Presentation held at the conference 4th DARIAH-HR International Conference Digital Humanities & Heritage: Legacy and Innovation Abstract: As digital transformation reshapes cultural landscapes across Europe, the intersection of cultural policy and digital innovation presents both challenges and opportunities. Drawing on three years of research from the project Rapids and Backwaters. Adapting Fast and Slow to a Digital Cultural Turn, this presentation examines how digital culture is influencing the formulation and implementation of cultural policies. Through a comparative analysis of seven European countries—Croatia, the UK, Germany, Sweden, Spain, Norway, and Switzerland—the study offers insights into the evolving nature of digital cultural policies, now detailed in the open-access book Digital Transformation and Cultural Policies in Europe. This presentation will focus specifically on Croatia's experience with digital cultural policy, exploring the trajectory of digitization and digitization efforts in the cultural heritage, media, and audiovisual sectors. A critical review of available data and national strategic documents will highlight the contextual factors that shape policy-making, while also considering the impact of the EU legislative framework and funding. In evaluating the practical challenges of implementing digital cultural policies, the discussion will question whether Croatia's approach can be seen as "critical digital cultural politics," promoting public good, cultural rights, diversity, and access to information. This perspective will contribute to the broader discussion on how digital transformation is infuencing heritage preservation and the future of cultural policy across Europe, making it highly relevant for the theme of the Digital Humanities and Heritage conference.