28/11/2018 (Agence Europe) – The EU Council's progress report on the Creative Europe Programme, which was adopted on Tuesday 27 November by European ministers, is finally available (see EUROPE 12147). It was not made public to the press at the time of its adoption due to a technical error, we are told. As a reminder, the Creative Europe 2021-2027 programme aims to promote European cooperation on cultural and linguistic diversity and heritage, and to increase the competitiveness of the cultural and creative sectors. The progress report indicates that Member States support "the ambitious budget of the programme (around +21%)" and the indicative allocation of funds between components. As expressed during the debate, however, the label of excellence (Article 2), the participation of third countries (Article 8) and eligible entities (Article 14) still raise questions. Link: http://bit.ly/2E1qayL. (SPj)