28.5.2014 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 159/1 DIRECTIVE 2014/60/EU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 15 May 2014 on the return of cultural objects unlawfully removed from the territory of a Member State and amending Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 (Recast) 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 114 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments, Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure (1), Whereas: (1) Council Directive 93/7/EEC (2) has been substantially amended by Directives 96/100/EC (3) and 2001/38/EC (4) of the European Parliament and of the Council. Since further amendments are to be made, it should be recast in the interests of clarity. (2) The internal market comprises an area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital is ensured in accordance with the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). According to Article 36 TFEU, the relevant provisions on free movement of goods do not preclude prohibitions or restrictions on imports, exports or goods in transit, justified on grounds of the protection of national treasures possessing artistic, historic or archaeological value. (3) Under the terms and within the limits of Article 36 TFEU, Member States retain the right to define their national treasures and to take the necessary measures to protect them. Nevertheless, the Union plays a valuable role in encouraging cooperation between Member States with a view to protecting cultural heritage of European significance, to which such national treasures belong. (4) Directive 93/7/EEC introduced arrangements enabling Member States to secure the return to their territory of cultural objects which are classified as national treasures within the meaning of Article 36 TFEU, which fall within the common categories of cultural objects referred to in the Annex to that Directive, and which have been removed from their territory in breach of the national measures or of Council Regulation (EC) No 116/2009 (5). That Directive also covered cultural objects classified as national treasures and forming an integral part of public collections or inventories of ecclesiastical institutions which did not fall within those common categories. (5) Directive 93/7/EEC established administrative cooperation between Member States as regards their national treasures, closely linked to their cooperation with Interpol and other competent bodies in the field of stolen works of art and involving, in particular, the recording of lost, stolen or illegally removed cultural objects forming part of their national treasures and their public collections. (6) The procedure provided for in Directive 93/7/EEC was a first step in establishing cooperation between Member States in this field in the context of the internal market, with the aim of further mutual recognition of relevant national laws. (7) Regulation (EC) No 116/2009, together with Directive 93/7/EEC, introduced a Union system for the protection of Member States' cultural objects. (8) The objective of Directive 93/7/EEC was to ensure the physical return of the cultural objects to the Member State from whose territory those objects have been unlawfully removed, irrespective of the property rights applying to such objects. The application of that Directive, however, has shown the limitations of the arrangements for securing the return of such cultural objects. The reports on the application of that Directive have pointed out its infrequent application due in particular to the limitation of its scope, which resulted from the conditions set out in the Annex to that Directive, the short period of time allowed to initiate return proceedings and the costs associated with return proceedings. (9) The scope of this Directive should be extended to any cultural object classified or defined by a Member State under national legislation or administrative procedures as a national treasure possessing artistic, historic or archaeological value within the meaning of Article 36 TFEU. This Directive should thus cover objects of historical, paleontological, ethnographic, numismatic interest or scientific value, whether or not they form part of public or other collections or are single items, and whether they originate from regular or clandestine excavations, provided that they are classified or defined as national treasures. Furthermore, cultural objects classified or defined as national treasures should no longer have to belong to categories or comply with thresholds related to their age and/or financial value in order to qualify for return under this Directive. (10) The diversity of national arrangements for protecting national treasures is recognised in Article 36 TFEU. In order to foster mutual trust, a willingness to cooperate and mutual understanding between Member States, the scope of the term ‘national treasure’ should be determined, in the framework of Article 36 TFEU. Member States should also facilitate the return of cultural objects to the Member State from whose territory those objects have been unlawfully removed regardless of the date of accession of that Member State, and should ensure that the return of such objects does not give rise to unreasonable costs. It should be possible for Member States to return cultural objects other than those classified or defined as national treasures provided that they respect the relevant provisions of the TFEU, as well as cultural objects unlawfully removed before 1 January 1993. (11) The administrative cooperation between Member States needs to be increased so that this Directive can be applied more effectively and uniformly. Therefore, the central authorities should be required to cooperate efficiently with each other and to exchange information relating to unlawfully removed cultural objects through the use of the Internal Market Information System (‘IMI’) provided for by Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council (6). In order to improve the implementation of this Directive, a module of the IMI system specifically customised for cultural objects should be established. It is also desirable for other competent authorities of the Member States to use the same system, where appropriate. (12) In order to ensure the protection of personal data, administrative cooperation and the exchange of information between the competent authorities should comply with the rules set out in Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (7), and, in so far as the IMI is used, in Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012. The definitions used in Directive 95/46/EC and in Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council (8) should also apply for the purposes of this Directive. (13) The time-limit for checking whether the cultural object found in another Member State is a cultural object within the meaning of Directive 93/7/EEC was identified as being too short in practice. Therefore, it should be extended to six months. A longer period should allow Member States to take the necessary measures to preserve the cultural object and, where appropriate, prevent any action to evade the return procedure. (14) The time-limit for bringing return proceedings should also be extended to three years after the Member State from whose territory the cultural object was unlawfully removed became aware of the location of the cultural object and of the identity of its possessor or holder. The extension of this period should facilitate the return and discourage the illegal removal of national treasures. In the interest of clarity, it should be stipulated that the time-limit for bringing proceedings begins on the date on which the information came to the knowledge of the central authority of the Member State from whose territory the cultural object was unlawfully removed. (15) Directive 93/7/EEC provided that return proceedings may not be brought more than 30 years after the object was unlawfully removed from the territory of the Member State. However, in