Moldova in March will sign an agreement to join the EU’s Creative Europe program, said Deputy Minister of Culture Igor Sharov. The program has a budget of €1.46 billion for 2014-2020 and consists of two sub-programs: the Culture sub-program to promote the culture sector, and the MEDIA sub-program to support the audiovisual sector. A financial guarantee facility of up to €750 million for small businesses active in the sector will also be established in 2016, IPN reports.

The program will support: culture sector initiatives, such as those promoting cross-border cooperation, platforms, networking, and literary translation; audiovisual sector initiatives, such as those promoting the development, distribution, or access to audiovisual works; a cross-sectoral strand, including a Guarantee Facility and transnational policy cooperation.

Creative Europe's stated aims are to: help the cultural and creative sectors seize the opportunities of the digital age and globalization; enable the sectors to reach their economic potential, contributing to sustainable growth, jobs, and social cohesion; give Europe's culture and media sectors access to new international opportunities, markets, and audiences.

The Creative Europe program is managed by the European Commission and the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency of Brussels, which assesses all the projects. Moldova will annually pay membership dues, whose size wasn’t specified.