Creative Europe Programme · European Union

NEWS - Media Freedom Rapid Response Mechanism

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The EU's Creative Europe Programme programme expects to make awards, from a total budget of €3 million. Applications close on 27 Jan 2027 (EU calls usually close at 17:00 Brussels time).

Deadline: 27 Jan 2027 (in 73 days)
Grant amount: €3 million total budget
Funding rate: Varies by programme — see the call conditions
Total budget: €3 million
Type of action: CREA Project Grants · CREA Action Grant Budget-Based
Likely applicant types: Non-profits, Public bodies, Companies, SMEs / start-ups, Universities & research From source categories or programme rules; the call decides.
Funder: Creative Europe Programme (CREA)
Reference: CREA-CROSS-2027-MFP
Call: CREA-CROSS-2027-MFP
Last checked: 14 Nov 2026

Open the official call ↗ Add deadline to calendar

Expected outcome

This action is expected to provide practical help to protect journalists under threat, including concrete tools such as advice and legal support as well as offering shelter and logistical assistance thereby enabling the targeted journalists to continue pursuing their professional activities. This can include financial support when needed. The project will also organise visits to affected countries. Anti-impunity action shall be supported through advocacy. The tools used will be adjusted to accommodate individual needs on a case-by-case basis.

Violations of press and media freedom will be systematically and comprehensively monitored across the EU, countries participating in the Creative Europe Programme and candidate countries in order to ensure the provision of reliable and comprehensive information on such violations to the general public as well as to the European institutions. The monitoring should be geared to ensure early warnings about violations. The alerts related to EU, countries participating in the Creative Europe Programme and candidate countries will be systematically published on a dedicated website. Regular reports listing all alerts and identifying main trends will also be published. Such monitoring will generate data and insights beyond the scope or reach of several existing monitoring tools, covering, in particular, risks to media freedom and pluralism as well as selected serious incidents and authorities’ reactions to such incidents.

Read the full text

Objective:

Within the specific objective of promoting policy cooperation and innovative actions supporting all strands of the Programme, including the promotion of a diverse and pluralistic media environment, media literacy and social inclusion, the priorities of the cross-sectoral strand shall include:

• to promote cross-sectoral activities aiming at adjusting to the structural changes faced by the media sector, including enhancing a free, diverse, and pluralistic media environment, quality journalism and media literacy including in the digital environment.

The Commission’s annual Rule of Law Report refers to physical and online threats and attacks on journalists as a persistent issue across Europe. In September 2021 the Commission adopted a Recommendation on ensuring the protection, safety and empowerment of journalists and other media professionals in the European Union. This action proposes sustainable funding for projects with a focus on legal and practical assistance to journalists in the EU and…

Scope

• Design and manage a Europe-wide rapid response mechanism to support media freedom and journalists' safety, covering all EU Member States, countries participating in the Creative Europe Programme and candidate countries;

• Provide legal and practical support to journalists and other media practitioners in need;

• Organise advocacy missions to locations where journalists are under threat;

• Monitor the state of media freedom in the EU Member States, countries participating in the Creative Europe Programme and candidate countries;

• Organise awareness raising campaigns in the field of media freedom and safety of journalists;

• Ensure communication and dissemination activities;

• Monitor and evaluation the action.

Topics

Capacity building Creative Europe Cross-media Journalists Multimedia Training Journalism Rapid Response Mechanism

Timing

Single-stage call. Next deadline 2027-01-27. The portal states the exact cut-off time (EU calls usually close at 17:00 Brussels time).

How to apply

Read the full topic on the Funding & Tenders Portal: expected outcome, scope, type of action and the topic conditions, including any country restrictions.
Register each participating organisation in the Funding & Tenders Portal to get a PIC.
Check the topic conditions for the minimum number of partners.
Prepare Part A (administrative forms and budget, completed in the portal) and Part B (the technical description on the official template for this type of action).
Submit in the portal before the cut-off time on the deadline day. Late submissions are not accepted.

From the call text

Who can apply: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
Company stage: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
Single applicant or consortium: Read the topic conditions on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for eligible countries, consortium requirements, budget and the application route.
Where applicants must be based: Read the topic conditions on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for eligible countries, consortium requirements, budget and the application route.
Where to apply: Read the topic conditions on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for eligible countries, consortium requirements, budget and the application route.

Read the EU application guide

Where these facts come from

Fact	Value	How we know	Taken from the source
Deadline	27 January 2027 “Single-stage call. Next deadline 2027-01-27. The portal states the exact cut-off time (EU calls usually close at 17:00 Brussels time).”	official data field	15 Nov 2026
Amount per applicant	Unknown — not stated in the source we hold	unknown	—
Total budget	€3 million	official data field	15 Nov 2026
Funding rate	Unknown — not stated in the source we hold	unknown	—
Who can apply	Unknown — not stated in the source we hold	unknown	—
Where to apply	Read the topic conditions on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for eligible countries, consortium requirements, budget and the application route.	read from the official text	15 Nov 2026

Official sources

Official call page

Facts on this page come from the funder’s official data, taken on 14 Nov 2026. The funder's own documents, including later amendments, always take precedence.