the case of objects forming part of public collections and of objects belonging to inventories of ecclesiastical institutions in the Member States where they are subject to special protection arrangements under national law, return proceedings are subject to a longer time-limit under certain circumstances. Due to the fact that Member States may have special protection arrangements under national law with religious institutions other than ecclesiastical ones, this Directive should also extend to those other religious institutions. (16) In its Conclusions on preventing and combating crime against cultural goods adopted on 13 and 14 December 2011, the Council recognised the need to take measures in order to make preventing and combating crime concerning cultural objects more effective. It recommended that the Commission support Member States in the effective protection of cultural objects with a view to preventing and combating trafficking and promoting complementary measures where appropriate. In addition, the Council recommended that the Member States consider the ratification of the Unesco Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property signed in Paris on 17 November 1970, and the UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects signed in Rome on 24 June 1995. (17) It is desirable to ensure that all those involved in the market exercise due care and attention in transactions involving cultural objects. The consequences of acquiring a cultural object of unlawful origin will only be genuinely dissuasive if the payment of compensation is coupled with an obligation on the possessor to prove the exercise of due care and attention. Therefore, in order to achieve the Union's objectives of preventing and combating unlawful trafficking in cultural objects, this Directive should stipulate that the possessor must provide proof that he exercised due care and attention in acquiring the object, for the purpose of compensation. (18) It would also be useful for any person, and in particular those who are involved in the market, to have easy access to public information on cultural objects classified or defined as national treasures by the Member States. Member States should try to facilitate access to this public information. (19) In order to facilitate a uniform interpretation of the concept of due care and attention, this Directive should set out non-exhaustive criteria to be taken into account to determine whether the possessor exercised due care and attention when acquiring the cultural object. (20) Since the objective of this Directive, namely to enable the return of cultural objects classified or defined as national treasures which have been unlawfully removed from the territory of Member States, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States, but can, by reason of its scale and effects, 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 Directive does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective. (21) Since the tasks of the committee set up by Regulation (EC) No 116/2009 are rendered obsolete by the deletion of the Annex to Directive 93/7/EEC, references to that committee should be deleted accordingly. However, in order to maintain the platform for the exchange of experience and good practices on the implementation of this Directive among Member States, the Commission should set up an expert group, composed of experts from the Member States' central authorities responsible for the implementation of this Directive, which should be involved, inter alia, in the process of customising a module of the IMI system for cultural objects. (22) Since the Annex to Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 contains a list of provisions on administrative cooperation in Union acts which are implemented by means of the IMI, that Annex should be amended to include this Directive. (23) The obligation to transpose this Directive into national law should be confined to those provisions which represent a substantive amendment as compared to the earlier Directives. The obligation to transpose the provisions which are unchanged arises from the earlier Directives. (24) This Directive should be without prejudice to the obligations of the Member States relating to the time-limits for the transposition into national law of the Directives set out in Annex I, Part B, HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: Article 1 This Directive applies to the return of cultural objects classified or defined by a Member State as being among national treasures, as referred to in point (1) of Article 2, which have been unlawfully removed from the territory of that Member State. Article 2 For the purposes of this Directive, the following definitions apply: (1) ‘cultural object’ means an object which is classified or defined by a Member State, before or after its unlawful removal from the territory of that Member State, as being among the ‘national treasures possessing artistic, historic or archaeological value’ under national legislation or administrative procedures within the meaning of Article 36 TFEU; (2) ‘unlawfully removed from the territory of a Member State’ means: (a) removed from the territory of a Member State in breach of its rules on the protection of national treasures or in breach of Regulation (EC) No 116/2009; or (b) not returned at the end of a period of lawful temporary removal or any breach of another condition governing such temporary removal; (3) ‘requesting Member State’ means the Member State from whose territory the cultural object has been unlawfully removed; (4) ‘requested Member State’ means the Member State in whose territory a cultural object, which was unlawfully removed from the territory of another Member State, is located; (5) ‘return’ means the physical return of the cultural object to the territory of the requesting Member State; (6) ‘possessor’ means the person physically holding the cultural object on his own account; (7) ‘holder’ means the person physically holding the cultural object for third parties; (8) ‘public collections’ means collections, defined as public in accordance with the legislation of a Member State, which are the property of that Member State, of a local or regional authority within that Member State or of an institution situated in the territory of that Member State, such institution being the property of, or significantly financed by, that Member State or local or regional authority. Article 3 Cultural objects which have been unlawfully removed from the territory of a Member State shall be returned in accordance with the procedure and in the circumstances provided for in this Directive. Article 4 Each Member State shall appoint one or more central authorities to carry out the tasks provided for in this Directive. Member States shall inform the Commission of all the central authorities they appoint pursuant to this Article. The Commission shall publish a list of those central authorities and any changes concerning them in the C series of the Official Journal of the European Union. Article 5 Member States' central authorities shall cooperate and promote consultation between the Member States' competent national authorities. The latter shall in particular: (1) upon application by the requesting Member State, seek a specified cultural object which has been unlawfully removed from its territory, identifying the possessor and/or holder. The application must include all information needed to facilitate the search, with particular reference to the actual or presumed location of the object; (2) notify the Member States concerned, where a cultural object is found in their own territory and there are reasonable grounds for believing that it has been unlawfully removed from the territory of another Member State; (3) enable the competent authorities of the requesting Member State to check that the object in question is a cultural object, provided that the check is made within six months of the notification provided for in point (2). If it is not made within the stipulated