Access to culture is a fundamental human right according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: cultural rights are indispensable for the dignity and the free development of the personality, and 'everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, [and] to enjoy the arts'. Despite this legal underpinning, not everyone in the EU has equal access to culture. People with disabilities, and people living in rural, remote and disadvantaged areas, face a complex set of barriers to participation in cultural life: financial, physical, digital, legal and psychological.

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2025/777933/EPRS_BRI(2025)777933_EN.pdf