The Culture 2007 Programme intends to enhance the cultural area common to Europeans through the development of cultural cooperation between the creators, cultural players and cultural institutions of the countries taking part in the programme and to enhance Europe’s shared cultural heritage through the development of cross-border co-operation between cultural operators and institutions.

The main objectives of the Culture 2007 programme are to:

• Promote the transnational mobility of people working in the cultural sector
• Support the transnational circulation of works and cultural and artistic products
• Promote intercultural dialogue

Three different strands are used in the pursuit of the above-mentioned objectives:

1. Support for Cultural Actions

• Multi annual cooperation projects- assisting cooperation projects in their start up, structuring or geographical extension phase, involving at least six partners from six different countries. Community co-financing can be up to 50% of the project budget and may not exceed 500 000 euro per year during a period of three to five years.
• Cooperation measures - promoting sectoral and cross-sectoral cooperation between European operators prioritised creativity and innovation where Community contribution can be between 50 000 and 200 000 euro per year but may not exceed 50% of the project budget during a maximum 24 months.
• Special actions - contributing to intercultural and international dialogue, and also helping to raise the profile of Community cultural actions and increase the cultural influences of Europe. Projects financed must meet at least two of the three specific objectives. Community co-financing may not exceed 60% of the project budget.

2. Support for European Bodies active at European level in the Field of Culture

This support finances costs associated with a continuous work programme of an organization, which pursue goals of general European interest in the field of culture.

3. Support for Analyses and for the Collection and Dissemination of Information in the Field of Cultural Cooperation

Funding there supports cultural contact points; support for analyses in the field of cultural co-operation; support for collection and dissemination of information in the field of cultural cooperation.

The Directorate-General for Education and Culture (DG EAC) is responsible for the Programme and directly manages some of its activities. Responsibility for most activities, however, is delegated to the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency, which is also based in Brussels, Belgium and operates under the supervision of the Commission. Calls for proposals are launched annually. Submission is in two phases, where only selected applicants are invited to the second phase. The Guide for Applicants is available on the programme's website.

Culture 2007 programme is open to participation for EU Member States and EEA countries. The programme is also open for participation for Countries candidate to EU membership (Croatia, Turkey and Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) plus Serbia. The countries of the western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro) could become eligible in the future, subject to the conclusion of a Memorandum of Understanding concerning the participation of each of those countries in the Programme.

Cultural operators, including cultural enterprises, can participate in the Programme as long as they are acting in a non-profit-making cultural capacity. Eligible applicants must be a public or private organisation with legal status, whose principal activity is in the cultural sphere (cultural and creative sectors); and have their registered legal seat in one of the eligible countries.

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