period, points (4) and (5) shall cease to apply; (4) take any necessary measures, in cooperation with the Member State concerned, for the physical preservation of the cultural object; (5) prevent, by the necessary interim measures, any action to evade the return procedure; (6) act as intermediary between the possessor and/or holder and the requesting Member State with regard to return. To that end, the competent authorities of the requested Member State may, without prejudice to Article 6, first facilitate the implementation of an arbitration procedure, in accordance with the national legislation of the requested Member State and provided that the requesting Member State and the possessor or holder give their formal approval. In order to cooperate and consult with each other, the central authorities of the Member States shall use a module of the Internal Market Information System (‘IMI’) established by Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 specifically customised for cultural objects. They may also use the IMI to disseminate relevant case-related information concerning cultural objects which have been stolen or unlawfully removed from their territory. The Member States shall decide on the use of the IMI by other competent authorities for the purposes of this Directive. Article 6 The requesting Member State may initiate, before the competent court in the requested Member State, proceedings against the possessor or, failing him, the holder, with the aim of securing the return of a cultural object which has been unlawfully removed from its territory. Proceedings may be brought only where the document initiating them is accompanied by: (a) a document describing the object covered by the request and stating that it is a cultural object; (b) a declaration by the competent authorities of the requesting Member State that the cultural object has been unlawfully removed from its territory. Article 7 The competent central authority of the requesting Member State shall forthwith inform the competent central authority of the requested Member State that proceedings have been initiated with the aim of securing the return of the object in question. The competent central authority of the requested Member State shall forthwith inform the central authorities of the other Member States. The exchange of information shall be conducted using the IMI in accordance with the applicable legal provisions on the protection of personal data and privacy, without prejudice to the possibility for the competent central authorities to use other means of communication in addition to the IMI. Article 8 1. Member States shall provide in their legislation that return proceedings under this Directive may not be brought more than three years after the competent central authority of the requesting Member State became aware of the location of the cultural object and of the identity of its possessor or holder. Such proceedings may, in any event, not be brought more than 30 years after the object was unlawfully removed from the territory of the requesting Member State. However, in the case of objects forming part of public collections, defined in point (8) of Article 2, and objects belonging to inventories of ecclesiastical or other religious institutions in the Member States where they are subject to special protection arrangements under national law, return proceedings shall be subject to a time-limit of 75 years, except in Member States where proceedings are not subject to a time-limit or in the case of bilateral agreements between Member States providing for a period exceeding 75 years. 2. Return proceedings may not be brought if removal of the cultural object from the national territory of the requesting Member State is no longer unlawful at the time when they are to be initiated. Article 9 Save as otherwise provided in Articles 8 and 14, the competent court shall order the return of the cultural object in question where it is found to be a cultural object within the meaning of point (1) of Article 2 and to have been removed unlawfully from national territory. Article 10 Where return of the object is ordered, the competent court in the requested Member State shall award the possessor fair compensation according to the circumstances of the case, provided that the possessor demonstrates that he exercised due care and attention in acquiring the object. In determining whether the possessor exercised due care and attention, consideration shall be given to all the circumstances of the acquisition, in particular the documentation on the object's provenance, the authorisations for removal required under the law of the requesting Member State, the character of the parties, the price paid, whether the possessor consulted any accessible register of stolen cultural objects and any relevant information which he could reasonably have obtained, or took any other step which a reasonable person would have taken in the circumstances. In the case of a donation or succession, the possessor shall not be in a more favourable position than the person from whom he acquired the object by those means. The requesting Member State shall pay that compensation upon return of the object. Article 11 Expenses incurred in implementing a decision ordering the return of a cultural object shall be borne by the requesting Member State. The same applies to the costs of the measures referred to in point (4) of Article 5. Article 12 Payment of the fair compensation and of the expenses referred to in Articles 10 and 11 respectively shall be without prejudice to the requesting Member State's right to take action with a view to recovering those amounts from the persons responsible for the unlawful removal of the cultural object from its territory. Article 13 Ownership of the cultural object after return shall be governed by the law of the requesting Member State. Article 14 This Directive shall apply only to cultural objects unlawfully removed from the territory of a Member State on or after 1 January 1993. Article 15 1. Each Member State may apply the arrangements provided for in this Directive to the return of cultural objects other than those defined in point (1) of Article 2. 2. Each Member State may apply the arrangements provided for in this Directive to requests for the return of cultural objects unlawfully removed from the territory of other Member States prior to 1 January 1993. Article 16 This Directive shall be without prejudice to any civil or criminal proceedings that may be brought, under the national laws of the Member States, by the requesting Member State and/or the owner of a cultural object that has been stolen. Article 17 1. By 18 December 2015 and every five years thereafter, Member States shall submit to the Commission a report on the application of this Directive. 2. Every five years the Commission shall present a report to the European Parliament, the Council and the European Economic and Social Committee, reviewing the application and effectiveness of this Directive. The report shall be accompanied, if necessary, by appropriate proposals. Article 18 The following point shall be added to the Annex to Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012: ‘8. Directive 2014/60/EU of the European Parliament and the Council of 15 May 2014 on the return of cultural objects unlawfully removed from the territory of a Member State and amending Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 (9): Articles 5 and 7. Article 19 1. By 18 December 2015, Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with point (1) of Article 2, point (3) of the first paragraph of Article 5, the second paragraph of Article 5, the third paragraph of Article 7, Article 8(1), the first and the second paragraphs of Article 10 and Article 17(1) of this Directive. They shall forthwith communicate the text of those measures to the Commission. When Member States adopt those measures, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference on the occasion of their official publication. They shall also include a statement that references in existing laws, regulations and administrative provisions to the Directive repealed by this Directive shall be construed as references to this Directive. Member States shall determine how such reference is to be made and how that statement is to be formulated. 