Proposal for a DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL establishing a Union action for the European Capitals of Culture for the years 2020 to 2033
Date: 2012-07-20
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European cultural event, capital city, eligibility criteria, promotion of the European idea, public awareness campaign

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 20.7.2012  
COM(2012) 407 final 

2012/0199 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE 
COUNCILestablishing a Union action for the European Capitals of Culture for the 
years 2020 to 2033 

{SWD(2012) 226 final} 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

The  European  Capitals  of  Culture  were  created  in  1985  as  an  intergovernmental  initiative. 
They were transformed officially into a European Union action in 1999 in order to make the 
initiative  more  effective.  New  criteria  and  selection  procedures  were  established,  a 
chronological  list  of  Member  States  was  drawn  up  indicating  the  order  in  which  they  were 
entitled to host the title, and a European panel of independent experts was created to assess 
the applications (Decision N° 1419/1999/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council 
of 25 May 1999 establishing a Community action for the European Capital of Culture event 
for  the  years  2005  to  2019).  The  rules  were  renewed  in  2006  in  order  to  develop  the 
effectiveness  of  the  initiative  further  by  stimulating  competition  between  the  cities  and 
fostering  the  quality  of  the  bids.  These  new  rules  also  introduced  various  measures  to 
accompany  the  cities  in  their  preparation,  including  a  monitoring  process  (Decision  N° 
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 2019).  

Decision  N°  1622/2006/EC  will  end  in  2019.  The  competition  for  the  title  is  currently 
launched six years in advance in order to give the cities sufficient time for their preparation 
before the beginning of the year of the title. Therefore, the new legal base for the continuation 
of the European Capitals of Culture  should be adopted in 2013 in order to ensure a smooth 
transition in 2020. 

2. 

EVALUATIONS,  CONSULTATIONS  WITH  THE  INTERESTED  PARTIES 
AND COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 

The Commission's work on the proposal for the European Capitals of Culture after 2019 has 
been based on broad range of inputs. 

Since  2007,  the  Commission  ensures  the  external  and  independent  evaluation  of  each 
European  Capital  of  Culture.  So  far  the  2007-2010  Capitals  were  evaluated  and  the  2011 
evaluation is underway. Previously the 1995 – 2004 European Capitals of Culture had been 
evaluated externally in a single report. The Commission also commissioned an evaluation of 
the selection and monitoring procedures introduced by Decision N° 1622/2006/EC. 

An  online  consultation  was  carried  out  between  27  October  2010  and  12  January  2011  and 
212  responses  were  received.  This  online  consultation  was  followed  by  a  public  meeting 
which  took  place  in  Brussels  on  2  March  2011  and  was  attended  by  more  than  200  people 
including a large majority of representatives of public authorities and organisations. 

Important inputs in the reflection on the future of the European Capitals of Culture were also 
provided by the own initiative report adopted by the Committee of the Regions in February 
2012 and by the 25th anniversary conference of the European Capitals of Culture organised in 
Brussels in March 2010 and which gathered more than 50 past, present and future Capitals or 
bidding cities and 500 participants.  

It is important to note that on all the key issues there was a broad convergence between the 
evidence and data collected through the evaluations on the one hand and the views expressed 

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during  the  consultation  process  on  the  other  hand.  This  enabled  the  Commission  to  draw  a 
number of important lessons for the future of the European Capitals of Culture. 

There is a large consensus that the Capitals are a highly successful action, as well as a very 
strong support for their continuation after 2019. It clearly emerges that they have become one 
of the most ambitious cultural initiatives in Europe, both in scope and scale. They have also 
become one of the most visible and prestigious initiatives of the Union and probably one of 
the most appreciated by European citizens.  

The  European  Capitals  of  Cultural  can  bring  many  benefits  to  cities  when  they  are  planned 
with  consideration.  They  remain  first  and  foremost  a  cultural  event,  but  they  can  also  have 
significant social and economic benefits, particularly when the event is embedded as part of a 
long-term  culture  led  development  strategy  in  the  city  and  its  surrounding  region.  It  should 
also  be  noted  that  although  only  one  city  in  each  Member  State  can  host  the  event  in  any 
given  year,  the  competition  has  an  important  leverage  effect  on  the  development  of  new  or 
more effective policies and strategies even in cities which do not win the title. 

However, the European Capitals of Culture are also highly challenging. Staging a year long 
programme of cultural activities is demanding and some Capitals have been more successful 
than others in capitalising on the potential of the title. The main challenge for the future will 
therefore be to build on the strengths of the current scheme, while at the same time helping 
each  single  Capital  to  fully  exploit  the  potential  of  the  title  and  to  optimise  the  cultural, 
economic and social benefits. 

On the basis of the results of the evaluations and of the public consultation, the Commission 
identified the five main problems faced by cities in their preparation for the title:  

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The most common difficulty so far has been the effect of national and local politics 
on the budgets, which need to be as stable as possible between the bidding and final 
stages,  as  well  as  the  impact  of  politics  on  other  aspects  of  the  organisation  of  the 
event. Political support is fundamental as most of the funds are public, and without it 
a city cannot have a credible bid, but at the same time the implementing team needs 
its  artistic  independence  to  be  respected  in  order  to  protect  the  credibility  of  the 
event.  

