European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos visited Ukraine. She came to assess Ukraine’s progress in the EU accession process. The conversation also touched upon Lviv’s bid for the title of European Capital of Culture 2030.
“We talked with Ms Marta about what culture is in our country now and how important it is to communicate with the world through our own culture and language. Lviv is in the final round of the European Capital of Culture 2030 competition. We also talked about how ‘Responsibility to be’ speaks and represents not only Lviv but the whole of Ukraine in this competition, about the ability of culture to take responsibility for our present, past and future, about its ability to care for us. About our city and its phenomena,” wrote Yuliya Khomchyn, director of the Institute for Cultural Strategy, on her Facebook page.
Yuliya Khomchyn also emphasised that it is important for Ukraine to have its own voice in the family of ECC cities and to engage in dialogue with the world through culture. In Lviv, the foreign guest opened the “Week of Sustainability of Ukrainian Cities”, visited the “Nezlamni” rehabilitation centre, and honoured the memory of Ukrainian defenders at the Lychakiv Cemetery.
The European Commissioner is in Lviv as part of her visit to Ukraine to meet with representatives of the Ukrainian government and parliament, Regions, and anti-corruption institutions to discuss reforms. Marta Kos expressed her hope that the EU will soon open the first cluster of negotiations with Ukraine on accession. This requires the consent of all 27 EU member states.
During her visit, Marta Kos left a message in the book of honoured guests of the city of Lviv: “We will stand with you forever!”