2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive. Article 20 Directive 93/7/EEC, as amended by the Directives listed in Annex I, Part A, is repealed with effect from 19 December 2015, without prejudice to the obligations of Member States relating to the time-limits for transposition into national law of the Directives set out in Annex I, Part B. References to the repealed Directive shall be construed as references to this Directive and shall be read in accordance with the correlation table in Annex II. Article 21 This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. Points (2) to (8) of Article 2, Articles 3 and 4, points (1), (2) and (4) to (6) of the first paragraph of Article 5, Article 6, the first and second paragraphs of Article 7, Article 8(2), Article 9, the third and fourth paragraphs of Article 10, and Articles 11 to 16 shall apply from 19 December 2015. Article 22 The Directive is addressed to the Member States. Done at Brussels, 15 May 2014. For the European Parliament The President M. SCHULZ For the Council The President D. KOURKOULAS (1) Position of the European Parliament of 16 April 2014 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and decision of the Council of 8 May 2014. (2) Council Directive 93/7/EEC of 15 March 1993 on the return of cultural objects unlawfully removed from the territory of a Member State (OJ L 74, 27.3.1993, p. 74). (3) Directive 96/100/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 February 1997 amending the Annex to Directive 93/7/EEC on the return of cultural objects unlawfully removed from the territory of a Member State (OJ L 60, 1.3.1997, p. 59). (4) Directive 2001/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2001 amending Council Directive 93/7/EEC on the return of cultural objects unlawfully removed from the territory of a Member State (OJ L 187, 10.7.2001, p. 43). (5) Council Regulation (EC) No 116/2009 of 18 December 2008 on the export of cultural goods (OJ L 39, 10.2.2009, p. 1). (6) Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on administrative cooperation through the Internal Market Information System and repealing Commission Decision 2008/49/EC (‘the IMI Regulation’) (OJ L 316, 14.11.2012, p. 1). (7) Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (OJ L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 74). (8) Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data (OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1). ANNEX I PART A Repealed Directive with list of its successive amendments (referred to in Article 20) Council Directive 93/7/EEC (OJ L 74, 27.3.1993, p. 74). Directive 96/100/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 60, 1.3.1997, p. 59). Directive 2001/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 187, 10.7.2001, p. 43). PART B List of time-limits for transposition into national law (referred to in Article 20) Directive Time-limit for transposition 93/7/EEC 15.12.1993 (15.3.1994 for Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands) 96/100/EC 1.9.1997 2001/38/EC 31.12.2001 ANNEX II Correlation table Directive 93/7/EEC This Directive — Article 1 Article 1, point (1), first indent Article 2, point (1) Article 1, point (1), second indent, introductory part — Article 1, point (1), second indent, first sub-indent, first phrase — Article 1, point (1), second indent, first sub-indent, second phrase Article 2, point (8) Article 1, point (1), second indent, second sub-indent — Article 1, point (2), first indent Article 2, point (2)(a) Article 1, point (2), second indent Article 2, point (2)(b) Article 1, points (3) to (7) Article 2, points (3) to (7) Article 2 Article 3 Article 3 Article 4 Article 4, introductory part Article 5, first paragraph, introductory part Article 4, points (1) and (2) Article 5, first paragraph, points (1) and (2) Article 4, point (3) Article 5, first paragraph, point (3) Article 4, points (4) to (6) Article 5, first paragraph, points (4) to (6) — Article 5, second paragraph Article 5, first paragraph Article 6, first paragraph Article 5, second paragraph, first indent Article 6, second paragraph, point (a) Article 5, second paragraph, second indent Article 6, second paragraph, point (b) Article 6, first paragraph Article 7, first paragraph Article 6, second paragraph Article 7, second paragraph — Article 7, third paragraph Article 7(1) and (2) Article 8(1) and (2) Article 8 Article 9 Article 9, first paragraph Article 10, first paragraph Article 9, second paragraph — — Article 10, second paragraph Article 9, third and fourth paragraphs Article 10, third and fourth paragraphs Articles 10 to 15 Articles 11 to 16 Article 16(1) and (2) Article 17(1) and (2) Article 16(3) — Article 16(4) — Article 17 — — Article 18 Article 18 Article 19 — Article 20 — Article 21 Article 19 Article 22 Annex — — Annex I — Annex II

Summary: Returning cultural objects unlawfully taken from another EU country Returning cultural objects unlawfully taken from another EU country This European Union (EU) law clarifies and extends existing rules on the return of all cultural objects considered by an EU country as national treasures which have been unlawfully removed from its territory after 1 January 1993. ACT Directive 2014/60/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on the return of cultural objects unlawfully removed from the territory of a Member State and amending Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 (Recast) SUMMARY WHAT DOES THIS DIRECTIVE DO? This European Union (EU) law clarifies and extends existing rules on the return of all cultural objects considered by an EU country as national treasures which have been unlawfully removed from its territory after 1 January 1993. KEY POINTS Scope The law covers objects of historical, paleontological, ethnographic or numismatic interest or scientific value. The objects may or may not form part of public or other collections or be single items. They may originate from regular or illegal excavations but they must be classified or defined as national treasures. There is no longer a requirement that objects belong to categories or comply with thresholds related to their age and/or financial value in order to qualify for return. Cooperation between EU countries National government agencies from EU countries are required to cooperate efficiently with each other and exchange details on unlawfully removed objects by means of the EU’s internal market information system. Time limits for checks and returns Once alerted by another EU country of the discovery of an object, a country has 6 months to check whether it is a national treasure. The country from which the object was unlawfully removed has 3 years to bring return proceedings from the moment when it becomes aware of the location of the object and the identity of its owner/holder. Return proceedings may not be brought more than 30 years after the unlawful removal of the object from the requesting EU country. This time limit is increased to 75 years in the case of objects that are part of public collections or religious institutions (in countries where they benefit from special protection rules). Compensation According to the circumstances of the case, and only where the holder is able to demonstrate that due care and attention were exercised when she or he acquired the object (i.e. that she or he could not have known it was illegally trafficked), the court in the EU country requested to make the return must award fair compensation. This proof is based on documentation of the object’s provenance, any permits for removal required by the law of the requesting country, the price paid and whether the holder consulted any accessible register of stolen cultural objects. WHEN DOES THE DIRECTIVE APPLY? Directive 2014/60/EU repeals the existing law, Directive 93/7/EEC, with effect from 19 December 2015. REFERENCES Act Entry into force Deadline for transposition in the Member States Official Journal Directive 2014/60/EU 17.6.2014 18.12.2015 OJ L 159, 28.5.2014, pp. 1-10 Corrigendum - - OJ L 147, 12.6.2015, p. 24 last update 10.09.2015


