As President of the Eurimages Fund, I strongly condemn Russia's offensive in Ukraine, which breaks with the fundamental principles of the Council of Europe and our Partial Agreement and aims to destroy a country and bring its people to their knees.

Many members of the Board of Management of Eurimages have expressed their deepest concerns about this violation of the values to which they are attached, such as democracy, territorial integrity and human rights, which require the respect of all human life.

These actions undermine the mission of the Eurimages Fund, which is to encourage cooperation between professionals from different countries, to preserve the freedom of artistic expression and to defend cultural diversity, equality, inclusion and pluralism.

Pending the preparation of the legal framework required to take the relevant decisions, I would like to express, on behalf of the Eurimages Fund, our deepest solidarity with the Ukrainian people and to assure all those involved in the Ukrainian film industry, and especially our Ukrainian members, of our full support.

Catherine Trautmann