The  evaluations  have  also  shown  that  in  some  of  the  past  Capitals,  the  European 
dimension was not well understood and could have been more visible.  

Several  cities  have  failed  to  embed  the  title  in  a  longer-term  strategy  and  have 
struggled as a consequence to ensure the legacy of the title in the city.  

There is still a lack of measurement mechanisms put in place by the cities themselves 
and  thus  of  primary  data  on  the  impacts  of  the  title.  This  makes  a  comparison 
between the Capitals difficult and weakens the transfer of experience. 

Finally, many Member States have already hosted the title on several occasions and 
some  of  them  only  have  a  limited  number  of  realistic  candidates  for  a  large  scale 
event such as the European Capitals of Culture. Hosting the title could have strong 
negative  effects  on  a  city  which  has  too  limited  capacities  and  selecting  weak 
Capitals would risk damaging the prestige and brand value of the European Capitals 
of Culture in the long term. 

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On this basis, three options were tested for the future of the European Capitals of Culture after 
2019:  

• 

• 

• 

(1) continuing the action with an identical legal base to the current Decision to which 
simply a new chronological list of Member States is annexed; 

(2) stopping the action; 

(3)  continuing  the  action  with  a  new  legal  base  which  addresses  the  problems 
encountered  with  the  current  Decision.  For  this  third  option,  two  sub-options  were 
tested:  

– 

– 

(3a) a new chronological list of Member States is annexed;  

(3b) the title is awarded on the basis of an open competition. 

The  various  cultural,  economic,  social  and  environmental  impacts  were  examined  for  each 
option. The options were then assessed and ranked according to their effectiveness in terms of 
achieving the objectives of the European Capitals of Culture, their efficiency, their costs and 
administrative  burden,  their  coherence  with  broader  Union  political  objectives  and  their 
synergies and complementarities with other Union objectives, and their feasibility. 

The option with the most positive overall assessment is option 3a, namely a new legal base 
with a chronological list of Member States. This option scored higher than all other options 
and was ranked as the preferred option. 

The main results of the evaluations and of the public consultation, as well as the logical steps 
followed for the comparison of the options are summarized in the Commission Staff Working 
Document which is accompanying the present proposal. 

3. 

LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL 

The European Capitals of Culture are based on article 167 of the Treaty on the Functioning of 
the European Union. This article gives the EU the mandate to "contribute to the flowering of 
the cultures of the Member States, while respecting their national and regional diversity and at 
the  same  time  bringing  the  common  cultural  heritage  to  the  fore".  The  Union  shall  also 
encourage  "cooperation  between  Member  States"  in  the  field  of  culture  and  "if  necessary, 
support and supplement their action".  

In  line  with  article  291  of  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  under  the 
new  Decision  the  official  designation  of  the  European  Capitals  of  Culture  formalising  the 
recommendations made by the European panel of independent experts should be made by the 
Commission. 

The proposal is in keeping with the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality. The main 
level  of  action  for  the  implementation  of  the  European  Capitals  of  Culture  remains  at  local 
and national level. However, the evaluations and the public consultation have shown that the 
Union has a crucial role to play in the coordination between Member States and in ensuring 
the application of common, clear and transparent criteria, as well as regarding selection and 
monitoring procedures for the European Capitals of Culture. The Union will also support the 
preparation  of  the  selected  cities  through  the  recommendations  of  the  European  panel  of 

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experts, the exchange of best practices between cities and a financial contribution in the form 
of the Melina Mercouri Prize.  

4. 

BUDGETARY IMPLICATION  

As was already the case under Decision N° 1622/2006/EC, the Commission's proposal has no 
direct budgetary implication.  

The  period  covered  by  the  proposal  will  coincide  with  several  multi  annual  financial 
frameworks.  For  the  2014-2020  financial  framework,  the  financial  aspects  in  relation  to  the 
European Capitals of Culture, including the Melina Mercouri Prize, the costs of the European 
panel of experts, the visibility of the action at European level and the human resources needed 
within  the  Commission  to  support  the  action,  will  be  dealt  with  in  the  framework  of  the 
Creative Europe Programme.  

For the years after 2020, the legal and financial aspects of the European Capitals of Culture 
will  be  directly  linked  to  the  provisions  included  in  the  future  multi  annual  financial 
frameworks,  and  on  this  basis,  they  should  also  be  dealt  with  in  the  framework  of  the 
respective Union programmes supporting culture. 

5. 

SUMMARY OF THE DECISION 

On the basis of the results of the evaluations and of the public consultation, the proposal for 
the European Capitals of Culture after 2019 retains the main features and general structure of 
the current scheme:  

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The title will continue to be awarded on the basis of a chronological list of Member 
States. Such a rotating system proved to be the only system which ensured an equal 
opportunity for each Member State to host the title and a geographical balance in the 
location  of  the  European  Capitals  of  Culture,  and  hence  the  opportunity  for  the 
Union  to  highlight  the  diversity  of  European  cultures  and  for  the  public  across 
Europe to experience the event close to home.  

