Ensuring AgoraEU can effectively support authors, performers, and other artists and cultural workers across all cultural and creative sectors 

Joint comments and voting recommendations on the proposed amendments to the AgoraEU programme

Brussels, 17 September 2026

Dear Member of the Culture and Education (CULT) Committee,  Dear Member of the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) Committee,

We are writing to you on behalf of a coalition of professional organisations representing the collective voice of hundreds of thousands of writers, literary translators, journalists, actors, musicians, composers, songwriters, screen directors, screenwriters, visual artists, and other cultural and creative workers –across the cultural and creative sectors. 

On 3 June 2026, MEPs Emma Rafowicz and Alice Kuhnke presented their draft report in the European Parliament’s CULT and LIBE committees. Our organisations warmly welcome such a report and would like to provide our recommendations on all key amendments which reflect crucial priorities for our creative communities. 

EU funding programmes dedicated to the cultural and creative sectors such as the existing Creative Europe programme play an essential role to support and promote artistic creation and cultural diversity across Europe. However, programme beneficiaries fail too often to guarantee safe and fair working conditions and comply with authors’ and performers’ rights under EU law.  

In line with the intended objective of AgoraEU to “contribute to the improvement of working conditions for artists and cultural and creative professionals”, we urge you to include clear provisions on fair working conditions and social conditionality, respect of existing copyright rules, including fair contracts as well as proportionate and appropriate remuneration and priority for works and performances based on human creation.

1. Support fair working conditions and social conditionality

Fair working conditions and social conditionality should be core requirements of AgoraEU. Public funding for culture should not be extended unconditionally: without a binding requirement to uphold minimum social standards and fair working conditions, the programme risks financing cultural activities while leaving the authors and performers who produce them without adequate protection, undermining the very people the culture it funds depends on.

Programme beneficiaries should comply with applicable Union and national rules and ensure fair working conditions for workers and self-employed professionals, including “respect for minimum social standards such as labour rights, decent working conditions, nondiscrimination, accessibility, and fair and equal remuneration”. In addition, we urge MEPs to strengthen support to authors, performers and their organisations – which remains unfortunately very limited in existing programmes. 

We therefore call for the adoption of amendments, 13, 16, 46, 87, 90, 92, 100, 101, 103, 128, 193, 237, 281, 299, 307, 390, 475, 487, 565, 600, 605, 609, 728, 731, 819, 839, 850, 867, 896, 899, 901, 971, 1284, 1287, 1315, 1513, 1539 and for the rejection of amendments 841 and 891. 

2. Ensure the respect for existing authors’ and performers’ IP rights

Copyright and related rights under EU law grant vital rights to authors and performers alike, in particular Articles 18 to 23 of the Directive 2019/790 which establish binding obligations on transparency and fair remuneration in contracts. AgoraEU must only support beneficiaries who comply with EU law, so that authors’ and performers’ rights are not merely recognised in principle but actively respected in practice. Furthermore, all references to the rights of authors alone shall be amended to expressly also include performers: their intellectual property rights are no less essential to their livelihoods and there is no justification for the Programme to treat the two groups unequally. A mere reference to a future non-binding EU Artists Charter cannot replace the need to comply with existing, binding EU law. 

We therefore call for the adoption of amendments 173 (further amended to include performers), 288, 272, 273, 821, 853, 951, 961, 962, 1254 (further amended as above), 1531 and for the rejection of amendment 830. 

3. Prioritise human created works and performances

Public cultural funding such as AgoraEU should support only human expression, artistic diversity and professional creative communities. For this reason, we support amendments giving priority to works and performances where human creativity is the substantial, identifiable source. 

We therefore support amendments 92, 102, 131, 282, 259, 652, 889, 895, 900, 980, 1094, 1102, 1104, 1107, 1249, 1479. 

We thank CULT and LIBE Members for considering our recommendations (see annex here) which seek to ensure AgoraEU can support fair, sustainable and human-centred cultural and creative sectors in Europe.

