On the Move’s Communiqué on the DRAFT REPORT on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the ‘AgoraEU’ programme for the period 2028-2034 by Rapporteurs Emma Rafowicz, Alice Kuhnke.
On the Move welcomes the Draft Report on the AgoraEU programme 2028–2034 and the ambition it reflects for the international mobility of artists and cultural practitioners, as well as for the international circulation of their works.
The following three points are of high importance to On the Move:
1. On a cross-sectoral approach to international mobility
On the Move strongly welcomes the focus on supporting the international circulation of artists and their works through cross-border mobility programmes, including under potential new sectorial strands. On the Move would, however, encourage the adoption of a genuinely cross-sectoral approach, including for the Culture Moves Europe’s programme, that recognises the full breadth of cultural and creative practice. All individual artists and groups of cultural professionals – regardless of sector – require access to travel grants: to export and present work, to learn, to create, to explore, and to connect. On the Move underlines that the current mechanism of top-up payments that account for particular circumstances, green mobility and departure or destination contexts is an essential step towards equity.
On the Move welcomes the attention to communities that have been marginalised, and its recognition of the need to address specific access requirements – for example, for artists and cultural professionals with disabilities, and for parents and carers. However, On the Move notes that Indigenous creatives are not sufficiently included as targets and beneficiaries of the targeted funding opportunities envisaged by the programme. On the Move urges the co-legislators to address this gap explicitly.
2. On the support for at-risk and forcibly displaced artists and cultural practitioners
On the Move welcomes the rapporteurs’ particular attention to at-risk and forcibly displaced artists and cultural practitioners. However, On the Move recommends a dedicated, stand-alone programme for the protection, empowerment, and integration of at-risk and forcibly displaced artists and cultural practitioners into European cultural ecosystems. A stand-alone programme would ensure that their needs are addressed with the clarity, resourcing, and legal grounding they require, rather than being accommodated as a subsidiary concern within a broader instrument.
3. On inclusive territoriality
On the Move expresses serious concern regarding certain recitals in the Draft Report that would reinforce exclusive territoriality. This approach sits in direct tension with AgoraEU’s most ambitious goals.
On the Move recommends the insertion of the following amendment to the legal basis:
Eligibility to participate as an end beneficiary in projects supported under this Programme shall not be restricted to individuals residing in programme-participating countries. The Programme shall adopt an inclusive approach to territoriality, enabling possible participation in the interest of cultural diversity, international cooperation, and the protection of at-risk and forcibly displaced artists and cultural practitioners. Project holders shall be trusted to select end beneficiaries on the basis of artistic and professional merit, including where those beneficiaries are resident in third countries, in recognition of the distinct expertise, lived experience, world views, and knowledge of third-country contexts and markets that such individuals bring to the European projects they contribute to.
