19.1.2013   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 17/97

—

strongly supports the continuation of the initiative, which brings the full diversity of Europe's cultural richness to the fore and promotes the long-term development of a common European cultural area based on public participation;

—

underlines the need for applicant cities to develop a specific cultural programme using local and regional resources and to give it a strong European dimension. The development of the programme should be based on a sustainable strategic vision and have a long-term positive impact on the cultural sector and the host city beyond the yearlong duration of the initiative;

—

calls for all social, religious and ethnic or cultural groups of all ages to be actively involved both in preparing and implementing the cultural programme. Special attention should be given to young people in order to improve their chances of participating in cultural life;

—

reiterates the need to involve the capital of culture's surrounding areas and the wider region, in order to facilitate participation of geographical areas which have grown and which often extend beyond the borders of Member States;

—

points to the benefits stemming from the important role played by the Committee of the Regions in this initiative. To this end, the appointment and participation of at least one selected member of the Committee of the Regions on the European panel would appear to be both useful and necessary.

Rapporteur

Elisabeth VITOUCH (AT/PES), Member of Vienna City Council

Reference document

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

COM(2012) 407 final

1.

is committed to the European Capital of Culture initiative as one of the EU's most ambitious, far-reaching and effective measures in the cultural domain, giving expression to the richness, diversity and shared qualities of local, regional, national and European cultural development;

2.

strongly supports the continuation of the initiative, which brings the full diversity of Europe's cultural richness to the fore and promotes the long-term development of a common European cultural area based on public participation;

3.

points to the benefits stemming from the important role played by the Committee of the Regions in this initiative. To this end, the appointment and participation of at least one selected member of the Committee of the Regions on the European panel would appear to be both useful and necessary;

4.

welcomes the European Commission proposal and notes with satisfaction that local and regional aspects, as these have been highlighted in the CoR own-initiative opinion on the "Future of the European Capital of Culture" (1), have been given extensive consideration, which makes it easier for local and regional authorities to play an active role;

5.

points out that, under Article 6 TFEU, the European Union shall have competence to carry out actions only to support, coordinate or supplement the actions of the Member States in the area of culture and that, under Article 3(3) TEU, it shall respect Europe's rich cultural and linguistic diversity and shall ensure that its cultural heritage is safeguarded and enhanced;

6.

notes that the proposal is in accordance with the subsidiarity principle. The Committee of the Regions stresses, however, that this principle and the type of competence must also apply to the proposed procedure (e.g. membership of the European panel, designation, criteria), in order to reflect the spirit of the treaties;

7.

underlines the need for applicant cities to develop a specific cultural programme using local and regional resources and to give it a strong European dimension. The development of the programme should be based on a sustainable strategic vision and have a long-term positive impact on the cultural sector and the host city beyond the yearlong duration of the initiative;

8.

calls for all social, religious and ethnic or cultural groups of all ages to be actively involved both in preparing and implementing the cultural programme. Special attention should be given to young people in order to improve their chances of participating in cultural life;

9.

reiterates its view that the concept of intercultural dialogue in particular, allied with social and territorial cohesion, can help instil the basic values of private, social and civic life, such as solidarity, responsibility, tolerance and respect (2). These priorities enable individuals as well as various social groups to communicate with one another and to live together on the basis of European values, despite having different cultural backgrounds;

10.

believes that the initiative can provide effective long-term support for local and regional cultural and creative industries and at the same time stresses the intrinsic value of European artistic and cultural works as well as their promotion and reception;

11.

underlines the need for a multiannual, in-depth preparation period and technical support (drafting of recommendations, evaluation and monitoring) as well as the need to maintain the yearlong approach to the initiative. In this connection, the Committee of the Regions welcomes the reform of the evaluation process, with the city in question carrying out an evaluation itself, which will however be supported at European level;

12.

supports the current two-stage selection procedure, the first stage of which is based on a rotating system among EU Member States. This gives cities and regions in all EU Member States the same application opportunities and ensures geographical balance in the location of host cities within the EU;

13.

highlights the importance of a capital of culture having a long-term strategy. Its success is, among other things, dependent on political support from all levels, good governance in all relevant areas, the appointment of artistically independent directors and the reliable provision of funds on a multiannual basis;

14.

recommends that a special effort be made to encourage a broad range of cities and regions to apply within the framework of the selection procedure, on the basis of appropriate measures;

15.

is in favour of raising the profile of the programme as an EU initiative. This should be a mandatory element of the communication strategy of the designated capital of culture;

16.

reiterates the need to involve the capital of culture's surrounding areas and the wider region, in order to facilitate participation of geographical areas which have grown and which often extend beyond the borders of Member States;

17.

would like to see the European Commission encouraging use of the experiences with the European capitals of culture in their transnational and cross-border dimensions, given that firstly these capitals of culture form transnational pairs and secondly that more and more cultural capital concepts have an essential cross-border element;

18.

views the initiative as a potential contribution to the European Neighbourhood Policy as well as to relations with other European countries, since not only does it help strengthen cultural cooperation within the EU, it also helps develop even closer ties between the EU and its eastern and southern neighbouring countries, with the aim of promoting prosperity, stability and security on the EU's external borders. Accordingly, participation in the initiative should be open not only to cities from candidate countries and potential candidate countries, but also European Neighbourhood Policy countries as well as EFTA countries;

19.

recommends that synergies be used as effectively as possible, with a view to making optimal use of all available financial resources. In this connection, the Committee calls for the development of a reliable mechanism, providing the initiative with interlinked support on the basis of the various EU development programmes;

20.

welcomes the possibility that in the absence of adequately qualified candidates no city will be designated European capital of culture;

21.

supports the development of explicit, transparent and clear selection criteria which give potential applicants greater certainty when preparing long-term strategies and, through improved goal orientation, when pursuing them as well;

22.

underlines the importance of creating new, long-term measures enabling various social groups to attend and participate in cultural activities, in particular young people, the marginalised and disadvantaged or minorities. Particular attention should also be paid to the accessibility of programme activities for people with disabilities and older people;

23.

stresses that the criteria should not give rise to any influence by the European Union on cultural content, even if it is only indirect;

24.

stresses the importance for this initiative of the European panel and is critical of the European Commission's proposed reforms to the appointment of panel members. In particular, it rejects the pre-selection of panel members as well as the complete loss of members from the relevant Member State;

25.

stresses in particular that introducing a new form of designation by the European Commission, which is also proposed in the draft decision, instead of continuing with the current system of designation by the Council runs the risk of adversely affecting Member States’ symbolic and material identification with this initiative and their acceptance of it;

26.

proposes therefore that the current procedure for selecting members of the European panel should be maintained in a modified form. Furthermore, the Council should continue to designate the capital of culture;

27.

is in favour of opening up the initiative to other European countries (EFTA countries) and European Neighbourhood Policy countries, in addition to applications from cities in candidate countries and potential candidate countries;

28.

believes that, alongside the Melina Mercouri Prize, which constitutes the EU's financial contribution to each Capital of Culture, complementarities with other EU funds and recourse to innovative financing, including through the European Investment Bank (EIB), should be further explored;

29.

for reasons of equity with the cities in Member States, requests that every city takes part in only one competition for candidate countries, potential candidate countries, European Neighbourhood Policy countries and EFTA countries in the period from 2020 to 2033.