As stated in Article 151 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, cultural aspects are part of the European Union's policies: "the Community shall take cultural aspects into account in its action under other provisions of this Treaty, in particular in order to respect and to promote the diversity of its cultures".
To read complete Article 151, please click on this link.

The year 2008 was designated "European Year of Intercultural Dialogue" by the European Parliament and of the Council (decision 1983/2006/EC).
During the entire year, different campaigns and events will be conductuted at European, national and local levels in order to increase European citizens awareness of the importance of dialogue within diverse cultures.
Following the programme Culture 2000, the European Commission proposed this new programme. It is divided into three main strands:
Support to cultural cooperation is also realized in other European Programmes in the fields of industry, research, education, training, regional development, etc.:
To find more information in these previous areas, please consult the EC Culture Webportal.

The Council of Europe developped a broad programme on culture aiming at cultural policy development, awareness raising concerning heritage, etc. through transnational co-operation. It created a large amount of cultural and cultural heritage actions and programmes now completed:
Further innovative actions have been launched by the Council of Europe in the fields of culture and cultural heritage: