme.
As negotiations continue in the European Parliament and the European Council, AEC will actively engage to ensure that AgoraEU delivers on its promise — without weakening culture’s role at the heart of the European project.
Short news – Horizon
The 2026–2027 Horizon Europe Work Programme has been adopted by the European Commission. The budget for Cluster 2 ‘Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society’ for this period amounts to €298.5 million. A call for proposals with three destinations will be launched on 12 May 2026. The Info Day will take place on 26 March 2026.
Readings
For Creative Europe nerds, two evaluations of the programme have now been published: The final evaluation of the 2014-2020 Creative Europe Programme (after a one year delay), and the interim evaluation of the 2021-2027 Creative Europe Programme. There are two documents (covering both evaluations): The formal report from the EU Commission and the Commission Staff working document
