Creative Europe issues Brexit advice

The European Union (EU)’s creative support programme has issued advice to UK organisations in the event of the EU and the UK failing to agree a deal on Brexit.

Grants from the EU’s Creative Europe programme are worth around €18.4m (US$20.9m) to the UK production sector annually, helping to fund a range of content from high-end drama to animated children’s programming.

The UK government has reassured Creative Europe Desk UK that in the event of a ‘no deal’ Brexit, it will underwrite the payments of awards for projects receiving funding from Creative Europe.

This includes projects that are only informed of their success or sign a grant agreement after the UK’s withdrawal from the EU on 29 March 2019. More information can be found here.

It is not clear whether UK-led applications can be selected after that date, Creative Europe Desk UK said. However, it has also advised UK organisations to continue to submit applications for funding.

The UK government will work with the European Commission to agree on the eligibility of UK partners after the EU exit, Creative Europe Desk UK added.

If a deal is agreed between the EU and the UK, then UK organisations can continue to apply for EU programme funding until December 2020, as originally agreed in the joint report from the European Council in March.

The UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has advised that, in a deal scenario, successful Creative Europe applicants from the UK can receive funding until the end of their projects, even if they run beyond 2020.

The decision on whether the UK can participate in the next programme (2021–2027) will be taken as part of the future partnership negotiations with the EU.

The UK government’s Brexit White Paper, published in July, stated: “The UK is open to exploring… continued involvement in Creative Europe to support the cultural, creative and audiovisual sectors.”