Recommendation for a COUNCIL DECISION designating the European Capital of Culture for the year 2015 in Belgium
Date: 2010-10-18
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Belgium, capital city, cultural event, cultural policy, town

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THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 18.10.2010 
COM(2010) 566 final 

Recommendation for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

designating the European Capital of Culture for the year 2015 in Belgium 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

Decision No 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  20191  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. Belgium and the  Czech Republic are entitled to 
host the event in 2015. 

The nomination for European Capitals of Culture concerning the year 2015 is submitted to the 
following process. 

A call for submissions of applications is published by each of the Member States concerned 
no  later  than  six  years  before  the  event.  A  selection  panel  composed  of  13  independent 
experts in the cultural sector is convened for a pre-selection meeting no later than five years 
before the event. It assesses the applications received against the criteria laid down in article 4 
of Decision No 1622/2006/EC and agrees on a short list of candidate cities which have to be 
considered further after completing their application. 

Each of the Member States concerned convenes the panel for final selection, 9 months after 
the pre-selection meeting. After an extensive evaluation of the pre selected cities based on the 
criteria laid down for the action, the panel recommends one city for the title in each Member 
State concerned. 

On  the  basis  of  these  recommendations,  both  Member  States  nominate  one  city  each  to  be 
European  Capital  of  Culture  and  notify  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the 
Commission  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  no  later  than  four  years  before  the  event  in 
question is due to begin.  

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

The  Council,  acting  on  a  recommendation  from  the  Commission,  officially  designates  the 
cities in question for the year for which they have been nominated.  

An application for the European Capital of Culture title was received from the city of Mons. 
No other cities applied in Belgium.  

At the end of the selection procedure, the panel concluded that the city's application met the 
objectives of the event and the criteria defined in article 4 of Decision No 1622/2006/EC and 
reached the high standards of quality required for the event. 

Consequently,  the  panel  recommended  that  Mons  hosts  the  event  in  Belgium  in  2015  in  its 
reports dated February 2010. Belgium notified these nominations to the European Parliament, 
the Council, the Commission and the Committee of the Regions by end 2009. 

The  European  Parliament  forwarded  its  positive  opinion  to  the  Commission  in  early  July 
2010.  

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OJ L 304 of 3.11.2006, p1 

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The selection process in the Czech Republic is still on going and will be completed in early 
2011. 

the  Commission, 

Consequently, 
in  accordance  with  Article  9(3)  of  Decision  No 
1622/2006/EC  submits  to  the  Council  the  appended  recommendation  for  the  official 
designation of Mons for the 2015 European Capital of Culture event in Belgium. 

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Recommendation for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

designating the European Capital of Culture for the year 2015 in Belgium 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having regard to the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union, 

Having regard to Decision No 1622/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council 
of  24  October  2006  establishing  a  Community  action  for  the  European  Capital  of  Culture 
event for the years 2007 to 20192, and in particular Article 9(3) thereof,  

Having regard to the recommendation from the European Commission,  

Having regard to the Selection Panel reports of February 2010 regarding the selection process 
of the European Capitals of Culture in Belgium,  

Whereas: 

Considering that the criteria referred to in Article 4 of Decision No1622/2006/EC are entirely 
fulfilled, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 

Mons is designated as “European Capital of Culture 2015” in Belgium. 

Article 1 

Article 2 

This Decision shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official 
Journal of the European Union.  

Done at […],  

For the Council 
The President 

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OJ L 304, 3.11.2006, p. 1. 

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