EU-UK Policy Recommendations signed by 200+ cultural organisations
Culture Action Europe has joined more than 200 stakeholders from EU and UK cultural and creative sectors signing joint Policy Recommendations calling for stronger transnational cooperation, funding and collaboration in culture between the EU and the UK.
The Policy Recommendations were published last week, having been developed and drafted as part of the inaugural Forum on EU-UK Cultural & Media Relations held on 20 October 2025 in Brussels. Culture Action Europe contributed to the inaugural forum alongside roughly 40 representatives from the cultural and creative sectors based in the EU and the UK, as well as governmental and parliamentary observers from both sides of the Channel.
The recommendations emphasise the importance of culture for the political, societal and economic relationship between the EU and UK, and call upon EU and UK policymakers to commit to additional steps to strengthen these relations across four sections:
- Strengthening transnational EU-UK funding opportunities for culture
- Support mechanisms for greater EU-UK cross-border cultural collaboration
- Remove barriers to cross-border mobility for EU-UK cultural and creative professionals
- Cooperating more closely on the impact of new technologies on the cultural and creative sectors
The Forum took place within the broader context of the UK rejoining Horizon Europe and recent efforts to ‘reset’ EU-UK relations and strengthen cooperation. The Policy Recommendations tie into the outcomes of the EU-UK Summit in May 2025, which resulted in the release of 3 documents, which included a ‘Common Understanding’ policy paper outlining a framework for future cooperation. Article 15 of the Common Understanding explicitly touches on culture, ‘recognise[ing] the value of travel and cultural and artistic exchanges, including the activities of touring artists.’
With the EU-UK Parliamentary discussing future cooperation in culture as part of the biannual EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Association meeting this week on 17-18 November 2025, Culture Action Europe will follow the outcomes closely to assess the extent to which the needs and proposals of the creative and cultural sectors in the EU and the UK are acted upon.
The Forum on EU-UK Cultural & Media Relations is an independent pan-European grassroots initiative led by Prof Mafalda Dâmaso (based in London) and Benjamin Feyen (based in Brussels).