International Cultural Relations | Towards the Culture Compass: A Sector Blueprint

This briefing on International Cultural Relations (Chapter 4) was edited and coordinated by EUNIC and Goethe-Institut, and forms part of 10 policy briefings in the discussion paper ‘Towards the Culture Compass: A Sector Blueprint‘ published by Culture Action Europe. Read the Sector Blueprint to discover other briefings on:

• Artistic Freedom
• Working Conditions
• Artistic Research, Culture and Innovation
• Culture and Health and Well-Being
• Culture and Sustainability
• Cultural Participation
• Access to Cultural and Arts Education
• Culture and Security
• Culture and Digital

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Context

Since 2007, the European Union’s commitment to international cultural relations (ICR) has integrated culture as a vital element of its external action. A pivotal moment came with the 2016 Joint Communication, Towards an EU Strategy for International Cultural Relations, which outlined key principles and objectives for the EU’s engagement in this field. While not a strategy itself, the Communication laid the foundation for a more coherent, cross-cutting, and inclusive approach. It emphasised culture’s contribution to sustainable development, intercultural dialogue, and heritage cooperation, while also integrating cultural policy into broader areas such as education, climate action, digital transformation, and development cooperation. This approach was further reinforced by the 2018 New European Agenda for Culture.

The EU’s Member States have shown an increased commitment and ambition in the field of International Cultural Relations, fully conscious and respectful of subsidiarity, evidenced through the cultural dimension to EU external relations being a core priority in the 2023–2026 EU Work Plan for Culture, as well as the recent OMC group on the governance of EU ICR. This mirrors a wider global momentum around culture in international relations through other multilateral fora such as the G7, G20 and the UN.

Europe’s cultural sector is deeply collaborative and international in its profile and reputation. Many of the European cultural networks are international at their core, committed to international solidarity and cooperation with fellow cultural and creative actors globally. In a global landscape shaped by geopolitical tensions, societal polarisation, the climate crisis, and rapid digital transformation, the cultural sector has evolved its practices and approaches. The international cultural relations approach offers a people-centred and values-driven approach to EU external engagement. Even more, the EU’s distinctive ICR approach paired with EU external action in other political areas can provide a unique and attractive offer for collaboration with partners worldwide. By fostering trust, mutual understanding, co-creation, and long-term partnerships, the EU could offer a distinctive model of international engagement—one that connects meaningfully with diverse societies through culture. In contrast to authoritarian narratives that seek to influence public opinion and reshape global norms through coercion and top-down messaging, the EU’s approach to international cultural relations could be more values-based and participatory. By consistently and sincerely prioritising co-creation and dialogue, the EU has an opportunity to position itself as a credible and committed partner in global cooperation.

However, despite its growing relevance, the ICR approach remains institutionally underpowered, lacking greater political leadership and resourcing. It lacks a fully-fledged strategy, suffers from fragmented coordination between EU institutions, Member States and civil society stakeholders, and is often constrained by limited resources and inconsistent political prioritization. These structural weaknesses risk undermining its potential.

Proposals

To fully unlock this potential, the EU must adopt a more strategic, coherent, and long-term approach embedded in its external action.

Achieving this requires increased investment, stronger coordination and political leadership. When strategically reinforced, the EU’s international cultural relations approach can foster stronger partnerships, empower local communities, and contribute to addressing global challenges through dialogue, cooperation, and shared values.

The following proposals outline key steps to strengthen the ICR approach—not as isolated measures, but as interconnected actions that must reinforce each other to be effective.

• Develop a fully-fledged EU strategy for International Cultural Relations as an integrated part of a wider holistic Culture Compass

The EU must move beyond the 2016 Joint Communication and adopt a fully-fledged, binding strategy for international cultural relations. This strategy should articulate clear objectives, implementation mechanisms, and accountability structures.