The title will continue to be reserved to cities. Cities will also continue to have the 
possibility  to  involve  their  surrounding  region  in  order  to  reach  a  wider  public  and 
amplify the impacts, however past experience has shown that the clear leadership of 
one city is a key success factor. 

The attribution of the title will continue to be based on a cultural programme created 
specifically for the year of the title in order to foster a strong European dimension.  

The  two  stage  selection  process  carried  out  by  a  European  panel  of  independent 
experts has proven to be fair and transparent and will be kept. It enabled in particular 
cities to improve their applications between the pre-selection and the final selection 
phase on the basis of expert advice received from the panel. 

The  title  will  continue  to  be  awarded  for  a  full  year  to  keep  it  distinctive  and 
ambitious. 

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At the same time, a number of improvements are proposed in order to address the problems 
encountered with the current Decision and to help all cities to make the most of the title. The 
main changes introduced by the new legal base are the following: 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The  criteria  have  been  made  more  explicit  in  order  to  give  more  guidance  to  the 
candidate  cities  and  more  measurable  in  order  to  help  the  panel  of  experts  in  the 
selection  and  monitoring  of  cities.  A  special  attention  was  paid  to  optimise  the 
potential  leverage  effect  of  the  initiative  on  stimulating  long-term  local  culture  led 
development strategies, to ensure the capacity of candidate cities to actually host the 
title, to boost the European dimension and visibility of the cultural programmes, to 
ensure  the  high  quality  of  the  cultural  and  artistic  content,  to  foster  a  large 
participation of the local populations and to try to ensure the stability of the budgets 
and the independence of the artistic teams.  

The  conditionality  of  the  Melina  Mercouri  Prize  has  been  reinforced.  Furthermore, 
the Prize will no longer be paid three months before the beginning of the year of the 
title, but during the middle of the year itself in order to be certain that cities keep to 
their  commitments  regarding  in  particular  funding,  programming  and  Union 
visibility. 

It  is  stated  explicitly  that  the  European  panel  is  not  obliged  to  give  a  positive 
recommendation if none of the bids fulfils the criteria. 

The accompanying measures which support the cities during the preparation period 
after winning the title have been strengthened in order to provide further support and 
guidance to the cities. An additional monitoring meeting has been introduced, visits 
to  the  cities  by  panel  members  will  be  more  systematic  and  the  exchange  of 
experience  and  best  practices  between  past,  present  and  future  Capitals,  as  well  as 
candidate cities will be reinforced. 

New evaluation obligations were introduced for the cities themselves in order to have 
a  more  comprehensive  view  of  the  impacts  of  the  title  and  to  provide  comparable 
data. 

Finally, it is proposed to open the action again to the participation of candidate and 
potential candidate countries after 2019, as was the case until 2010. The experience 
among others of Sibiu 2007 and Istanbul 2010 has shown that this can be beneficial 
both for these countries and the Union. 

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2012/0199 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

establishing a Union action for the European Capitals of Culture for the years 2020 to 
2033 

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 167 (5), first indent, thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national Parliaments, 

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions1, 

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) aims at an ever closer 
union among the peoples of Europe and confers on the Union the task, inter alia, of 
contributing  to  the  flowering  of  the  cultures  of  the  Member  States,  while  respecting 
their  national  and  regional  diversity  and  at  the  same  time  bringing  the  common 
cultural heritage to the fore. In this respect, the Union, where necessary, supports and 
supplements  Member  States'  action  to  improve  the  knowledge  and  dissemination  of 
the culture and history of the European peoples. 

The  Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council, 
the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on a 
European  agenda  for  culture  in  a  globalizing  world2,  endorsed  by  the  Council  in 
Resolution  of  16  November  2007  on  a  European  Agenda  for  Culture3  sets  the 
objectives  for  future  activities  of  the  Union  in  the  field  of  culture.  These  activities 
should promote cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue. They should also promote 
culture as a catalyst for creativity within the framework of growth and jobs, as well as 
a vital element in the Union's international relations. 

1 
2 
3 

OJ C , , p. . 
COM(2007) 242 final 
OJ C 287, 29.11.2007, p. 1. 

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(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

Decision  N°  1622/2006/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  24 
October  2006  established  a  Community  action  for  the  European  Capital  of  Culture 
event for the years 2007 to 20194. 

The evaluations of the European Capitals of Culture as well as the public consultation 
on  the  future  of  the  action  after  2019  reveal  that  the  Capitals  have  progressively 
become one of the most ambitious cultural initiatives in Europe as well as one of the 
most appreciated by European citizens. 

In addition to the original objectives of the European Capitals of Culture which were 
to highlight the richness and diversity of European cultures and the features they share 
and  to  promote  greater  mutual  understanding  between  European  citizens,  cities 
holding the title have also progressively added a new dimension by using the leverage 
effect of the title to stimulate the city's more general development. 

These  objectives  are  fully  in  line  with  the  objectives  of  the  Creative  Europe 
Programme5 which aims to promote European cultural and linguistic diversity and to 
strengthen  the  competitiveness  of  the  cultural  and  creative  sectors,  with  a  view  to 
supporting smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. 

