On 28 January 2025, the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe crossing Germany gathered in Lübeck at the invitation of The Hansa, certified as a Cultural Route of the Council of Europe in 1991.

The meeting enabled representatives of Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe crossing Germany to exchange on their activities and experiences, while addressing common challenges and opportunities for cooperation at national and European levels, with a particular focus on strengthening national coordination.

The meeting was attended by Rui Gomes, Executive Secretary of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes (EPA) and Director of the European Institute of Cultural Routes (EICR), and by Fabian Richter, Deputy Head of Division for Multilateral Cultural Policy at the German Federal Foreign Office and Germany’s representative on the EPA Governing Board, who both contributed to the discussions and shared perspectives on the programme’s current priorities and future perspectives.

The meeting concluded in a highly cooperative atmosphere, fully reflecting the spirit and values of the Cultural Routes programme, and set the stage for continued dialogue and collaboration among the networks at national and European levels.