The European Parliament has secured €8m (US$8.7m, £6.7m) in funding for cultural projects ahead of its 2018 European Year of Cultural Heritage.

Proposed in February when Council and European Parliament representatives reached an agreement to establish a European Year of Cultural Heritage, MEPs yesterday (27 April) voted in favour of the initiative, which aims to raise awareness of European history and values and to strengthen a sense of European identity.

In addition to celebrating heritage, the event will also address challenges faced for Europe’s cultural heritage, including the impact of the shift towards digital technologies, environmental and physical pressure on heritage sites, and the illicit trafficking of cultural objects.

Following negotiations with EU governments and the European Commission, the European Parliament secured the €8m budget, which will be sourced from existing funds for promotional activities throughout 2018.

"This topic is one of the few where doctrinal controversies do not have a place. This initiative goes beyond politics or natural competition between states,” said said Romania’s Mircea Diaconu, a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe and author of the report on the initiative.

“The European Year of Cultural Heritage is an initiative which can unite and prove that the European space of our 27 nations is one belonging to a unitary civilisation founded on a common history and benefiting from globally outstanding heritage.”

According to the European Union, for every Euro invested in the culture sector, Europe gets a return of more than €20. A recent European Commission study also estimates that 300,000 people work directly in the EU’s cultural sector with as many as 7.8 million jobs are created indirectly.