The  evaluations  and  the  public  consultation  have  demonstrated  that  the  European 
Capitals  of  Culture  have  many  potential  benefits  when  they  are  planned  with 
consideration.  They  remain  first  and  foremost  a  cultural  initiative,  but  they  can  also 
have significant social and economic benefits, particularly when they are embedded as 
part of a long-term culture led development strategy in the city.  

The  European  Capitals  of  Culture  are  also  highly  challenging.  Staging  a  year  long 
programme  of  cultural  activities  is  demanding  and  some  Capitals  have  been  more 
successful than others in capitalising on the potential. Therefore, the action should be 
reinforced in order to help all cities to make the most of the title.  

The European Capital of Culture title should continue to be reserved to cities, but in 
order to reach a wider public and amplify the impacts, these cities should also continue 
to have the possibility to involve their surrounding region. 

(10)  The award of the title of European Capital of Culture should continue to be based on a 
cultural programme created specifically for the European Capital of Culture year and 
which  should  have  a  very  strong  European  dimension,  but  this  programme  must  be 
part of a longer-term strategy. 

(11)  The  two  stage  selection  process  based  on  a  chronological  list  of  Member  States  and 
carried  out  by  a  European  panel  of  independent  experts  has  proven  to  be  fair  and 
transparent.  It  has  enabled  cities  to  improve  their  applications  between  the  pre-
selection and the final selection phase on the basis of expert advice received from the 
panel, and ensured an equitable distribution of Capitals across all Member States.  

(12)  The  selection  criteria  should  be  more  explicit  in  order  to  give  more  guidance  to  the 
candidate  cities  and  more  measurable  in  order  to  help  the  panel  of  experts  in  the 

4 
5 

OJ L 304, 3.11.2006, P. 1. 
COM(2011) 785 final  

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selection and monitoring of cities. They should in particular reinforce the legacy of the 
title by rewarding cities which have developed a long-term cultural policy strategy. 

(13)  The preparation phase between the designation of a city and the year of the title is of 
crucial importance for the success of a European Capital of Culture. There is a large 
consensus  among  stakeholders  that  the  accompanying  measures  introduced  by 
Decision  N°  1622/2006/EC  have  been  very  useful  for  the  cities.  These  measures 
should be further developed in particular through more frequent monitoring meetings 
and visits to the cities by panel members, and through an even stronger exchange of 
experience between past, present and future Capitals, as well as candidate cities.  

(14)  The  Melina  Mercouri  Prize  has  acquired  a  strong  symbolic  value  which  goes  far 
beyond  the  actual  amount  of  the  prize  which  may  be  awarded  by  the  Commission. 
However,  in  order  to  ensure  that  the  designated  cities  fulfil  their  commitments,  the 
conditions for payment of the prize should be made more stringent and explicit. 

(15) 

It is important that the cities make clear in all their communication material that the 
European Capitals of Culture are an initiative of the Union. 

(16)  The  Commission’s  evaluations  of  the  results  of  past  European  Capitals  of  Culture 
cannot provide primary data on the impact of the title and are based on data collected 
at  a  local  level.  Therefore,  the  cities  themselves  should  be  the  key  players  in  the 
evaluation process and should put in place effective measurement mechanisms. 

(17)  The  experience  of  Sibiu  2007  and  Istanbul  2010,  among  others,  has  shown  that  the 
participation  of  candidate  countries  can  contribute  to  bring  them  closer  to  the  Union 
by highlighting the common aspects of European cultures. The European Capitals of 
Culture should therefore be open again to the participation of candidate and potential 
candidate countries after 2019. 

(18) 

In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Decision and, in 
particular,  the  provisions  concerning  the  designation  of  the  European  Capitals  of 
Culture, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission. 

(19)  Decision  1622/2006/EC  should  be  repealed  and  replaced  by  this  Decision.  Its 
provisions should however continue to apply for all the European Capitals of Culture 
up to 2019 which were already designated or are in the process of being designated.  

(20)  Since the objectives of this Decision  cannot  be sufficiently achieved  by  the Member 
States by reason of the need, in particular, for common, clear and transparent criteria 
and  procedures  for  the  selection  and  the  monitoring  of  the  European  Capitals  of 
Culture,  as  well  as  for  a  strong  coordination  between  the  Member  States,  and  can 
therefore  be  better  achieved  at  Union  level,  the  Union  may  adopt  measures,  in 
accordance  with  the  principle  of  subsidiarity  as  set  out  in  article  5  of  the  Treaty  on 
European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that 
article,  this  Decision  does  not  go  beyond  what  is  necessary  in  order  to  achieve 
those objectives, 

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HAVE ADOPTED THIS DECISION:  

Article 1 

Subject matter  

This Decision  establishes  a Union action  for  the European  Capitals  of  Culture  for  the  years 
2020 to 2033  

Article 2 

Objectives 

1. 

