The Creative Europe programme has two general policy objectives: safeguard, develop and promote cultural and linguistic diversity and Europe’s cultural heritage and strengthen the competitiveness of the European cultural and creative sectors. This is pursued through specific objectives: supporting the capacity of these sectors to operate transnationally and internationally; promoting the transnational circulation and mobility of cultural and creative works and artists to reach out new audiences; strengthening the financial capacity of cultural and creative SMEs and organisations; and supporting transnational policy cooperation to foster policy development, innovation, creativity, audience development and new business models.

Moreover, the economic challenges in a globalised and interconnected world, call for more targeted support to help artists and creators to turn their talent into a profession and make a living from their art.Alongside with the economic dimension comes the societal value of culture and the arts. The cultural sectors offer a reflection of what Europe is made of and draw up a socio–cultural landscape transcending and connecting national borders through its pluralism and diversity of expressions. This is highly relevant in the face of current challenges the European integration project is facing.

Based on that, the main objectives of the Support for European Cooperation projects are:

To strengthen the capacity of the European cultural and creative sectors to operate transnationally and internationally

To promote the transnational circulation of cultural and creative works and cultural and creative players, in particular artists.

To contribute to audience development and improve access to cultural and creative works in the Union and beyond with a particular focus on children, young people, people with disabilities and under represented groups.

To contribute to innovation and creativity in the field of culture, for instance through testing of new business models and promoting innovative spillovers on other sectors.