Music Moves Europe (MME) is the overarching framework for the European Commission‘s initiatives and actions in support of Europe’s music sector. Developed from a series of meetings with representatives of the music sector starting in 2015, Music Moves Europe was launched as a strategic initiative by the Commission. It has since developed further and today stands for the EU support for music.

With MME, the European Commission wants to build on and strengthen further the sector’s strong assets: creativity, diversity and competitiveness. The ultimate goal is to develop a truly European music policy.

Music Moves Europe’s specific objectives are:

• promote creativity and innovation;
• safeguard and expand the diversity of European music;
• help the sector adapt to and benefit from digitisation.

EU actions in support of Europe’s Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI) are cross-sectoral, covering also the music sector. While this cross-sectoral approach to EU collaboration on culture remains a feature of the New European Agenda for Culture adopted by the Commission in May 2018, the Commission acknowledged the impossibility of having a one-size-fits-all approach for all CCI and announced sector-specific initiatives in the most mature cultural sectors, especially music.

Member States in the Council of the European Union decided that Music Moves Europe should become part of their cooperation on culture at EU level; and therefore an action on music has been included in the new Council Work Plan for Culture 2019-22. Work has already started with a conference under the Romanian Presidency of the Council in June 2019. Further Commission-led expert workshops will take place in 2020, while another Presidency conference is planned for 2021 under the Portuguese Presidency of the Council.