The strategy should address current institutional weaknesses—such as fragmented coordination, lack of transparency, and limited stakeholder engagement—and provide a long-term vision for the role of culture in EU external action. It must also respond to global challenges, including the climate crisis, digital transformation, and rising geopolitical tensions and armed conflicts, by positioning culture as a tool for resilience, dialogue, engagement and transformation. It should be flexible enough to adapt to evolving global challenges and local realities over the coming years.

• Mainstream culture as a strategic priority in EU external action

The recent OMC group on the governance of EU International Cultural Relations highlighted that ‘ICR need to be recognised as a policy field on its own, in which the EU plays an important leadership role’ . To fully realise the potential of international cultural relations, the EU must treat culture as a strategic and cross-cutting dimension of its external action. This means ensuring the cultural objectives proposed consistently across the regional programmes of the new Global Europe Fund in the next Multiannual Financial Framework 2028–2034 must lead to concrete resources and programmes which can be operationalised with an inclusive governance.

Achieving this requires a substantial increase in dedicated funding. Current resources fall short of supporting long-term partnerships, responding to crises, or enabling inclusive participation. The EU must ensure that cultural cooperation is not only well-resourced but also equipped with flexible funding mechanisms that can adapt to rapidly evolving global realities and numerous fragile contexts—whether in response to conflict, displacement, environmental emergencies, or shrinking civic space.

• Strengthen coordination and break down institutional silos

The experienced and diverse European stakeholders and networks in International Cultural Relations are a valuable asset to the EU. What is required to build effective and distinctive 18 EU international cultural relations is a stronger coordination across EU institutions (including the European External Action Service / Foreign Policy Instruments, the European Commission (notably the Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, the Directorate-General for International Partnerships, the Directorate-General for Enlargement and the Eastern Neighbourhood, the Directorate-General for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf) and the European Parliament), Member States through the Council, and implementing partners. A joint effort could form a significant ICR portfolio on the global stage. Fragmentation and institutional silos continue to limit the strategic impact of ICR initiatives. A more integrated approach—linking cultural policy with development, foreign affairs, climate action, and digital transformation amongst others—is essential both in terms of shared values and implementation of programmes.

• Ensure inclusivity, accessibility, fairness and ethics of solidarity as underlying principles of ICR

To make international cultural relations genuinely inclusive, the EU must address systemic barriers that limit participation, such as administrative, financial, linguistic and geographic inequalities. Funding programmes should be simplified, transparent, and accessible to a wider range of actors, including smaller organisations, grassroots initiatives, and those operating in underrepresented or marginalised communities, including in non-EU countries, in line with Article 16 of the 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. Inclusivity must extend to the diversity of voices and perspectives represented in EU cultural cooperation.

An enabling environment for people-to-people international relations through culture requires a visa facilitation process at the level of Member States, both within and outside the Schengen area, to avoid negative impacts on artists, workers in the cultural and creative sectors, and host organisations (such as loss of income, missed networking opportunities, reduced visibility, negative effects on mental health, and stress).

Fairness also means rebalancing power dynamics in partnerships. In collaboration with international stakeholders at multiple levels of competencies, the EU should provide the instruments (at funding, legal and capacity-building levels) to promote co-creation and shared ownership, as well as a partnership approach based on universal values and ethics of solidarity in cultural projects, ensuring that local actors are equal partners in shaping priorities and outcomes. Inclusivity must extend to the diversity of voices and perspectives represented in EU cultural cooperation. The EU should also support innovative approaches that tackle the climate crisis and decolonial practices, among other challenges.

Evaluation frameworks must move beyond quantitative metrics to include participatory, context-sensitive approaches that value social impact, mutual learning, and long-term capacity and relationship-building.

