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.
(2)
The Commission Communication of 10 May 2007 on a European agenda for culture in a globalizing world, endorsed by the Council in its resolution of 16 November 2007 (3) and by the European Parliament in its resolution of 10 April 2008 (4), sets the objectives for future activities of the Union in the field of culture. Those activities should promote cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue, culture as a catalyst for creativity within the framework for growth and jobs and culture as a vital element in the Union's international relations.
(3)
The Unesco Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, which entered into force on 18 March 2007 and to which the Union is a party, aims at protecting and promoting cultural diversity, fostering interculturality and raising awareness of the value of cultural diversity at local, national and international levels.
(4)
Decision No 1622/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (5) established an action for the European Capital of Culture event for the years 2007 to 2019.
(5)
The evaluations of the European Capitals of Culture, as well as the public consultation on the future of that action after 2019, have revealed that it has progressively become one of the most ambitious cultural initiatives in Europe as well as one of the most appreciated by European citizens. A new action should, therefore, be established to cover the years 2020-33.
(6)
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 those cultures share as well as to promote greater mutual understanding between European citizens, cities holding the title of European Capital of Culture (‘the title’) have also progressively added a new dimension by using the leverage effect of the title to stimulate their more general development in accordance with their respective strategies and priorities.
(7)
The objectives of the action established by this Decision should be fully in line with the objectives of the Creative Europe Programme established by Regulation (EU) No 1295/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (6), which aims to safeguard, develop and promote European cultural and linguistic diversity, to promote Europe's cultural heritage and to strengthen the competitiveness of the European cultural and creative sectors, in particular that of the audiovisual sector, with a view to supporting smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. The achievement of those objectives should also help to strengthen the feeling of belonging to a common cultural area and to stimulate intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding.
(8)
To achieve such objectives, it is important for the cities holding the title to seek to develop links between, on the one hand, their cultural and creative sectors, and, on the other hand, sectors such as education, research, environment, urban development or cultural tourism. In particular, past evidence has shown the potential of the European Capitals of Culture as a catalyst for local development and cultural tourism as highlighted in the Commission Communication of 30 June 2010 entitled ‘Europe, the world's No 1 tourist destination — a new political framework for tourism in Europe’, welcomed by the Council in its conclusions of 12 October 2010 and endorsed by the European Parliament in its resolution of 27 September 2011 (7).
(9)
It is also important for cities holding the title to seek to promote social inclusion and equal opportunities and to do their utmost to ensure the broadest possible involvement of all the components of civil society in the preparation and implementation of the cultural programme, with special attention being paid to young people and marginalised and disadvantaged groups.
(10)
The evaluations and the public consultation have also convincingly shown that the European Capitals of Culture have many potential benefits when they are carefully planned. They remain first and foremost a cultural initiative, but can also bring significant social and economic benefits, particularly when they are embedded in a long-term culture-led development strategy for the city concerned.
(11)
The European Capitals of Culture action has also been highly challenging. Staging a year-long programme of cultural activities is demanding and some cities holding the title have been more successful than others in capitalising on the potential. Therefore, that action should be reinforced in order to help all cities to make the most of the title.
(12)
The title should continue to be reserved to cities, irrespective of their size, but in order to reach a wider public and amplify the impact, it should also be possible, as before, for the cities concerned to involve their surrounding area.
(13)
The award of the title should continue to be based on a specifically created cultural programme, which should have a strong European dimension. That cultural programme should be part of a long-term strategy having a sustainable impact on local economic, cultural and social development.
(14)
The two-stage selection process based on a chronological list of Member States and carried out by a 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 selection phase on the basis of expert advice received from that panel, and has ensured an equitable distribution of the title across all Member States. Furthermore, to safeguard the continuity of the European Capitals of Culture action and avoid the loss of experience and know-how which would result from all experts being replaced simultaneously, the replacement of experts should be staggered.
(15)
National expertise should continue to be ensured by enabling Member States to appoint up to two experts to a panel carrying out the selection and monitoring procedures.
(16)
The selection criteria should be made more explicit in order to provide candidate cities with better guidance regarding the objectives and requirements with which they need to comply in order to be awarded the title. Those criteria should also be easier to measure in order to help the panel in the selection and monitoring of cities. In this regard, there should be a particular focus on candidate cities' plans for legacy activities embedded in a long-term cultural policy strategy capable of generating a sustainable cultural, economic and social impact.
(17)
Candidate cities should explore the possibility, where appropriate, of seeking financial support from Union programmes and funds.
(18)
The preparation phase between the designation of a city and the year of the title is of crucial importance for the success of the European Capitals of Culture action. There is broad consensus among stakeholders that the accompanying measures introduced by Decision No 1622/2006/EC have been very useful for the cities concerned. Those measures should be further developed, in particular through more frequent monitoring meetings and visits to the cities by panel experts, and through an even stronger exchange of experience between past, present and future cities holding the title, as well as candidate cities. Designated cities could also develop further links with other cities holding the title.
(19)
The Melina Mercouri prize established by Decision No 1622/2006/EC has acquired a strong symbolic value which goes far beyond the actual amount awarded by the Commission. However, in order to ensure that the designated cities fulfil their commitments, the conditions for payment of the prize money should be made more stringent and explicit.
(20)
It is important that the cities concerned make clear in all their communication material that the action established by this Decision is a Union action.
(21)
The Commission's evaluations of the past European Capitals of Culture, which are based on data collected at a local level, have not been able to provide primary data on the impact of the title. Therefore, the cities themselves should be the key players in the evaluation process.
(22)
Past experience has shown that the participation of candidate countries can help to bring them closer to the Union by highlighting the common aspects of European cultures. The action established by this Decision should therefore be open to the participation of candidate countries and potential candidates after 2019.
(23)
However, during the period covered by this Decision, namely from 2020 to 2033, for reasons of equity with cities in the Member States, cities in candidate countries and potential candidates should only be allowed to participate in one competition for the title. Furthermore, likewise for reasons of equity with Member States, each candidate country or potential candidate should only be allowed to host the title once during that period.
(24)
Decision No 1622/2006/EC should be repealed. However, its provisions should continue to apply in relation to all cities which have already been, or are in the process of being, designated for the years up to 2019.
(25)
Since the objectives of this Decision, namely to safeguard and promote the diversity of cultures in Europe, to highlight the common features they share and to foster the contribution of culture to the long-term development of cities, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States given the need, in particular, for common, clear and transparent criteria and procedures for selection and monitoring, as well as for a strong coordination between the Member States, but can rather, by reason of the scale and the expected effects of the action, 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,