The general objectives of the action shall be the following: 

(a) 

to  safeguard and  promote the diversity  of European cultures, and to highlight 
the common features they share; 

(b) 

to foster the contribution of culture to the long-term development of cities. 

2. 

The specific objectives of the action shall be the following: 

(a) 

to enhance the range, diversity and European dimension of the cultural offer in 
cities, including through transnational co-operation; 

(b) 

to widen access to and participation in culture; 

(c) 

to strengthen the capacity of the cultural sector and its connectivity with other 
sectors; 

(d) 

to improve the international profile of cities through culture.  

Article 3 

Access to the action 

1. 

2. 

Cities  in  Member  States  shall  be  entitled  to  be  designated  as  European  Capitals  of 
Culture for one year, in the order set out in the Annex.  

The designation shall apply to a maximum of one city in each of the Member States 
appearing in the list. 

Where a country accedes to the Union after the adoption of the present Decision, the 
list  referred  to  in  the  annex  shall  be  updated  accordingly.  Thus  the  cities  in  this 
country shall be entitled to be designated as European Capitals of Culture according 
to the same rules and procedures as for other Member States. 

However, as the competition for the title shall start six years before the beginning of 
the year of the title in order to give the cities sufficient time for their preparation after 

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their designation, the list shall not be updated in the case of countries acceding to the 
Union after 31 December 2026.  

Where  a  city  of  the  acceding  country  has  already  been  designated  as  European 
Capital  of  Culture  during  the  period  from  2020  to  2033  under  the  rules  and 
procedures for candidate and potential candidate countries as laid down in paragraph 
3, the list shall not be updated. 

Cities in candidate and potential candidate countries shall also have the possibility to 
apply  for  the  European  Capital  of  Culture  title  in  the  framework  of  an  open 
competition  organised  every  third  year  in  parallel  with  the  competitions  in  the  two 
Member States, in accordance with the calendar in the annex.  

The  specific  provisions  for  cities  in  candidate  and  potential  candidate  countries  are 
laid down in Article 10. 

Article 4 

Applications 

The competition for the European Capital of Culture title shall only be open to cities. 
Candidate  cities  may  involve  their  surrounding  regions.  However,  the  applications 
shall  be  made  under  the  name  of  the  leading  city  and,  if  selected,  the  title  will  be 
awarded to this city. 

A  common  application  form  based  on  the  criteria  laid  down  in  Article  5  shall  be 
prepared by the Commission and used by all candidate cities. 

Every  application  shall  be  based  on  a  cultural  programme  with  a  strong  European 
dimension. This programme shall last one year and shall be created specifically for 
the European Capital of Culture title, in accordance with the criteria in Article 5. It 
must however be embedded in a long term strategy for cultural development in the 
city. 

3. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

Article 5 

Criteria 

The criteria for the assessment of the applications are divided into six categories: "long-term 
strategy",  "capacity  to  deliver",  "cultural  and  artistic  content",  "European  dimension", 
"outreach" and "management": 

1. 

As regards the "long-term strategy", the following factors shall be assessed: 

(a) 

the strategy for the cultural development of the city that is in place at the time 
of the application, including the plans for cultural governance, and sustaining 
cultural activities beyond the year of the title; 

(b) 

the plans to strengthen the capacity of the cultural sector; 

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(c) 

(d) 

the plans to strengthen the long term links between the cultural sector and the 
economic and social sectors in the city; 

the  envisaged  long-term  cultural,  social  and  economic  effects  that  the  title 
would have on the city; 

(e) 

the plans for the monitoring and evaluation of the impact of the title on the city. 

2. 

As regards the "capacity to deliver", the candidate cities shall demonstrate that: 

(a) 

the application has cross-party political support; 

(b) 

the city has or will have adequate and viable infrastructure to host the title.  

3. 

As regards the "cultural and artistic content", the following factors shall be assessed: 

(a) 

a clear and coherent artistic vision for the cultural programme of the year; 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

the involvement of local artists and cultural organisations in the conception and 
implementation of the cultural programme; 

the  range  and  diversity  of  the  activities  proposed  and  their  overall  artistic 
quality; 

the  capacity  to  combine  local  cultural  heritage  and  traditional  art  forms  with 
new, innovative and experimental cultural expressions. 

4. 

As regards the "European dimension", the following factors shall be assessed: 

(a) 

the scope and quality of activities promoting the cultural diversity of Europe; 

(b) 

(c) 

the  scope  and  quality  of  activities  highlighting  the  common  aspects  of 
European cultures, heritage and history, as well as European integration; 

the scope and quality of activities featuring European artists, co-operation with 
operators or cities in different countries, and transnational partnerships; 

(d) 

the strategy to attract the interest of a broad European public. 

5. 

As regards "outreach", the following factors shall be assessed: 

(a) 

(b) 

the involvement of the local population and civil society in the preparation of 
the application and the implementation of the European Capital of Culture; 

the creation of new and sustainable opportunities for a wide range of citizens to 
attend  or  participate  in  cultural  activities,  in  particular  young  people  and  the 
marginalised  and  disadvantaged,  including  minorities.  Special  attention  shall 
also  be  given,  wherever  possible,  to  the  accessibility  of  these  activities  to 
persons with disabilities and the elderly; 

(c) 

the  overall  strategy  for  audience  development,  and  in  particular  the  link  with 
education and the participation of schools.  

