For almost 3 decades, every year one European city or, as in recent years, two or three cities simultaneously, have been designated European Capital of Culture, providing living proof of the richness and diversity of European cultures. The initial idea for the European Capital of Culture is said to have originated from a chat between the former Greek and French Ministers for Culture, Melina Mercouri and Jacques Lang, while waiting for a flight at Athens airport in January 1985. The late Melina Mercouri followed the idea up and, in June 1985, the European City of Culture project was launched with Athens being the first designated city. Since then, the initiative has become one of the most prestigious and high-profile cultural events in Europe, as more than 40 cities have been designated European Capitals of Culture to date.

The European Capitals of Culture initiative was set up to highlight the richness and diversity of European cultures, celebrate the cultural ties that link Europeans together, bring people from different European countries into contact with each other's culture, promote mutual understanding, and foster a feeling of European citizenship. The experience for some cities may have been extremely successful, while for other less so. Whatever the actual outcome, studies have demonstrated that the initiative provides an opportunity to regenerate cities, raise their international profile and enhance their image in the eyes of their own inhabitants, while giving new vitality to their cultural life and boosting tourism.

In 1999, a Community action for the European Capital of Culture event for the years 2005 to 2012 was agreed between the European Parliament and the Council, in order to improve the effectiveness of the action.  According to this decision, new criteria and selection procedures were established, a chronological list of Member States was drawn up indicating the order in which they were entitled to host the title, and a European panel of independent experts was created to assess the applications. These rules were renewed in 2006. As the life span of this decision was to expire by 2019, a new legal base for the continuation of the European Capitals of Culture needed to be adopted in 2013, in order to ensure a smooth transition in 2020.

In July 2012, the Commission submitted a proposal to continue this initiative beyond 2019. The new decision retains the general structure of the current initiative, as well as a number of existing elements, such as the chronological order of the member states entitled to host a European Capital of Culture. Important changes have, however, been introduced into the proposal. For one, from 2020 onwards, the selected cities will be designated directly by the member state concerned, and a confirmation at EU level will no longer be necessary.  Only the act of designation has to be formalised by the publication of the name of the city in the Official Journal of the EU. The proposal provides also for a continuation of the participation of candidate and potential candidate countries in the initiative, as was the case until 2010, as experience has shown that this can be mutually beneficial.

Other modifications include stricter and more specific selection criteria, stronger emphasis on the long-term impact of the action, and the reinforcement of the European dimension. Member states’ experts will also continue to be involved in the work of the European panel responsible for selection and monitoring of the cities.

Where we are now? The Council reached its general approach on the proposal in May 2013, and in the same month, the EP's Committee on Culture and Education (CULT) voted on this text. Two informal negotiations (trilogues) between the Council, the European Parliament and the Commission took place, in September and October 2013, which failed to settle all issues. Therefore, the European Parliament decided to proceed with its vote in first reading on 12 December 2013. The Greek Presidency scheduled one more trilogue for 22 January, which allowed for a final compromise solution.

Now, following the Coreper's and the European Parliament CULT Committee's endorsements, the Council will need to adopt its first reading position by the beginning of March, in order for the EP to adopt its second reading position - without amendments to the Council's text - before the end of its current term (April 2014).