Annexes to SEC(2011)1400 - Executive summary of the impact assessments - Main contents
Please note
This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | SEC(2011)1400 - Executive summary of the impact assessments. |
|---|---|
| document | SEC(2011)1400  |
| date | November 23, 2011 |
9. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED OPTION
The impact assessments for Culture and MEDIA propose the continuation of EU funding for the cultural and creative sectors, however, they conclude that EU support for the cultural sectors would be more effective if it were re-designed, by bringing together the various programmes into a single framework programme, entitled "Creative Europe"'.
This preferred option would be the most coherent and cost-effective and respond to the growing recognition at EU level of the importance of the cultural and creative sectors. Of the considered options, this option would offer the best basis for a common EU strategy to focus attention on the challenges currently facing these sectors and target EU support on those measures that provide EU added value by helping the sectors to optimise their potential for economic growth, job creation and social inclusion.
The "Creative Europe" framework programme would be clearly linked to the Europe 2020 strategy and seek to optimise the contribution of the cultural and creative sectors to its goals. The proposal is in line with the Communication of the Commission on the Multiannual Financial Framework adopted on 29 June 2011 ("A Budget for Europe 2020"), which indicated that synergies would be brought into the culture related programmes of the European Union and that EU funding should be concentrated on areas where it delivers high EU added value. It proposes to attribute a sum of €1.6 billion to the programme for the seven year duration.
The programme would comprise three strands, one of which would include a new financial facility. Two of the strands would be the successors to the existing Culture and MEDIA/MEDIA Mundus programmes, with the latter targeting the audiovisual sector and the Culture strand aimed at all the other cultural sectors. In addition, there would be a cross-sectoral strand, which would support cross-cutting elements such as policy development, piloting, cultural and media literacy, and the information points. This is addressed within the impact assessments for Culture and MEDIA. The new financial facility would facilitate the access of cultural and creative SME to finance by providing credit risk protection to financial intermediaries building portfolios of loans, along with providing them with the necessary capacity/expertise building to correctly analyse the relevant risks.
The vast majority of grants under the Culture and MEDIA strands will continue to be managed through the Executive Agency for Education, Audiovisual and Culture (EACEA) through annual calls for proposals published in a stable Programme Guide. As confirmed by various evaluations this has proved to be a cost-effective management mode for cross-border projects. A network of information points (the current Culture Contact Points and MEDIA Desks) will continue to provide information and advice on applying under the programme. They will not redistribute funds. As mentioned above, some savings will be made by proposing merged information points for the entire programme. They will continue to be co-funded at a maximum rate of 50% with Member States co-funding the rest. The various simplifications introduced under the current programmes will be continued and some further ones sought.
Management of the cultural and creative sector financial facility will be mandated to a third party financial institution, most likely the European Investment Fund (EIF) due to the nature of the expertise required for the running of such an instrument, while the management from the Commission's side would most likely be in the hands of the Directorate General for Education and Culture, but with close cooperation with other Commission departments, including the Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs.
10. MONITORING AND EVALUATION
Monitoring and evaluation will be a core element of a future programme which will emphasise EU added value and performance. The Commission will therefore regularly monitor and evaluate the performance and results against the objectives.
Regarding monitoring, an annual activity report will be published, including both statistics and qualitative assessment.
In addition to the continuous monitoring, the Commission will arrange for regular independent external evaluations regarding the strands and financial facility in order to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the programme. The evaluations will also contribute to the assessment of the programme's EU added value and contribution towards the general and specific objectives.
The Commission’s intention is to use a single interim evaluation, which would also serve as a final evaluation for the previous programme. In order to enable the results of the interim evaluation to be taken into account for decisions on renewing, modifying or discontinuing the successor programme in the future, it should be conducted before the end of 2017.
All external evaluations should be conducted by independent, impartial bodies. The methodological approach taken to evaluation would need to be determined at the time and in light of prevailing European Commission guidance.
The indicative performance indicators relating to the general and specific objectives are to be found in the individual impact assessment reports for the components of the Creative Europe programme.
[1] Green Paper 'Unlocking the potential of the cultural and creative industries', COM92010) 183; Commission Staff Working Document, 'Analysis of the consultation launched by the Green Paper on 'Unlocking the potential of the cultural and creative industries', SEC(2011) 399 final, 24.03.2011
[2] http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/evalreports/index_en.htm
[3] To put this into perspective, this € 57 million is also far below the level of the national public funding of arts and culture in the UK, FR, DE (respectively ₤ 590 million, € 7.5 billion, € 1.1 billion).
[4] Source: European Audiovisual Observatory, 2008.
[5] The MEDIA Production Guarantee Fund facilitates access to private sources of finance uniquely for film producers via a guarantee mechanism that encourages banks to grant them credits by sharing the risk incurred. With a total budget of € 8 million for a four year duration, it is expected to generate over € 100 million in bank credits, thanks to the leverage effect of the guarantee mechanism.
[6] European Competiveness Report 2010, Commission staff working document, COM (2010), 614
[7] Building a Digital Economy: The importance of saving jobs in the EU’s creative industries, TERA Consultants, March 2010.