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6. 

As regards "management", the following factors shall be assessed: 

(a) 

(b) 

the feasibility of the proposed budget. This budget shall cover the preparation 
phase, the year of the title in itself and provisions for the legacy activities; 

the  envisaged  governance  structure  and  delivery  body  for  the  implementation 
of the European Capital of Culture; 

(c) 

the appointment procedure of the artistic director and his/her field of action; 

(d) 

the  communication  strategy,  that  shall  be  comprehensive  and  shall  highlight 
that the European Capitals of Culture are an initiative of the Union. 

Article 6 

European panel 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

A European panel of independent experts ("European panel") shall be established to 
carry out the selection and monitoring procedures.  

The European panel shall consist of 10 members. They shall be citizens of the Union. 
They  shall  be  independent  experts  with  substantial  experience  and  expertise  in  the 
cultural  sector,  in  the  cultural  development  of  cities  or  in  the  organisation  of  a 
European Capital of Culture. They shall also be able to devote an appropriate number 
of working days per year to the European panel.  

The  Commission  shall  pre-select  a  pool  of  potential  panel  members  following  the 
organisation  of  a  call  for  expression  of  interest.  The  European  Parliament,  the 
Council  and  the  Commission  shall  subsequently  select  three  experts  each  from  this 
pool  and  appoint  them  in  accordance  with  their  respective  procedures.  The 
Committee of the Regions shall select one expert and appoint him/her in accordance 
with its procedures. 

Each institution and body shall seek to ensure that the competences of the experts it 
appoints are as complementary as possible, and that those experts are drawn from a 
balanced geographical spectrum. 

The European panel shall designate its chairperson. 

The members of the European panel shall be appointed for a period of three years. 
However, by way of derogation as regards the first panel to be established under the 
present  Decision,  the  European  Parliament  shall  appoint  its  three  experts  for  three 
years, the Council for one year, the Commission for two years and the Committee of 
the  Regions  shall  appoint  its  expert  for  one  year  in  order  to  enable  a  staggered 
replacement  of  panel  members  and  thus  to  avoid  the  loss  of  experience  and  know-
how which would result if all members were replaced simultaneously. 

The members of the European panel shall declare any actual or potential conflict of 
interest in respect of a specific candidate city. In the event of such a declaration by a 
member,  or  if  such  a  conflict  of  interest  comes  to  light,  that  member  shall  not 
participate  in  the  selection  procedure  for  the  Member  State  concerned  or,  where 

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appropriate , in the selection procedure for candidate or potential candidate countries. 
The  member  concerned  shall  not  be  replaced  for  this  procedure  and  the  selection 
shall be carried out by the remaining members of the European panel.  

5. 

All reports of the European panel shall be made public on the Commission website.  

Article 7 

Submission of applications in the Member States 

1. 

2. 

Each  Member  State  shall  be  responsible  for  the  organisation  of  the  competition 
between its cities in accordance with the calendar in the annex.  

The  Member  States  shall  publish  a  call  for  submission  of  applications  six  years 
before the beginning of the year of the title. 

Each  call  for  submission  of  applications,  aimed  at  the  candidate  cities  for  the  title, 
shall use the common application form referred to in Article 4(2). 

The  deadline  for  submitting  applications  under  each  call  for  submission  of 
applications shall be scheduled 10 months after its publication. 

3. 

Applications shall be notified to the Commission by the Member State concerned. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

Article 8 

Pre-selection in the Member States 

Each  of  the  Member  States  concerned  shall  convene  the  European  panel  for  a  pre-
selection meeting with the candidate cities five years before the beginning of the year 
of the title. 

The European panel shall assess the applications according to the criteria set out in 
Article 5. It shall agree on a short-list of candidate cities which are to be considered 
further  and  issue  a  report  on  the  applications  of  all  the  candidate  cities  and 
recommendations to the short-listed candidate cities. 

The European panel shall submit its report to the Member State concerned and to the 
Commission. Each of the Member States concerned shall formally approve the short-
list based on the report of the panel. 

Article 9 

Selection in the Member States 

The  short-listed  candidate  cities  shall  complete  their  applications  according  to  the 
criteria and the recommendations issued by the panel during its pre-selection meeting 
and transmit them to the Member States concerned, which shall then forward them to 
the Commission. 

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2. 

3. 

4. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

Each of the Member States concerned shall convene the European panel for a final 
selection  meeting  with  the  short-listed  candidate  cities  nine  months  after  the  pre-
selection meeting. 

The European panel shall evaluate the completed applications. 

The European panel shall issue a report on the applications with a recommendation 
for the nomination of one city in the Member State concerned as European Capital of 
Culture.  However,  if  none  of  the  candidate  cities  fulfils  the  criteria,  the  European 
panel may recommend not to award the title that year.  

The report shall also contain recommendations to the recommended city concerning 
the progress to be made by the year of the title. 

The report shall be submitted to the Member State concerned and to the Commission. 
It shall be published on the Commission website.  

