The new EU programmes have been launched

An overview of the next generation of EU programmes for the period 2007 - 2013 in education, training, culture, youth, citizenship and MEDIA.

• Lifelong Learning Programme

The new Life Long Learning Programme supports learning opportunities from childhood to old age in every single life situation. It has a budget of € 7000 millions for the period 2007-2013, and is the successor to the current Socrates, Leonardo da Vinci and eLearning programmes.

• Culture

The Culture Programme is a Community programme established for seven years (2007-2013). The objectives of the programme shall be pursued through the implementation of the following measures:

1. Support for cultural actions
2. Multi-annual cooperation networks
3. Cooperation measures
4. Special measures

• Youth in Action

The Youth in Action Programme addresses young people aged between 13 and 30 who are legally resident in one of the Programme Countries or, depending on the nature of the Action, in one of the Partner Countries, as well as other actors in the field of youth and non-formal education. The main target group of the Programme are young people between 15 and 28 years. The Programme is open to all young people independently of their level of education or social and cultural background.

• Europe for Citizens

This programme supports a wide range of activities and organisations promoting “active European citizenship”, especially the involvement of citizens and civil society organisations in the process of European integration.
The programme "Europe for citizens" with a total budget of EUR 215 millions starts on 1 January 2007 and ends on 31 December 2013.

• MEDIA 2007

A new programme to support the European audiovisual sector. The budget will be €755 million over seven years (2007-13).
Action under the MEDIA programme had to be adapted to developments in technology and the market, to reflect the consequences of digitisation. MEDIA 2007 also had to address the problems of audiovisual professionals in the new EU countries, and include innovative, targeted action in the field of digitisation and measures to facilitate access to credit for small and medium-sized businesses.