Regulation (EU) No 1295/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 establishing the Creative Europe Programme (2014 to 2020) and repealing Decisions No 1718/2006/EC, No 1855/2006/EC and No 1041/2009/EC (Text with EEA relevance)

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:

1. 'cultural and creative sectors' means all sectors whose activities are based on cultural values and/or artistic and other creative expressions, whether those activities are market- or non-market-oriented, whatever the type of structure that carries them out, and irrespective of how that structure is financed. Those activities include the development, the creation, the production, the dissemination and the preservation of goods and services which embody cultural, artistic or other creative expressions, as well as related functions such as education or management. The cultural and creative sectors include inter alia architecture, archives, libraries and museums, artistic crafts, audiovisual (including film, television, video games and multimedia), tangible and intangible cultural heritage, design, festivals, music, literature, performing arts, publishing, radio and visual arts;

2. 'SMEs' means micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, as defined in Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC⁽¹⁾;

3. 'participating financial intermediaries' means financial intermediaries within the meaning of the second subparagraph of Article 139(4) of the Financial Regulation, selected under the Guarantee Facility in accordance with the Financial Regulation and with Annex I to this Regulation, providing or planning to provide:

   1. loans to SMEs and to micro, small and medium-sized organisations in the cultural and creative sectors (guarantees from the European Investment Fund ("EIF")); or

   2. loan guarantees to other financial intermediaries providing loans to SMEs and to micro, small and medium-sized organisations in the cultural and creative sectors (counter-guarantees from the EIF);

4. 'capacity-building providers' means entities capable of providing expertise in accordance with Annex I in order to enable participating financial intermediaries to assess effectively the specificities and risks associated with SMEs and micro, small and medium-sized organisations in the cultural and creative sectors and with their projects.

The general objectives of the Programme shall be:

1. to safeguard, develop and promote European cultural and linguistic diversity and to promote Europe's cultural heritage;

2. to strengthen the competitiveness of the European cultural and creative sectors, in particular of the audiovisual sector, with a view to promoting smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.

The specific objectives of the Programme shall be:

1. to support the capacity of the European cultural and creative sectors to operate transnationally and internationally;

2. to promote the transnational circulation of cultural and creative works and transnational mobility of cultural and creative players, in particular artists, as well as to reach new and enlarged audiences 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;

3. to strengthen the financial capacity of SMEs and micro, small and medium-sized organisations in the cultural and creative sectors in a sustainable way, while endeavouring to ensure a balanced geographical coverage and sector representation;

4. to foster policy development, innovation, creativity, audience development and new business and management models through support for transnational policy cooperation.