EU steps up support for Ukraine’s culture and heritage

The EU and several Member States have launched the first Team Europe initiative for Cultural Heritage in Ukraine, to protect cultural artefacts and build the capacities of heritage professionals. On top of this, the Commission added €2 million to its 2025 Creative Europe Special Call for Ukraine, taking total EU cultural aid since the start of the war to over €50 million.

Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport, Glenn Micallef, taking part in the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome today, stated: “Nations are not just defined by borders or land. They are defined by their values, by their people, by their stories, and by their culture. As I’ve said many times, if you want to destroy a nation, you attack its culture. Our support to Ukraine’s cultural and creative sectors remains unwavering. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion, the EU has committed over €50 million for that purpose. Yet threats persist, which is why we have launched ‘Team Europe for Cultural Heritage in Ukraine’ and boosted Creative Europe support for Ukraine. We will continue defending, promoting, and restoring Ukraine’s culture and cultural heritage. For Ukraine’s resilience and our shared European future.”

Under the Team Europe initiative, over 60 actions will be rolled out as of 2025, including targeted training and scholarships and support to store, showcase and preserve artefacts in danger.

Projects will finance actions on the ground, matching the specific needs of Ukrainian culture and cultural heritage, professionals, and artists, from supporting heritage preservation, artistic performance in and outside Ukraine to facilitating access to culture and cultural heritage. Furthermore, the Commission recently published a study to help Ukraine establish the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Fund.