Ukraine and the EU strengthen cooperation in culture: outcomes of Tetiana Berezhna’s meeting with Glenn Micallef in Copenhagen

During the Informal Meeting of EU Culture and Media Ministers, the Deputy Prime Minister for Humanitarian Policy and Minister of Culture of Ukraine Tetiana Berezhna met with the European Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport, Glenn Micallef.

The discussion focused on continued EU support for Ukraine in the cultural sphere, the preservation of cultural heritage, Ukraine’s participation in European programmes, and ways to coordinate humanitarian policies.

“I am sincerely grateful to the European Union for its unwavering support of Ukraine and assistance in preserving our cultural identity. The Team Europe for Cultural Heritage in Ukraine initiative is a vital tool for coordinating the efforts of EU member states in protecting Ukrainian cultural heritage,” stated Tetiana Berezhna.

Since 2022, the European Commission has invested over EUR 30 million in the preservation and development of Ukrainian culture. This support has helped address the consequences of the war and lay the groundwork for further cultural recovery.

For his part, Glenn Micallef stressed that russia’s war against Ukraine is not only a war of weapons but also a war of ideas, identity, and values. He emphasised that the destruction of cultural sites is an attempt to erase memory, truth, and the essence of a nation, making the restoration of Ukraine’s cultural heritage a shared European responsibility.

“When we talk about the war in Ukraine, we often think of weapons and borders. But this war is about something deeper: ideas, identity, and values. When you erase culture, you destroy not just buildings – you attack memory, identity, and truth. That is why I always say: by protecting culture, we protect democracy. Ukrainian culture is European culture, and its restoration is our shared responsibility,” noted Glenn Micallef.

The Commissioner highlighted that the Team Europe for Cultural Heritage in Ukraine initiative, announced at URC2025 in Rome, is expanding and now includes 74 specific assistance projects from EU member states.

The discussion also covered the Creative Europe programme and additional support instruments for cultural sector recovery, including EUR 11.5 million allocated directly to heritage protection. He also announced that next week he will present the Culture Compass for Europe document, which will position culture as a strategic factor for peace, democracy, and unity.

Tetiana Berezhna paid particular attention to the implementation of the project to establish the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Fund, which is being developed in close cooperation with the European Commission, the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, and the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas (ALIPH).

She also emphasised Ukraine’s participation in the Creative Europe programme, a key instrument for integrating Ukrainian cultural policy into the European space. The Ukrainian side expressed support for the EU’s strategic document “Cultural Compass”, which aims to strengthen culture’s role as a strategic driver of political, social, and economic development in the European Union.

As a reminder, the Informal Meeting of EU Culture and Media Ministers is taking place in Copenhagen, organised under the Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU on the theme “Democratic Resilience through Culture and Media”. The event brings together culture ministers from EU countries and the United Kingdom, representatives of the European Commission, and international organisations.

Ukraine is represented by a delegation from the Ministry of Culture, led by the Deputy Prime Minister for Humanitarian Policy and Minister of Culture Tetiana Berezhna. On the first day of the event, she presented the activities of the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Fund and held several bilateral meetings and speeches.