3.5.2014 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 132/1 DECISION No 445/2014/EU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 16 April 2014 establishing a Union action for the European Capitals of Culture for the years 2020 to 2033 and repealing Decision No 1622/2006/EC 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 the first indent of Article 167(5) 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 opinions of the Committee of the Regions (1), Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure (2), Whereas: (1) 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, HAVE ADOPTED THIS DECISION: Article 1 Establishment of the action A Union action entitled ‘European Capitals of Culture’ is hereby established for the years 2020 to 2033 (‘the action’). Article 2 Objectives 1. The general objectives of the action are: (a) to safeguard and promote the diversity of cultures in Europe and to highlight the common features they share as well as to increase citizens' sense of belonging to a common cultural area; (b) to foster the contribution of culture to the long-term development of cities in accordance with their respective strategies and priorities. 2. The specific objectives of the action are: (a) to enhance the range, diversity and European dimension of the cultural offering in cities, including through transnational cooperation; (b) to widen access to and participation in culture; (c) to strengthen the capacity of the cultural sector and its links with other sectors; (d) to raise the international profile of cities through culture. Article 3 Access to the action 1. The competition for the title shall be open to cities, which may involve their surrounding areas. 2. The number of cities holding the title in a given year (‘the year of the title’) shall not exceed three. The title shall be awarded each year to a maximum of one city in each of the two Member States appearing in the calendar set out in the Annex (‘the calendar’) and, in the relevant years, to one city from a candidate country or a potential candidate, or to one city from a country that accedes to the Union in the circumstances set out in paragraph 5. 3. Cities in Member States shall be entitled to hold the title for one year in accordance with the order of the Member States appearing in the calendar. 4. Cities in candidate countries and potential candidates which participate in the Creative Europe Programme or in the subsequent Union programmes supporting culture at the date of publication of the call for submission of applications referred to in Article 10(2) may apply for the title for one year in the framework of an open competition organised every third year in accordance with the calendar. Cities in candidate countries and potential candidates shall only be allowed to participate in one competition during the period from 2020 to 2033. Each candidate country or potential candidate shall only be allowed to host the title once during the period from 2020 to 2033. 5. Where a country accedes to the Union after 4 May 2014 but before 1 January 2027, it shall be entitled to host the title seven years after its accession in accordance with the rules and procedures applicable to Member States. The calendar shall be updated accordingly. Where a country accedes to the Union on or after 1 January 2027, it shall not be entitled to participate in the action as a Member State. However, in years where there are already three cities holding the title in accordance with the calendar, cities in countries referred to in the first subparagraph shall only be entitled to hold the title in the next available year in the calendar, in the order of accession of those countries. If a city from a country referred to in the first subparagraph has previously participated in a competition for candidate countries and potential candidates, it may not participate in any subsequent competition for Member States. Where, during the period from 2020 to 2033, a city from such a country has been designated to hold the title in accordance with paragraph 4, that country shall not be entitled, after its accession, to organise a competition as a Member State during that period. If more than one country accedes to the Union on the same date and if there is no agreement on the order of participation in the action between those countries, the Council shall organise a draw. Article 4 Application 1. 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. Where a candidate city involves its surrounding area, the application shall be made under the name of that city. 2. Every application shall be based on a cultural programme with a strong European dimension. The cultural programme shall cover the year of the title and shall be created specifically for the title, in accordance with the criteria laid down in Article 5. Article 5 Criteria The criteria for the assessment of applications (‘the criteria’) shall be divided into the categories ‘contribution to the long-term strategy’, ‘European dimension’, ‘cultural and artistic content’, ‘capacity to deliver’, ‘outreach’ and ‘management’ as follows: (1) as regards the ‘contribution to the long-term strategy’ category, the following factors shall be taken into account: (a) that a cultural strategy for the candidate city, which covers the action and includes plans for sustaining the cultural activities beyond the year of the title, is in place at the time of its application; (b) the plans to strengthen the capacity of the cultural and creative sectors, including developing long-term links between the cultural, economic and social sectors in the candidate city; (c) the envisaged long-term cultural, social and economic impact, including urban development, that the title would have on the candidate city; (d) the plans for monitoring and evaluating the impact of the title on the candidate city and for disseminating the results of the evaluation; (2) as regards the ‘European dimension’ category, the following factors shall be assessed: (a) the scope and quality of activities promoting the cultural diversity of Europe, intercultural dialogue and greater mutual understanding between European citizens; (b) the scope and quality of activities highlighting the common aspects of European cultures, heritage and history, as well as European integration and current European themes; (c) the scope and quality of activities featuring European artists, cooperation with operators or cities in different countries, including, where appropriate, cities holding the title, and transnational partnerships; (d) the strategy to attract the interest of a broad European and international public; (3) as regards the ‘cultural and artistic content’ category, the following factors shall be assessed: (a) a clear and coherent artistic vision and strategy for the cultural programme; (b) the involvement of local artists and cultural organisations in the conception and implementation of the cultural programme; (c) the range and diversity of the activities proposed and their overall artistic quality; (d) the capacity to combine local cultural heritage and traditional art forms with new, innovative and experimental cultural expressions; (4) as regards the ‘capacity to deliver’ category, the candidate cities shall demonstrate that: (a) the application has broad and strong political support and a sustainable commitment from the local, regional and national authorities; (b) the candidate city has or will have an adequate and viable infrastructure to hold the title; (5) as regards the ‘outreach’ category, the following factors shall be assessed: (a) the involvement of the local population and civil society in the preparation of the application and the