On June 18, the European Commission, the European Parliament and Council of the EU finally adopted the joint Declaration ‘’Europe for Culture - Culture for Europe’’.

Presented in November 2025 by the European Commission, this declaration was developed under the EU Cultural Compass. This new strategy aims to put culture at the heart of EU policymaking, making Europe the world-leading cultural and creative hub: a place for everyone, where artists can thrive and everyone can fully enjoy cultural life.

In line with this goal, the joint declaration reaffirms EU commitments enhance inclusive access to, participation in, and enjoyment of culture and cultural heritage for all, with particular attention to people with disabilities, as well as to promote and protect the rights of artists and cultural professionals with disabilities.

And the work continues! As part of the next phase of Disability Rights Strategy, adopted a month ago, and under the EU Cultural Compass, the European Commission plans to develop a report on increasing participation of people with disabilities in cultural life.

At EASPD, we are committed to support disability support services in enabling access to culture for people with disabilities and safeguarding their freedom of artistic expression. We will work to ensure the relevance of this initiative, notably based on our recent report A Culture of Inclusion: Ensuring equal access to culture, arts, sport and leisure for people with disabilities in Europe that followed last’ year Conference on the topic in Gandía, Spain.

For more information, read our previous article about the EU Cultural Compass.