Article 10 

Provisions concerning candidate and potential candidate countries 

The Commission shall be responsible for the organisation of the competition between 
cities in candidate and potential candidate countries. 

The Commission shall publish in the Official Journal of the European Union a call 
for submission of applications six years before the beginning of the year of the title. 
This  call  shall  be  open  to  cities  in  all  candidate  and  potential  candidate  countries, 
provided that these countries participate in the Creative Europe Programme or in the 
subsequent Union programmes supporting culture at the date of the publication of the 
call. 

However, for reasons of equity with the cities in the Member States, every city shall 
only be allowed to participate in one competition for cities in candidate and potential 
candidate countries during the period from 2020 to 2033, and it shall not be possible 
for a city which participated in such a competition to participate in any subsequent 
competition in a new Member State under the rules laid down in Article 3(2) during 
that same period. 

Furthermore, also for reasons of equity with Member States, each candidate country 
or potential candidate country shall only be allowed to host the title once during the 
period  from  2020  to  2033.  Therefore,  cities  from  countries  which  were  already 
awarded  the title shall not  be allowed to participate in the subsequent  competitions 
during that same period.  

The  conditions  laid  down  in  Article  4  and  the  criteria  laid  down  in  Article  5  shall 
apply for candidate and potential candidate countries. 

The pre-selection of the cities shall be carried out by the European panel five years 
before  the  beginning  of  the  year  of  the  title,  on  the  basis  of  the  written  application 
forms referred to in Article 4(2) only. No meeting with the candidate cities will be 
organised. 

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The  European  panel  shall  assess  the  applications  according  to  the  criteria.  It  shall 
agree on a short-list of candidate cities which are to be considered further and issue a 
report  on  the  applications  of  all  the  candidate  cities  and  recommendations  to  the 
short-listed  candidate  cities.  This  report  shall  be  submitted  to  the  Commission  and 
published on the Commission website. 

5. 

The  short-listed  candidate  cities  shall  complete  their  applications  according  to  the 
criteria and the recommendations issued during the pre-selection and transmit them 
to the Commission. 

The Commission shall convene the European panel for a final selection meeting with 
the shortlisted cities in Brussels, nine months after the pre-selection. 

The European panel shall evaluate the completed applications. 

It shall issue a report on the applications of the short-listed candidate cities together 
with  a  recommendation  for  the  nomination  of  a  maximum  of  one  city  in  one 
candidate  country  or  potential  candidate  country  as  European  Capital  of  Culture. 
However, if none of the candidate cities fulfils the criteria, the European panel may 
recommend not to award the title that year.  

The report shall also contain recommendations to the recommended city concerning 
the progress and the arrangements to be made by the year of the title. 

The report shall be submitted to the Commission and published on the Commission 
website. 

Article 11 

Designation 

The  Commission  shall,  by  means  of  implementing  acts,  officially  designate  the  European 
Capitals  of  Culture,  having  due  regard  to  the  recommendations  of  the  European  panel.  The 
Commission  shall  inform  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council  and  the  Committee  of  the 
Regions of its designation.  

Article 12 

Co-operation between the designated cities 

1. 

2. 

After their designation, the European Capitals of Culture of the same year shall seek 
to develop links between their cultural programmes. 

The co-operation shall be assessed in the framework of the monitoring procedure as 
laid down in Article 13. 

Article 13 

Monitoring 

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1. 

2. 

The  European  panel  shall  monitor  the  preparation  of  the  European  Capitals  of 
Culture  and  provide  the  cities  with  support  and  guidance  from  the  time  of  their 
designation to the beginning of the year of the title.  

To  this  end,  the  Commission  shall  convene  the  European  panel  and  the  concerned 
cities  to  three  meetings:  the  first  meeting  shall  take  place  three  years  before  the 
beginning  of  the  year  of  the  title;  the  second  meeting  shall  take  place  eighteen 
months before the beginning of the year of the title and the third meeting shall take 
place two months before the beginning of the year of the title. The Member State or 
country concerned may nominate an observer to these meetings. 

The  cities  shall  issue  progress  reports  to  the  Commission  six  weeks  before  each  of 
the meetings. 

During the meetings, the European panel shall take stock of the preparations and give 
advice with a view to helping the cities to develop a high-quality programme and an 
effective strategy. The panel shall pay special attention to the recommendations laid 
down in the selection report and in the preceding monitoring reports. 

3. 

After  each  meeting,  the  European  panel  shall  issue  a  report  on  the  state  of 
preparations and any steps to be taken.  

The monitoring reports shall be forwarded to the Commission and to the cities and 
Member  States  or  country  concerned.  They  shall  also  be  published  on  the 
Commission website. 

4. 

In  addition  to  the  monitoring  meetings,  the  Commission  may  organise  visits  of 
European panel members to the designated cities whenever necessary. 

Article 14 

Prize 

1. 

2. 