Annex: Resources

1. An EU Strategic Approach to International Cultural Relations and a Framework for Action, Council of the European Union, 2019.
2. An Invitation to Transform Your Vision of the Cultural Mobility Ethic from an African Perspective (Ntsali Mlandu, U.), On the Move, 2023.
3. Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, UNESCO, 2005.
4. Cultural Mobility Yearbook 2024, On the Move, 2024.
5. Cultural Mobility Yearbook 2025, On the Move, 2025.
6. Culture2030Goal — campaign.
7. Culture in an Age of Uncertainty. The Value of Cultural Relations in Societies in Transition, Goethe-Institut; British Council, 2018.
8. Culture in Security: International Cultural Relations as an Enabler of Peace Through Engagement, Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen, British Council, ICCRA, 2024.
9. Culture Works. Using Evaluation to Shape Sustainable Foreign Relations, Goethe-Institut, 2016.
10. EU Work Plan for Culture 2023–2026, Council of the European Union, 2022.
11. Fair Culture Charter, UNESCO, 2024.
12. International Mobility of Artists and Culture Professionals: The Lexicon, On the Move, 2024.
13. Ministerial Declaration: Culture, Common Good of Humanity, Common Responsibility, G7 Ministers of Culture, Italy 2024 Presidency, 2024.
14. Movements of Translation and Return: Art, Mobility and the Diaspora, On the Move, 2025.
15. New European Agenda for Culture, European Commission, 2018.
16. Not a Toolkit! A Set of Tools on Fair Collaboration in Cultural Relations, EUNIC, 2024.
17. Protecting and Supporting At-risk and Displaced Arts Professionals Across Borders (Volume 3: Case Studies), On the Move, 2025.
18. Report on the 10th World Summit on Arts and Culture, IFACCA, 2025.
19. Report on the Implementation of the New European Agenda for Culture and the EU Strategy for International Cultural Relations, European Parliament, 2022.
20. Report on the New Nationalisms and the Future of Cultural Relations, Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen, 2019.
21. Research Paper on Cultural Relations in Fragile Contexts, EUNIC, 2021.
22. Research Paper on the Cultural Dimension of Sustainable Development, EUNIC, 2021.
23. Re|Shaping Policies for Creativity: Addressing Culture as a Global Public Good, UNESCO, 2022.
24. Schengen Visa Code and Cultural Mobility: Latest Insights with a Focus on Artists and Culture Professionals from the African Continent, On the Move, 2023.
25. Supporting Decolonisation: Focus on Ukraine. A Decolonisation Guide for Museums, Ukrainian Institute, 2025.
26. The New International — Against All Odds, IETM — International Network for Contemporary Performing Arts, 2025.
27. Towards an EU Strategy for International Cultural Relations, European Commission, 2016.
28. Voices of Culture: Structured Dialogue on International Cultural Relations. Brainstorming Report, 2022.

Culture Compass for Europe

The Culture Compass for Europe released by the European Commission in November 2025 includes a dedicated section on championing international cultural relations and partnerships that recognises that, in the current global context in which “culture is increasingly becoming a strategic domain of influence… […] to remain resilient and credible, the EU must acknowledge and respond to this reality by reinforcing its value-driven approach in its international cultural relations.” It references the potential to build upon the Team Europe for Cultural Heritage in Ukraine package and the Strengthening African-European Museum Partnerships’ programme. Concretely, the Culture Compass proposes to update the 2016 EU Strategy on international cultural relations and to launch a new phase of the Cultural Relations Platform (CRP) project globally.

The Culture Compass is accompanied by a draft Joint Declaration entitled “Europe for Culture – Culture for Europe” to be agreed upon and signed by the European Commission, European Parliament and the Council of the EU. The draft declaration outlines culture and cultural heritage as “an important vector for the EU’s external action” that can be utilised “to build resilience, promote peace and democracy, and inspire innovative solutions that contribute to sustainable development.” Article 12 promotes “fully leveraging culture’s transversal impacts [by] promoting culture in the EU’s internal and external policies,” and commits to:

• Supporting continuous, dedicated funding for the cultural and creative sectors and industries;
• Embedding culture within relevant strategies, policies and actions, and the corresponding funding tools;
• Maintaining close dialogue with relevant stakeholders; and
• Promoting the Joint Declaration in the EU’s relations with international organisations and partner countries