EP - Europe's Culture Capitals

Every year for the last twenty years the European Union has chosen a city to be European Capital of Culture. The aim of this event, which is now funded via the EU's Culture 2000 programme, is to forge closer ties between the citizens of Europe. The programme seeks to highlight the richness and variety of European cultures as well as their shared features, and to improve the understanding that Europe's citizens have of each other. But the Union has grown in size since the programme started and so, from 2009, there will be two European Capitals of Culture per year to enable the countries that joined the EU at the last enlargement to take part as early as possible.

On Tuesday, Parliament's Culture Committee approved without amendment the Council's common position listing the countries which will be asked to put forward a candidate for the period 2005 to 2019. The ten new Member States are included as of 2009 and the Council has agreed to guarantee sufficient Community funding for two annual capitals from that date.

The Culture Committee backed its rapporteur, Christa PRETS (PES, AT), who suggested Parliament approve the Council's position as it stood, even though MEPs would still like to see a thorough review of the procedures for choosing the Capitals of Culture, which were laid down in 1999. They would like the Commission to present proposals for change, including improvements in the selection procedure, a clearer definition of the role of the selection board, greater competition between candidate cities and a better assessment of the impact of the event. The Council has not accepted these demands but the rapporteur believes it is important not to jeopardise the plans drawn up by cities which have already been designated in the old Member States and she therefore urged that the final decision be taken now.

Here is the new list of countries designated for 2005-2019. In 2007 and 2008, two cities currently outside the EU will take part, under an option which allows towns not in the EU to be involved.

2005 Ireland (Cork) http://www.cork2005.ie/home/default.asp
2006 Greece (Patras)
2007 Luxembourg (Luxembourg City) and Romania (Sibiu)
2008 United Kingdom (Liverpool) and Norway (Stavanger)

from 2009, two countries per year:

2009 Austria - Lithuania
2010 Germany - Hungary
2011 Finland - Estonia
2012 Portugal - Slovenia
2013 France - Slovakia
2014 Sweden - Latvia
2015 Belgium - Czech Republic
2016 Spain - Poland
2017 Denmark - Cyprus
2018 The Netherlands - Malta
2019 Italy

01.02.2005 Committee on Culture and Education
In the chair: Nikolaos SIFUNAKIS (PES, EL)
Procedure: Codecision, second reading
Plenary vote: February, Strasbourg

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• Meeting of the selection panel for the European Capitals of Culture 2009 (15/4/2005)