EEA EFTA States support strengthening creative industries and democratic resilience in AgoraEU

In a joint position paper (EEA EFTA Comment), Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway welcome the new AgoraEU programme proposal and its aim of strengthening democratic resilience and the competitiveness of European creative industries. They encourage the establishment of a dedicated programme committee and call for further clarification on the programme's funding flexibility.

The European Commission's AgoraEU programme proposal for 2028-2034 merges the current Creative Europe programme and Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme, and foresees nearly a doubling of funds for culture, media and civil society compared with the 2021-2027 period. The programme proposal is currently under scrutiny in the European Parliament and Council, following its publication on 16 July 2025.

In their comment, the three EEA EFTA States emphasise that it is more important than ever for the 30 EEA States to protect and strengthen their democratic societies, common European values and creative industries.

Based on their experiences of participating in the Creative Europe programme, the EEA EFTA States encourage the establishment of a dedicated AgoraEU programme committee to facilitate the programme's management, and highlight the key role of country-specific desks in outreach. They also call for a better and more efficient programme monitoring system through the creation of a combined results list per country on all projects.

While the EEA EFTA States welcome the synergies and flexibility introduced across AgoraEU's three strands (Culture, MEDIA+ and CERV+), they ask for clarification on how this flexibility will work in practice. They also underline the importance of the co-legislators maintaining the option of full or partial participation - as currently set out in Article 14 of the proposal.

Referring to their horizontal comment on EU programmes, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway underline that the EEA Agreement lays out the rights and obligations connected with the EEA EFTA States' participation in EU programmes, including access to all relevant governing bodies that decide on funding priorities.

The EEA EFTA States' participation in EU programmes is an important part of their integration in the Internal Market and mutually beneficial - as recognised by the EU in its evaluation of the Creative Europe programme. The report describes the EEA EFTA States' participation as a "valuable asset of the Programme, strengthening its relevance and outreach". Examples of projects funded by Creative Europe include the Icelandic television series Trapped, Liechtenstein's participation in Culture Moves Europe, and the Norwegian film Sentimental Value, with co-producers from Denmark, France, Germany and Sweden, which is nominated for nine Oscars.

The EEA EFTA States are committed to continuing their long-lasting and mutually beneficial cooperation with the EU in the fields of culture, media, equality and democracy. This commitment is demonstrated by their ongoing programme participation, together with the complementarity between the proposal and the values of human rights, democracy and the rule of law embedded in the EEA and Norway Grants.

Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway reaffirm their intention to contribute actively and constructively to the development of the AgoraEU programme proposal.

EEA EFTA Comments are one of the tools the EEA EFTA States use to participate in shaping EU policies, programmes and legislation.

Read the full EEA EFTA Comment

View all EEA EFTA Comments

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