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The Europe we know today is the summing or why not, the result of long and complex historical events, not only geographically and ethnically, but also from a cultural, religious, social and political point of view. As noticed from ancient times, the old continent has followed its own destiny, generating a series of cultures which through their similarity, mutual interactions and achievements unify and distinguish this civilization. There have been a lot of talks about the role of culture in Europe, however a profound analysis of its position in the current historical phase is necessary. In this respect, the European Union plays a major role in protecting cultural values, especially in recent times. Therefore, the citizens of the Member States have the responsibility to actively engage in the preservation, maintenance and valorization of the European cultural heritage, which represents our common heritage. In view of the fact that culture, namely the protection of European cultural heritage has become one of the main objectives of the European Union, the present study aims to analyze and illustrate the important steps taken by the Union, following the adoption of the Treaty of Maastricht and later through the reform of the Lisbon Treaty.

This article examines the European Capital of Culture programme in relation to its success in sustaining a sense of European cultural identity. This is done by examining the case study of Liverpool 2008. The study is conducted by combining a discourse analysis of a sample of articles of four British newspapers (two regional newspapers and two national newspapers) published in 2008 with interviews conducted with eight journalists in 2012. This research argues that the European Capital of Culture programme is a way in which a city can adopt a sustainable European cultural identity. There are a number of cultural factors that lead to this; some of the most prominent include visual discourse, the degree to which the community embraces the programme, the creation of desirable venues and the adoption of long-term cultural activities, festivals and schools. The analysis underlines that the city of Liverpool still adopts a cultural identity closely associated with the EU programme.