Cultural Deal for Europe: Annual Policy Conversation 2026

The Cultural Deal for Europe Annual Policy Conversation, organised with our partners Culture Action Europe (CAE) and Europa Nostra (EN) and in collaboration with Bozar, has become a flagship event in Brussels. It is a key moment for high-level EU policymakers and the wider culture, cultural heritage and civil society sectors to take stock of current developments, discuss upcoming policy challenges and opportunities, and together shape the sector’s advocacy agenda for the year ahead.

The year 2026 will be important for the negotiations on the EU’s long-term budget (MFF 2028-2034), the EU’s long-term priorities and the newly released strategic framework for culture – the Culture Compass.

Our 2026 policy conversation will therefore focus on the following questions:

What must be done to secure a strong culture and cultural heritage base in the future EU budget and secure a powerful cultural and civil society dimension across programmes and relevant and well resourced AgoraEU programme? Followers of the Cultural Deal for Europe will recall our plea to dedicate 2% of the EU budget to culture and cultural heritage.

How will the recently released Culture Compass for Europe address key European challenges through culture and unleash its greater potential and new partnerships? And how can the wider civil society ecosystem best reinforce European values and rights to provide a compass to European citizens and communities?

Registrations for the event will be open soon. We look forward to your participation!

Stay tuned for more in the newsletters of ECF, CAE and Europa Nostra, updates on the Cultural Deal page or on LinkedIn.