Independent film and TV producers from across Europe have raised concerns over the European Commission’s proposed AgoraEU mega-funding strand saying it threatens creative independence and pluralism across the 27-nation cultural and economic bloc.
AgoraEU was unveiled in July as part of wider proposals setting out a multiannual financial framework for €2 trillion ($2.3 tn) worth of EU spending across all sectors from 2028 to 2034.
Under the proposal, the AgoraEU program will have a budget of €8.58 billion ($10.1 bn), and merge the existing Creative Europe program and its strand the MEDIA programme with the CERV program, covering Citizens, Equalities, Rights and Values.
Its stated aims will be to promote shared values, including democracy, equality and the rule of law and support the European cultural diversity, its audiovisual and creative sectors, media freedom and civil society involvement.
A statement endorsed by more than 20 independent producer organizations said AgoraEU represented a “risky turning point” for the future of independent audiovisual creation in Europe.
The independent producer groups say updates for the MEDIA programme, or MEDIA+, within the framework of AgoraEU, had watered down its 35 year goals of supporting the development, promotion, and distribution of European films and audiovisual productions.
“The European Commission’s ambition to increase the budget, strengthen the media ecosystem, support pluralism, press freedom, and the fight against disinformation deserves recognition,” it read.
“However, the new MEDIA+ strand raises serious concerns for the future of independent European audiovisual creation. The proposed reform strays significantly from the founding spirit of the Creative Europe MEDIA programme, a European success story over the past three decades and a cornerstone in protecting cultural diversity and independent creation.”
A key issue for the producer bodies is the watering down of support for independent production and the removal of independence as a proviso for accessing funding, which they said is “alarming.
“MEDIA has always been dedicated to supporting independent productions. Its absence in the AgoraEU proposal risks directing funding to subsidiaries of broadcasters and platforms, including non-European ones,” read the statement.
“This choice directly threatens the diversity of works and the competitiveness of small and medium-sized production companies.”
Further concerns include the fact that the portion of the AgoraEU budget that will be given to the support of European audiovisual works and their circulation is neither specified nor guaranteed, as well as the fact that the funding is merged with news media.
“This creates uncertainty and undermines predictability for the sector. By mixing support for audiovisual creation with political objectives linked to news and the fight against disinformation, Media+ blurs its mission, to the detriment of clarity and its impact on the audiovisual sector,” read the statement.
Independent producers are also concerned about the opening up of EU support to to non-European entities, saying that by allowing third-country entities to benefit from funding undermines cultural sovereignty and exposes the sector to further market concentration in favour of global giants.
The bodies also raised the fact that funding decisions are being concentrated in the hands of the European Commission as well as a lack of transparency and details around AgoraEU, which will make it harder to implement effectively.
“The independent producers bodies urged EU co-legislators to reinstate the criteria of independence as a mandatory condition for support; separate funding for the audiovisual sector from funding for news and the fight against disinformation, ensuring clarity and dedicated budgets; restrict access to funding for companies from non-associated, non-European countries, and reintroduce annexes specifying different support objectives, in order to provide the sector with predictability and sectoral stability,” concluded the statement.
“For a Strong and Sovereign Europe of Culture, Independent European producers call on the Commission, the European Parliament, and the Council to preserve the original spirit of MEDIA: a programme serving independence, cultural diversity, and European sovereignty. Together, we are committed to being constructive partners in finding solutions that strengthen and protect Europe’s cultural future,”
The signatories gather a range of film and TV producer guilds and bodies including the European Producers Club, French directors’ association L’ARP, German Film and Music Industry Association F&MA and the Swiss Producers Association.
Negotiations over the commissions 2028 to 2034 budgets are expect to get underway this fall and continue across 2026.