On September 30, in Lviv, Acting Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine, Tetyana Berezhna, met with EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos.
The key focus of the discussion was the protection and restoration of Ukraine’s cultural heritage, which continues to suffer daily from russian attacks.
“The attack on the Dnipro Art Museum is yet another reminder that Ukrainian culture is under direct fire. As of September 2025, we have already evacuated over 670,000 museum items from frontline regions — nearly 100,000 of them this year alone. This is a massive undertaking that requires precise coordination and effort”, emphasized Tetyana Berezhna.
The Acting Minister reported that Ukraine has launched efforts to improve its legislation regarding the evacuation of cultural heritage. At the same time, she stressed that addressing the scale of losses and damages requires systemic international support.
To that end, Ukraine is establishing the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Fund, inviting international partners to participate in its work. The operational mechanism of the Fund will be presented in November during the Second International Conference “Cooperation for Resilience” in Copenhagen.
During the meeting, the participants also discussed outcomes of the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC2025), particularly the establishment of the Alliance for Cultural Resilience and the CuRe Platform.
“Culture must become one of the priorities of future EU support — on par with the reforms we are systematically implementing in this area. We are working on this together with our partners,” emphasized Tetyana Berezhna.
She expressed gratitude to European partners for their continued support in confronting russia’s armed aggression. Particular attention was given to the “Team Europe for Cultural Heritage in Ukraine” initiative, which coordinates the efforts of EU Member States to safeguard Ukraine’s cultural heritage.
This initiative was introduced by Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport, Glenn Micallef, during the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC2025) held in Rome on July 15, 2025.
As part of the visit, Marta Kos also attended the opening of the 31st “Contrasts” Festival at the Myroslav Skoryk Lviv National Philharmonic. This year’s edition is dedicated to the work of Valentyn Sylvestrov — a composer whose music has become a symbol of remembrance, faith, and hope for Ukraine and the world.
During her visit, Marta Kos highlighted the global significance of Ukrainian culture:
“Your people and your culture are an inspiration to us all. And they will continue to thrive in freedom as part of the European Union. I am proud that Ukraine is one of us. Every act of creativity is an act of resistance. That is why being here with you today is such a special moment. Your culture is your strength.”
As part of Ukraine’s European integration process, on September 30, 2025, Ukraine and the European Commission concluded bilateral meetings within the official screening of Ukrainian legislation for alignment with EU law.
The Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications actively participated in the screening meetings across key areas including human rights, democracy, cultural values, security, digital transformation, and education. This work contributes to further harmonization of national legislation with European standards and reinforces the role of culture in developing a democratic society.
