This study traces the development of narratives on the role of culture within the EU’s external relations and aims to identify culture’s contribution to contemporary construction and self-imagination of the Union’s international actorness. The focus lies not on how individuals and publics perceive these narratives or if they are successful in construction and shaping the perceptions of their audiences. Instead, the EU institutions’ and officials’ intentions and aspirations behind sending those messages are the focus point of the analysis, as well as the critical identification of the tools and methods through which the Union strives to do so. Thus, the overarching research question to answer is: how the EU uses narratives on the role of culture and international cultural relations to construct itself as a relevant international actor. And, why and how the internal EU discussion developed and changed over time. Based on a critical discourse analytical approach to the selected, official EU documents, speeches, international declarations and communications, it shows that currently two different understandings and roles of culture and international cultural relations coexist within the EU’s internal discourse: one, advocating the deployment of international cultural relations not for simply showcasing one’s own, national culture but for a greater, ambitious goal of global responsibility and sustainable development. The focus of this approach lies in the development of a new and solidary global environment which respects and celebrates (cultural) diversity, through mutual exchanges, reciprocity and the sharing of knowledge and expertise. While the other narrative focuses on constructing the EU as a “global power” and emphasises the importance of a more traditional European “cultural diplomacy”.