List of signatories 

CEATL (European Council of Literary Translators’ Associations) CEATL (European Council of Literary Translators’ Associations) is an international non-profit organisation created in 1993 as a platform where literary translators’ associations from different European countries could exchange views and information and join forces to improve status and working conditions of translators. Today it is the largest organisation of literary translators in Europe with 38 member associations from 30 countries, representing some 12.000 individual literary translators. Web: www.ceatl.eu / EU Transparency Register ID: 65913704675-82

ECSA (European Composer and Songwriter Alliance) represents over 30,000 professional composers and songwriters in 29 European countries. With 57 member organisations across Europe, the Alliance speaks for the interests of music creators of art & classical music (contemporary), film & audiovisual music, as well as popular music.  Web:      www.composeralliance.org     /     EU     Transparency     Register     ID:     71423433087-91

 

EFJ (European Federation of Journalists) is the largest organisation of journalists in Europe, representing over 320,000 journalists in 73 journalists’ organisations across 45 countries. The EFJ is recognised by the European Union and the Council of Europe as the representative voice of journalists in Europe. The EFJ is a member of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). Web: www.europeanjournalists.com / EU Transparency Register ID: 27471236588-39

EGAIR (European Guild for Artificial Intelligence Regulation) is a network of creatives and associations from all over Europe, lobbying for the protection of artists’ works and data from AI companies. Originally founded by MeFu, the Italian association of comic book creators, EGAIR now represents over 20.000 creatives, artists and associations. Web: www.egair.eu / EU Transparency Register ID: 385629348610-21

EIF (European Illustrators Forum) is a network of 23 national associations of illustrators based in 14 European countries representing over 12,000 illustrators. The EIF defends the rights of illustrators and promotes illustration within Europe and around the world. We represent our members’ common interests by liasing with other networks and authorities of the European Union. The EIF furthers exchange of knowledge and critical debate between professional illustrators and their clients through conferences, exhibitions, research and education.  Web: https://www.european–illustrators–forum.com   

EWC (European Writers’ Council) is the world’s largest federation representing solely authors from the book sector and constituted by 55 national professional writers’ and literary translators’ associations from 34 countries. EWC members comprise over 250.000 professional authors, writing and publishing in 37 languages.  Web: https://europeanwriterscouncil.eu / EU Transparency Register ID: 56788289570-24

FERA (Federation of European Screen Directors) represents film and TV directors at European level, with 48 directors’ associations as members from 35 countries. Founded in 1980, FERA speaks for more than 20,000 European screen directors, representing their cultural, creative and economic interests.  Web: https://screendirectors.eu / EU Transparency Register ID: 29280842236- 21 

FIA (International Federation of Actors) is a global union federation representing performers‘ trade unions, guilds and professional associations in about 70 countries. In a connected world of content and entertainment, it stands for fair social, economic and moral rights for audio-visual performers working in all recorded media and live theatre.  Web: www.fia–actors.com / EU Transparency Register ID: 24070646198-51 

FIM (International Federation of Musicians) is the only body representing professional musicians and their trade unions globally, with members in about 65 countries covering all regions of the world. Founded in 1948, FIM is recognised as an NGO by diverse international authorities such as the ILO, WIPO, UNESCO, the European Commission, the European Parliament or the Council of Europe.  Web: https://www.fim–musicians.org / EU Transparency Register ID: 01953872943-65 

FSE (Federation of Screenwriters in Europe) is a network of national associations, guilds and unions of writers for the screen in Europe, created in June 2001. It comprises 31 organisations from 27 countries, representing more than 10,000 screenwriters in Europe. Web: www.federationscreenwriters.eu / EU Transparency Register ID: 642670217507-74

IAO (International Artist Organisation) is the umbrella association for national organisations advocating for the rights and interests of the Featured Artists in the music industry. Our main interests are transparency, the protection of intellectual property rights and a fair reflection of the value an artist’s work generates. Web: www.iaomusic.org / EU Transparency Register ID: 490166825799-90 

 IFJ (International Federation of Journalists) is the world’s largest organisation of journalists, representing 600,000 media professionals from 187 trade unions and associations in more than 140 countries. Web: www.ifj.org / EU Transparency Register ID: 999725935832-94

UNI MEI – UNI – Media, Entertainment and Arts unites over 140 unions and guilds to raise standards and enforce rights for more than 500.000 creatives, technicians and auxiliary workers. Together, our members work for a fair, inclusive, equal, and sustainable global entertainment industry and a just transformation. Web: www.uniglobalunion.org / EU Transparency Register ID: 605859248462-93

UVA (United Voice Artists) is a global coalition of voice acting guilds, associations, and unions that have united to pursue their shared goals of protecting and preserving the act of creating, in particular, through the human voice. This collaborative effort brings together prominent associations and unions from the European Union, including France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Belgium, and Poland, as well as organizations in Switzerland, Turkey, the United States of America, Africa and in South America. Web: www.unitedvoiceartists.com / EU Transparency register ID: 810100650765-18