As part of the Informal Meeting of European Union Ministers of Culture and Media, Vice Prime Minister for Humanitarian Policy and Minister of Culture of Ukraine, Tetiana Berezhna, met with European Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture, and Sport Glenn Micallef.
During their discussion, the parties focused on continued EU support for Ukraine in the cultural sector, the preservation of cultural heritage, Ukraine’s participation in European programs, and ways to coordinate humanitarian policies.
“I am deeply grateful to the European Union for its unwavering support of Ukraine and for helping preserve our cultural identity. The “Team Europe for Cultural Heritage in Ukraine” initiative is an important instrument for coordinating EU member states’ efforts to protect Ukraine’s cultural heritage”, said Tetiana Berezhna.
Since 2022, the European Commission has invested over €30 million in the preservation and development of Ukrainian culture. This support has helped mitigate the impacts of the war and laid the foundation for the further recovery of Ukraine’s cultural sector.
In turn, Glenn Micallef emphasized that russia’s war against Ukraine is not only a war of weapons but also a war of ideas, identity, and values. He noted that the destruction of cultural objects 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 about weapons and borders. But this war is about something deeper: ideas, identity, and values. When culture is erased, it’s not just buildings that are destroyed – memory, identity, and truth are attacked. That is why I always say: by protecting culture, we protect democracy. Ukrainian culture is European culture, and its restoration is our shared responsibility”, stated Glenn Micallef.
The Commissioner also 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.
They also discussed the Creative Europe program and additional support mechanisms for the cultural sector’s recovery, including €11.5 million allocated directly for heritage protection. Glenn Micallef further noted that next week he will present the Culture Compass for Europe, a document positioning culture as a strategic factor for peace, democracy, and unity.
Tetiana Berezhna paid special attention to the development of the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Fund, being established in close cooperation with the European Commission, the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, and the International Alliance for the Protection of Cultural Heritage in Conflict Zones (ALIPH).
She also emphasized Ukraine’s participation in the Creative Europe program, a key tool for integrating Ukrainian cultural policy into the European space. The Ukrainian side expressed support for the EU strategic document Cultural Compass, which aims to strengthen culture’s role as a strategic driver of the EU’s political, social, and economic development.
The Informal Meeting of EU Ministers of Culture and Media is taking place in Copenhagen under the Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU, under the theme “Democratic Resilience through Culture and Media”. The event brings together ministers of culture from EU countries and the UK, representatives of the European Commission, and international organizations.
Ukraine is represented at the meeting by a delegation from the Ministry of Culture, led by Vice Prime Minister for Humanitarian Policy and Minister of Culture Tetiana Berezhna. She presented the activities of the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Fund and conducted a series of bilateral meetings and speeches on the first day of the event.