implementation of the action; (b) the creation of new and sustainable opportunities for a wide range of citizens to attend or participate in cultural activities, in particular young people, volunteers and the marginalised and disadvantaged, including minorities, with special attention being given to persons with disabilities and the elderly as regards the accessibility of those activities; (c) the overall strategy for audience development, and in particular the link with education and the participation of schools; (6) as regards the ‘management’ category, the following factors shall be assessed: (a) the feasibility of the fund-raising strategy and proposed budget, which includes, where appropriate, plans to seek financial support from Union programmes and funds, and covers the preparation phase, the year of the title, the evaluation and provisions for the legacy activities, and contingency planning; (b) the envisaged governance and delivery structure for the implementation of the action which provides, inter alia, for appropriate cooperation between the local authorities and the delivery structure, including the artistic team; (c) the procedures for the appointment of the general and artistic directors and their fields of action; (d) that the marketing and communication strategy is comprehensive and highlights that the action is a Union action; (e) that the delivery structure has staff with appropriate skills and experience to plan, manage and deliver the cultural programme for the year of the title. Article 6 Expert panel 1. A panel of independent experts (‘the panel’) shall be established to carry out the selection and monitoring procedures. 2. The panel shall consist of 10 experts appointed by Union institutions and bodies (‘the European experts’) in accordance with paragraph 3. 3. After organising an open call for expressions of interest, the Commission shall propose a pool of potential European experts. The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission shall select three experts each from that pool and appoint them in accordance with their respective procedures. The Committee of the Regions shall select one expert from the pool and appoint that expert in accordance with its procedures. When selecting European experts, each of those Union institutions and bodies shall seek to ensure complementarity of the competences, a balanced geographical distribution and gender balance in the overall composition of the panel. 4. In addition to the European experts, for the selection and monitoring of a city from a Member State, the Member State concerned shall be entitled to appoint up to two experts to the panel in accordance with its own procedures and in consultation with the Commission. 5. All experts shall: (a) be citizens of the Union; (b) be independent; (c) have substantial experience and expertise in: (i) the cultural sector; (ii) the cultural development of cities; or (iii) the organisation of a European Capital of Culture event or an international cultural event of similar scope and scale; (d) be in a position to devote an appropriate number of working days per year to the panel. 6. The panel shall designate its chairperson. 7. The European experts shall be appointed for a period of three years. Notwithstanding the first subparagraph, as regards the first establishment of the panel, the European Parliament shall appoint its experts for three years, the Commission for two years and the Council and the Committee of the Regions for one year. 8. All experts shall declare any actual or potential conflict of interest in respect of a specific candidate city. In the event of such a declaration, or if such a conflict of interest comes to light, the expert concerned shall resign and the relevant Union institution or body or Member State shall replace that expert for the remainder of the mandate, in accordance with the relevant procedure. Article 7 Submission of applications in the Member States 1. Each Member State shall be responsible for the organisation of the competition between its cities in accordance with the calendar. 2. The Member States concerned shall publish a call for submission of applications at least six years before the year of the title. By way of derogation from the first subparagraph, the Member States entitled to designate a city to hold the title in 2020 shall publish such a call as soon as possible after 4 May 2014. Each call for submission of applications shall contain the application form referred to in Article 4(1). The deadline for submitting applications by candidate cities under each call for submission of applications shall be scheduled at the earliest 10 months after its publication. 3. The Member States concerned shall notify the applications to the Commission. Article 8 Pre-selection in the Member States 1. Each Member State concerned shall convene the panel for a pre-selection meeting with the candidate cities no later than five years before the year of the title. By way of derogation from the first subparagraph, the Member States entitled to designate the cities to hold the title for the year 2020 may extend that deadline for a maximum of one year. 2. The panel, after assessing the applications in accordance with the criteria, shall agree on a shortlist of candidate cities and shall issue a pre-selection report on all the applications, providing, inter alia, recommendations to the short-listed candidate cities. 3. The panel shall submit the pre-selection report to the Member States concerned and to the Commission. 4. Each Member State concerned shall formally approve the shortlist based on the report of the panel. Article 9 Selection in the Member States 1. The shortlisted candidate cities shall complete and revise their applications with a view to complying with the criteria as well as taking into account the recommendations contained in the pre-selection report, and shall submit them to the Member State concerned, which shall then transmit them to the Commission. 2. Each Member State concerned shall convene the panel for a selection meeting with the shortlisted candidate cities no later than nine months after the pre-selection meeting. Where necessary, the Member State concerned, in consultation with the Commission, may extend that nine-month deadline for a reasonable period. 3. The panel shall assess the completed and revised applications. 4. The panel shall issue a selection report on the applications of the shortlisted candidate cities with a recommendation for the designation of a maximum of one city in the Member State concerned. The selection report shall also contain recommendations to the city concerned regarding the progress to be made by the year of the title. The panel shall submit the selection report to the Member State concerned and to the Commission. 5. Notwithstanding paragraph 4, if none of the candidate cities fulfils all the criteria, the panel may recommend that the title not be awarded for the year in question. Article 10 Pre-selection and selection in candidate countries and potential candidates 1. The Commission shall be responsible for the organisation of the competition between cities in candidate countries and potential candidates. 2. The Commission shall publish in the Official Journal of the European Union a call for submission of applications at least six years before the year of the title. Each call for submission of applications shall contain the application form referred to in Article 4(1). The deadline for submitting applications under each call for submission of applications shall be scheduled at the earliest 10 months after its publication. 3. The pre-selection of the cities shall be carried out by the panel at least five years before the year of the title, on the basis of their respective applications. No meeting with the candidate cities shall be organised. The panel, after assessing the applications in accordance with the criteria, shall agree on a shortlist of candidate cities and shall issue a pre-selection report on all the applications, providing, inter alia, recommendations to the shortlisted candidate cities. The panel shall submit the pre-selection report to the Commission. 