Such a cut will have barely any impact on the EU’s budget savings, but will significantly weaken the Creative Europe programme, the only EU’s funding envelope dedicated to European cultural cooperation, and cause damage to the CCSIs. The co-signatories very much hope that the Council will reconsider the current budget cuts and rather contribute to further strengthen the Creative Europe programme for the year 2024 and in the future, in line with the position expressed by the CULT Committee of the European Parliament, which requested an increase by €43 million for next year.

EcocNews supports this warning, considering 'Creative Europe' also a useful support tool for all cities that want to become European Capital of Culture. And EcocNews thinks that all European Capital of Culture cities and candidate cities should support this initiative.