Recommendation for a Council Decision on the European Capital of Culture event for the year 2011
Date: 2007-10-23
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Estonia, European cultural event, Finland, capital city, cultural policy, town

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 23.10.2007 
COM(2007) 636 final 

Recommendation for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the European Capital of Culture event for the year 2011 

(presented by the Commission) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

Decision  1622/2006/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  of  24  October  2006 
establishing a Community action for the European Capital of Culture event for the years 2007 
to  2019,1  lays  down  the  procedure  of  designation  of  the  European  Capitals  of  Culture. 
According to Article 2 of this Decision, from 2009 onwards, two cities of two Member States 
will  be  designated  as  European  Capitals  of  Culture,  in  turn,  according  to  the  chronological 
order set out in the Annex to the Decision.  

In  accordance  with  Article  14,  the  nomination  for  European  Capitals  of  Culture  concerning 
the year 2011 is submitted to transitional provisions, as follows.  

The nominations are notified to the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission and 
the Committee of the Regions by the Member States concerned no later than four years before 
the event in question is due to begin.  

The  Commission  forms  a  selection  panel  which  issues  a  report  on  the  nominations  judged 
against  the  objectives  and  characteristics  of  this  action.  The  selection  panel  is  composed  of 
leading  independent  figures  who  are  experts  on  the  cultural  sector.  The  selection  panel 
submits its report to the Commission, the European Parliament and the Council.  

The European Parliament may forward an opinion to the Commission on the nominations no 
later than 3 months after receipt of the report.  

The Council, acting on a recommendation from the Commission drawn up in the light of the 
selection panel’s report, officially designates the cities in question for the year for which they 
have been nominated.  

In  accordance  with  article  2  and  the  Annex,  Finland  notified  the  nomination  of  Turku  and 
Estonia nominated Tallinn for the 2011 title before the end of 2006.  

The  selection  panel  met  on  4  June  2007  to  examine  the  nominations.  This  examination 
included hearings of representatives from the candidate cities. The panel submitted its report 
to the Commission on 11 June 2007; at the request of the panel, the Commission forwarded 
the report to the other Institutions.  

On the  basis  of  an  overall evaluation of the applications the panel – while suggesting some 
improvements - reached a consensus to recommend to the Institutions of the European Union 
that Tallinn and Turku host the European Capital of Culture in 2011. 

The  Committee  on  Culture  and  Education  of  the  European  Parliament  forwarded  a  letter  to 
DG EAC on 13 September, as a follow up to the panel’s report which had been received, to 
highlight the relevant aspects of the exchange of views it had on this matter. In conclusion, 
the  Commission,  in  accordance  with  Article  14  of  Decision  1622/2006/EC  submits  to  the 
Council  the  appended  recommendation  for  the  official  designation  of  Turku  and  Tallinn 
respectively for the 2011 European Capital of Culture event. 

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Recommendation for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the European Capital of Culture event for the year 2011 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, 

Having  regard  to  Decision  n°  1622/2006/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council 
establishing a Community action for the European Capital of Culture event for the years 2007 
to 2019,2 and in particular its Article14, 

Having regard to the Selection Panel report of September 2007 submitted to the Commission, 
the European Parliament, the Council in accordance with Article 14 paragraph 2 of Decision 
n° 1622/2006/EC, 

Considering that the criteria referred to in Article 14 paragraph 3 of Decision 1622/2006/EC 
are entirely fulfilled, 

Having regard to the recommendation from the Commission of the [ ] 2007,  

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:  

Article 1 

Turku and Tallinn are designated as “European Capital of Culture 2011” in accordance with 
Article 14 of Decision 1622/2006/EC. 

Article 2 

The  designated  cities  shall  take  the  necessary  measures  in  order  to  ensure  the  effective 
implementation of Article 3 of Decision 1622/2006/EC. 

Done at Brussels, […] 

For the Council 
The President 
[…] 

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OJ L 304 of 3.11.2006, p. 1. 

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