4. The shortlisted candidate cities shall complete and revise their applications with a view to complying with the criteria as well as taking into account the recommendations contained in the pre-selection report, and submit them to the Commission. The Commission shall convene the panel for a selection meeting with the shortlisted candidate cities no later than nine months after the pre-selection meeting. Where necessary, the Commission may extend that nine-month deadline for a reasonable period. 5. The panel shall assess the completed and revised applications. 6. The panel shall issue a selection report on the applications of the shortlisted candidate cities together with a recommendation for the designation of a maximum of one city in one candidate country or potential candidate. The selection report shall also contain recommendations to the city concerned regarding the progress to be made by the year of the title. The panel shall submit the selection report to the Commission. 7. Notwithstanding paragraph 6, if none of the candidate cities fulfils all the criteria, the panel may recommend that the title not be awarded for the year in question. Article 11 Designation 1. Each Member State concerned shall designate one city to hold the title, on the basis of the recommendations contained in the selection report of the panel, and shall notify, no later than four years before the year of the title, the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission and the Committee of the Regions of that designation. By way of derogation from the first subparagraph, the Member States entitled to designate the cities to hold the title for the year 2020 may extend that deadline for a maximum of one year. 2. In the case of candidate countries and potential candidates, the Commission shall designate one city to hold the title in the relevant years, on the basis of the recommendations contained in the selection report of the panel, and shall notify, no later than four years before the year of the title, the European Parliament, the Council and the Committee of the Regions of that designation. 3. The designations referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be accompanied by a justification based on the reports of the panel. 4. Where a city involves its surrounding area, the designation shall apply to the city. 5. Within two months of notification of designations, the Commission shall publish the list of the cities designated as European Capitals of Culture in the C series of the Official Journal of the European Union. Article 12 Cooperation between designated cities Cities designated for the same year shall seek to develop links between their cultural programmes and such cooperation may be considered in the framework of the monitoring procedure laid down in Article 13. Article 13 Monitoring 1. The panel shall monitor the preparation of the designated cities for the year of the title and provide them with support and guidance from the time of their designation to the beginning of the year of the title. 2. To that end, the Commission shall convene three monitoring meetings which shall be attended by the panel and the designated cities, as follows: (a) three years before the year of the title; (b) 18 months before the year of the title; (c) two months before the year of the title. The Member State or candidate country or potential candidate concerned may nominate an observer to attend those meetings. The designated cities shall submit progress reports to the Commission six weeks before each monitoring meeting. During the monitoring meetings, the panel shall take stock of the preparations and give advice with a view to helping the designated cities to develop a high-quality cultural programme and an effective strategy. The panel shall pay special attention to the recommendations laid down in the selection report and in any preceding monitoring reports referred to in paragraph 3. 3. After each monitoring meeting, the panel shall issue a monitoring report on the state of preparations and any steps to be taken. The panel shall transmit its monitoring reports to the Commission, as well as to the designated cities and to the Member State or candidate country or potential candidate concerned. 4. In addition to the monitoring meetings, the Commission may organise visits by the panel to the designated cities whenever necessary. Article 14 Prize 1. The Commission may award a pecuniary prize in honour of Melina Mercouri (‘the prize’) to a designated city, subject to the funding made available under the relevant multiannual financial framework. The legal and financial aspects of the prize shall be dealt with in the framework of the respective Union programmes supporting culture. 2. The prize money shall be paid by the end of March of the year of the title, provided that the designated city concerned continues to honour the commitments it made at the application stage, complies with the criteria and takes into account the recommendations contained in the selection and monitoring reports. The commitments made at the application stage shall be deemed to have been honoured by the designated city where no substantial change has been made to the programme and the strategy between the application stage and the year of the title, in particular where: (a) the budget has been maintained at a level capable of delivering a high-quality cultural programme in line with the application and the criteria; (b) the independence of the artistic team has been appropriately respected; (c) the European dimension has remained sufficiently strong in the final version of the cultural programme; (d) the marketing and communication strategy and the communication material used by the designated city clearly reflects the fact that the action is a Union action; (e) the plans for the monitoring and evaluation of the impact of the title on the designated 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 panel; (c) in the light of the objectives referred to in Article 2 and of the criteria, establish guidelines to assist with the selection and monitoring procedures in close cooperation with the panel; (d) provide technical support to the panel; (e) publish, on its website, all reports of the panel; (f) make public all relevant information and contribute to the visibility of the action at the European and international levels; (g) foster the exchange of experience and of good practices between past, present and future cities holding the title, as well as candidate cities, and promote wider dissemination of the cities' evaluation reports and lessons learned. Article 16 Evaluation 1. Each city concerned shall be responsible for the evaluation of the results of its year as a European Capital of Culture. The Commission shall establish common guidelines and indicators for the cities concerned based on the objectives referred to in Article 2 and on the criteria in order to ensure a coherent approach to the evaluation procedure. The cities concerned shall draw up their evaluation reports and transmit them to the Commission by 31 December of the year following the year of the title. The Commission shall publish the evaluation reports on its website. 