The European Writers’ Council urges EU to support Ukrainian book translations

The European Writers’ Council (EWC) has called on the European Union to support the printing and distribution of Ukrainian-language books, promote Ukrainian authors at European book events and provide grants for translating their works.

The EWC said such support should address both the distribution of books in Ukrainian and the presence of Ukrainian literature outside Ukraine. The organization called on the EU to support Ukraine’s efforts to print and distribute books in Ukrainian, particularly by promoting Ukrainian authors at publicly funded events and through translation grants.

Ukraine is not a member of the EWC, but the council expressed solidarity with Ukrainian authors.

“We stand in solidarity with our members, and not only with them, but also with writers around the world. We stand with the authors,” representative of the organization said.

The EWC linked the situation of Ukrainian writers and the Ukrainian language to Russia’s long-standing policy toward Ukraine, particularly during the Soviet period. According to the EWC, Ukrainian-language writers and authors were treated as “second-class citizens” for decades while Ukraine was under the control of the USSR/Russia, a history the council said informs its view of the current campaign.

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The EWC also condemned what it described as Russia’s targeted attacks on Ukrainian printing and publishing companies in August 2026.

The European Writers’ Council is a non-profit, non-governmental federation constituted by currently 55 national professional writers’ and literary translators’ associations and unions in 34 European countries, from European Union Member States, the EEA countries Iceland and Norway, as well as Belarus, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. EWC members comprise over 260,000 professional authors in the text and book sector, writing and publishing altogether in 37 languages.

As previously reported, publishing houses and printing plants affected by Russian shelling in July 2026 will receive government support and grants to replace equipment and compensation for damaged property.

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