European Union

Europe is the only “place where we don’t protect our domestic players,” the French president said

Despite Europe’s rightward drift, Costa insisted social democracy “remains relevant"

Inflation rose above the European Central Bank's 2% target

In this Policy Triangle, supported by Humane World for Animals, we explore how Europe can modernise its chemical testing framework as part of the upcoming revision of REACH.

Moscow and Kyiv have repeatedly accused each other of risking a potentially devastating nuclear disaster by attacking the site

The organisers of the beer festival said that a "bomb threat" had been received

In today's edition: Ribera defends AI Act, Commission autumn plans

BNetzA v ACER
Energy
The General Court annuls a decision of ACER concerning the management of electricity markets

In today's edition: TrumpRx, CMA timeline, 232 for Medtech

In today's edition: Seeds rules, origin labelling, animal welfare

In today's edition: climate action, energy policy, power trading

EU agency's cyber-threat report highlights "notable" rise in attacks on public administrations, which accounted for well over a third of those analysed

Plus, negotiators get to the crux of EDIP

Written by Alina-Alexandra Georgescu.

Access to culture is a fundamental human right according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: cultural rights are indispensable for the dignity and the free development of the personality, and ‘everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, [and] to enjoy the arts’. Despite this legal underpinning, not everyone in the EU has equal access to culture. People with disabilities, and people living in rural, remote and disadvantaged areas, face a complex set of barriers to participation in cultural life: financial, physical, digital, legal and psychological.

Culture plays a vital role in fostering a European sense of belonging and social cohesion. It enhances Europe’s resilience for safeguarding democracy, particularly in today’s increasingly polarised societies. Therefore, barriers to participation in culture should be eliminated. Various studies have identified barriers to accessing culture for people with disabilities and those living in rural, remote and disadvantaged areas, and made recommendations on how such barriers can be removed. The EU has taken various measures to promote participation in culture, together with funding programmes for people with disabilities and people living in rural, remote and disadvantaged areas.

The ambitious framework placing culture at the centre of EU policies, the new Culture Compass for Europe, should ensure that culture becomes more accessible. The European Parliament has played a crucial role in advancing discussions on equal and obstacle-free access to cultural participation for all EU citizens. It has pointed out that any kind of barriers to full participation by individuals and communities in culture impede the development of truly democratic and inclusive societies.

Read the complete briefing on ‘Access to culture for people with disabilities and people living in rural, remote and disadvantaged areas‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

In today’s edition: EU leaders meet in Copenhagen for an informal European Council to discuss Ukraine and defence, the Commission and Parliament clash in Brussels over the ‘omnibus’ package to cut red tape, and Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan complicates Europe’s debate on sanctions against Israel

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Best test would be to let Ukrainians ‘play the attacker’, says defence expert

By securing Marche, Meloni consolidated her reputation for resilience in an unpredictable system