Marking the International Day for Monuments and Sites, also known as World Heritage Day, on 19 April, the Head of the EU Office and EU Special Representative in Kosovo, Ambassador Tomáš Szunyog, visited the Ulpiana Archaeological Park, which is now benefiting from an EU-funded project worth €1 million.

The Ulpiana Archaeological Park, managed by the Kosovo Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS) and its Archaeological Institute (AIK), has enjoyed the support of numerous international organisations and diplomatic offices and embassies in Kosovo, whose representatives joined the visit. “Marking World Heritage Day is important because it reminds us of the diversity of our common cultural heritage, its vulnerability, and the efforts required for its protection and preservation,” said Ambassador Szunyog.

The European Archaeological Mission in Kosovo: from Ulpiana to Iustiniana Secunda project was launched on 14 December 2021. It uses the results of previous EU-funded geophysical surveys of a greater Ulpiana area and over the next three years will contribute to further archaeological research and excavations, and preservation of finds. The project is implemented by the Institute of Archaeology of the French École Normale Supérieure – one of the most experienced institutes in archaeology in the Mediterranean and Central Asia – in close partnership with the MCYS and AIK.

The EU has supported the protection and preservation of cultural heritage sites in Kosovo, including kulla/ kulafortified houses and religious sites and monuments, since 2000. It has thus far invested more than €14.7 million in this field.

The EU remains the largest provider of financial assistance to Kosovo.