The opening ceremony took place on the evening of January 29 during the visit of the delegation of Dnipropetrovsk region to Brussels.

The ceremony was attended by the Ambassador of Ukraine to the EU Kostiantyn Yelisieiev and Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg Igor Dolgov, governor of Dnipropetrovsk region Dmytro Kolesnikov, EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Füle, MEPs M.Ransdorf and Y.Kohlichek.

In his address Representative of Ukraine to the EU Yeliseyev said that the exhibition “Petrikivka” is an example of integration of Ukraine into the European cultural space. "We have to be integrated not only into European economic and political, but also cultural space. We are part of the cultural space of the EU” he stressed.

 

In turn, Commissioner Füle said that these shows reveal the soul and face the people. He said that dialogue between Ukraine and the EU was based primarily on political declarations in which the sides talk about the association agreement, free trade and others important things. At the same time Commissioner believes that such dialogues sometimes lack soul and face. The current exhibition is  step in the right direction, which should fix this gap, the Commissioner said.

The exhibition features painted panels, dishes, toys, Easter eggs of the masters from Dnipropetrovsk region. Petrikivka is a unique phenomenon of national culture that rightly included in the register of cultural heritage of Ukraine.

During the week of the masterpieces of Ukrainian culture, the exhibition will be attended by members of the European Parliament, representatives of the European institutions, the diplomatic corps and NGOs, as well as journalists.