The period covered by the present Decision will coincide with several multi annual 
financial  frameworks.  For  each  of  these  multiannual  financial  frameworks,  the 
Commission  shall  examine  the  possibility  to  award  a  pecuniary  Prize  in  honour  of 
Melina Mercouri to the designated cities. The legal and financial aspects of this Prize 
shall be dealt with in the framework of the respective Union programmes supporting 
culture. 

If  the  conditions  laid  down  in  Paragraph  1  are  fulfilled  and  the  Melina  Mercouri 
Prize is awarded to a designated city, the Prize shall be paid no later than the end of 
June of the year of the title, provided that the city keeps to the commitments it made 
at the application stage and all the recommendations made by the European panel in 
the selection and monitoring reports were implemented.  

The  commitments  made  at  the  application  stage  shall  be  deemed  kept  by  the 
designated  city  where  no  substantial  change  was  made  to  the  programme  and 
strategy between the application stage and the year of the title, in particular:  

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(a) 

the  budget  remained  stable  between  the  designation  of  the  city  and  the 
beginning of the year of the title; 

(b) 

the independence of the artistic team was respected;  

(c) 

(d) 

the European dimension remained sufficiently strong in the final version of the 
cultural programme; 

the  communication  strategy  and  the  communication  material  used  by  the  city 
clearly  reflect  that  the  European  Capitals  of  Culture  are  an  initiative  of  the 
Union; 

(e) 

the  plans  for  the  monitoring  and  evaluation  of  the  impacts  of  the  title  on  the 
city are in place.  

Article 15 

Practical arrangements 

The Commission shall in particular: 

(a) 

ensure the overall coherence of the action; 

(b) 

ensure coordination between the Member States and the European panel; 

(c) 

in the light of the objectives and criteria, establish guidelines to assist with the 
selection  and  monitoring  procedures  in  close  cooperation  with  the  European 
panel; 

(d)  provide support to the European panel; 

(e)  make  public  all  relevant  information  and  contribute  to  the  visibility  of  the 

action at European level; 

(f) 

foster  the  exchange  of  experience  and  of  best  practices  between  past,  present 
and future Capitals, as well as candidate cities. 

Article 16 

Evaluation 

1. 

The evaluation of the results of each European Capital of Culture shall be under the 
responsibility of the concerned city.  

The  Commission  shall  establish  common  guidelines  and  indicators  for  the  cities 
based  on  the  objectives  and  the  criteria  of  the  action  in  order  to  ensure  a  coherent 
approach to the evaluation procedure. 

The cities shall send their evaluation reports to the Commission by 31 October of the 
year following the year of the title at the latest. The Commission shall publish these 
reports. 

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2. 

In  addition  to  the  cities'  evaluations,  the  Commission  shall  also  ensure  an  external 
and  independent  evaluation  of  the  results  of  the  European  Capitals  of  Culture  on  a 
regular basis. The Commission evaluations shall focus on putting all past Capitals in 
a European context, allowing for comparisons and drawing useful lessons for future 
Capitals, as well as all European cities. 

These external and independent evaluations shall also assess  the European Capitals 
of  Culture  action  as  a  whole,  including  the  efficiency  of  the  processes  involved  in 
running the action, the impact of the action and how it could be improved. 

The  Commission  shall  present  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council  and  the 
Committee of the Regions: 

(a) 

a first interim evaluation report not later than 31 December 2024; 

(b) 

a second interim evaluation report not later than 31 December 2029; 

(c) 

an ex-post evaluation report not later than 31 December 2034. 

Article 17 

Repeal and transitional provisions 

Decision N° 1622/2006/EC is hereby repealed. It shall however continue to apply in the case 
of  cities  which  have  been  designated  or  are  in  the  process  of  being  designated  as  European 
Capitals of Culture for the years from 2012 to 2019. 

Article 18 

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

Done at Brussels,  

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

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ANNEX  

Order of entitlement to nominate a European Capital of Culture 

Croatia6 

Romania 

Lithuania 

Ireland 

Greece 

Luxembourg 

Candidate or potential 
candidate country 

…7 

Hungary 

United Kingdom 

Candidate or potential 
candidate country 

Estonia 

Slovenia 

Slovakia 

Latvia 

Czech Republic 

Poland 

Cyprus 

Malta 

Bulgaria 

Austria 

Germany 

Finland 

Portugal 

France 

Sweden 

Belgium 

Spain 

Denmark 

Candidate or potential 
candidate country 

Candidate or potential 
candidate country 

Candidate or potential 
candidate country 

2020 

2021 

2022 

2023 

2024 

2025 

2026 

2027 

2028 

2029 

2030 

2031 

2032 

2033 

Netherlands 

Italy 

6 
7 

Subject to its accession in 2013. 
The  third  column  of  the  list  referred  to  in  the  annex  shall  be  updated  if  new  countries  accede  to  the 
Union after the adoption of the Decision. The order of their accession shall be respected. A minimum of 
six years shall be calculated between the date of the accession and the beginning of the year of the title 
in order to allow sufficient time for the selection and monitoring procedures. The maximum number of 
European Capitals of Culture in a given year shall not exceed three. If two or more countries accede to 
the Union at the same date and if no agreement on the order of participation can be reached between the 
countries concerned, the Council shall organise a draw. 

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