2. In addition to the cities' evaluations, the Commission shall ensure that external and independent evaluations of the results of the action are produced on a regular basis. The external and independent evaluations shall focus on placing all past European Capitals of Culture in a European context, allowing comparisons to be drawn and useful lessons to be learned for future European Capitals of Culture, as well as for all European cities. Those evaluations shall include an assessment of the action as a whole, including the efficiency of the processes involved in running it, its impact and ways in which it could be improved. The Commission shall present to the European Parliament, the Council and the Committee of the Regions the following reports based on those evaluations, accompanied, if appropriate, by relevant proposals: (a) an initial interim report by 31 December 2024; (b) a second interim report by 31 December 2029; (c) an ex post report by 31 December 2034. Article 17 Repeal and transitional provision Decision No 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 2013 to 2019. Article 18 Entry into force This Decision shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. Done at Strasbourg, 16 April 2014. For the European Parliament The President M. SCHULZ For the Council The President D. KOURKOULAS (1) OJ C 113, 18.4.2012, p. 17 and OJ C 17, 19.1.2013, p. 97. (2) Position of the European Parliament of 12 December 2013 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and position of the Council at first reading of 24 March 2014 (not yet published in the Official Journal). Position of the European Parliament of 15 April 2014 (not yet published in the Official Journal). (3) OJ C 287, 29.11.2007, p. 1. (4) OJ C 247 E, 15.10.2009, p. 32. (5) 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 2019 (OJ L 304, 3.11.2006, p. 1). (6) Regulation (EU) No 1295/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 establishing the Creative Europe Programme (2014 to 2020) and repealing Decisions No 1718/2006/EC, No 1855/2006/EC and No 1041/2009/EC (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 221). (7) OJ C 56 E, 26.2.2013, p. 41. ANNEX CALENDAR 2020 Croatia Ireland 2021 Romania Greece Candidate country or potential candidate 2022 Lithuania Luxembourg 2023 Hungary United Kingdom 2024 Estonia Austria Candidate country or potential candidate 2025 Slovenia Germany 2026 Slovakia Finland 2027 Latvia Portugal Candidate country or potential candidate 2028 Czech Republic France 2029 Poland Sweden 2030 Cyprus Belgium Candidate country or potential candidate 2031 Malta Spain 2032 Bulgaria Denmark 2033 Netherlands Italy Candidate country or potential candidate

Summary: EU action for the European Capitals of Culture 2020 to 2033 EU action for the European Capitals of Culture 2020 to 2033 SUMMARY OF: Decision No 445/2014/EU — EU action for the European Capitals of Culture for the years 2020 to 2033 WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE DECISION? Decision No 445/2014/EU: renews and updates the European Capitals of Culture (ECoC) scheme for the period 2020-2033; sets out the rules, the procedures and the calendar for the designation of ECoCs during this period. KEY POINTS The ECoC initiative celebrates the rich diversity of cultures in Europe and the common features they share by designating two cities each year to carry this title. Eligibility Each year, two European Union (EU) countries are listed in the calendar set out in the decision, and one city is awarded the title from each country. Every three years a third city from an European Free Trade Association (EFTA) / European Economic Area (EEA) country, a candidate country or a potential candidate country may also be designated. Selection criteria Contribution to the long-term strategy: the long-term cultural, social and economic impact of the ECoC year as well as its sustainability after the year ends. European dimension: how dialogue and greater mutual understanding between European citizens, both artists and the wider public, is promoted, highlighting common aspects of culture, heritage and history, as well as cultural diversity. Cultural and artistic content: artistic vision and strategy;involvement of local artists and organisations in the programme;combining new and innovative experimental expression with the local and traditional. Capacity to deliver: broad political support and commitment to a viable and sustainable infrastructure. Outreach: involvement of local people in the events, in particular minorities and disadvantaged people;links with education;audience development strategy. Management: feasibility of fundraising and budgets, overall governance and adequacy of the delivery structure, contingency planning, marketing and communication. Selection process The competition for the title is launched 6 years in advance and the ECoCs are designated 4 years before the event. The two-stage selection process is carried out by a panel of independent experts, in the countries concerned: a preselection process after which a shortlist is prepared, with recommendations from the panel to the shortlisted cities; a final selection process takes place 9 months later, with the panel recommending one city for the title. On the basis of the panel’s recommendation, the EU country concerned designates one city to hold the title and the European Commission then has 2 months to publish the list of the cities designated as ECoCs. A similar process is used to designate cities from candidate or potential candidate countries, but in this case the Commission is responsible for the designation. Once the cities are designated, the panel provides guidance and support while the cities prepare their programmes. During this period, the cities submit regular progress reports and representatives attend regular monitoring meetings. COVID-19 pandemic impact In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, amending Decision (EU) 2020/2229 recognises that, for the ECoCs designated for 2020, the action’s objectives, which presuppose mobility, tourism, organisation of events and public participation, were difficult if not impossible to attain. It thus amends the calendar annexed to Decision No 445/2014/EU to: grant Rijeka and Galway the possibility to extend their ECoC 2020 year until 30 April 2021, without changing the year of designation; postpone from 2021 to 2023 the year in which Timisoara and Elefsina are entitled to host the ECoC event; postpone from 2021 to 2022 the year in which a candidate or potential candidate country may apply to host the ECoC event. Designated ECoCs from 2022 to 2025 The following cities have been designated EcoCs from 2022 to 2025. 2022: Kaunas (Lithuania), Esch (Luxembourg) and Novi Sad (Serbia, candidate country). 2023: Veszprém (Hungary), Timișoara (Romania) and Elefsina (Greece). 2024: Tartu (Estonia), Bodø (Norway, EFTA/EEA country) and Bad Ischl (Austria). 2025: Chemnitz (Germany) and Nova Gorica (Slovenia, recommended). Repeal Decision No 445/2014/EU repeals Decision No 1622/2006/EC. FROM WHEN DO THE DECISIONS APPLY? Decision No 445/2014/EU has applied since 4 May 2014. Amending Decision (EU) 2020/2229 has applied since 1 January 2021. BACKGROUND Since the mid 1980s, when the ECoC initiative was first launched, there has been increased recognition of the role of culture in cities as a catalyst for creativity, social and territorial cohesion, employment and growth. European Capitals of Culture (European Commission). MAIN DOCUMENT Decision No 445/2014/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 establishing a Union action for the European Capitals of Culture for the years 2020 to 2033 and repealing Decision No 1622/2006/EC (OJ L 132, 3.5.2014, pp. 1-12) Successive amendments to Decision No 445/2014/EU have been incorporated into the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only. RELATED DOCUMENTS Decision (EU) 2020/2229 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 December 2020 amending Decision No 445/2014/EU establishing a Union action for the European Capitals of Culture for the years 2020 to 2033 (OJ L 437, 28.12.2020, pp. 116-119) Council Decision (EU) 2015/809 of 19 May 2015 designating the European Capitals of Culture for the year 2019 in Bulgaria and Italy (OJ L 128, 23.5.2015, p. 20) Council Decision 2014/352/EU of 21 May 2014 designating the European Capital of Culture for the year 2018 in the Netherlands (OJ L 175, 14.6.2014, p. 26) Council Implementing Decision 2014/353/EU of 21 May 2014 on the practical and procedural arrangements for the appointment by the Council of three experts of the selection and monitoring panel for the European Capitals of Culture action 2020-33 (OJ L 175, 14.6.2014, pp. 27-30) last update 02.02.2021