Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2020)384 - Amendment of Decision No 445/2014/EU establishing a Union action for the European Capitals of Culture for the years 2020 to 2033

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dossier COM(2020)384 - Amendment of Decision No 445/2014/EU establishing a Union action for the European Capitals of Culture for the years 2020 to ...
source COM(2020)384 EN
date 18-08-2020


1. CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL

The “European Capitals of Culture” (ECOC) action is governed by Decision No 445/2014/EU 1 for the titles 2020 to 2033. In its Annex, the Decision includes a chronological list indicating when each Member State (two per year) or a candidate country/potential candidate participating in the Creative Europe Programme or in the subsequent Union programmes supporting culture, is entitled to host the action. Competitions for the award of the ECOC title start six years before the year of the title with the publication of calls for applications by the relevant authority.

Decision (EU) 2017/1545 2 extended the action to cities from European Free Trade Association countries that are parties to the Agreement on the European Economic Area and participate in the Creative Europe Programme or in the subsequent Union programmes supporting culture. The calendar annexed to Decision No 445/2014/EU was accordingly replaced by the calendar annexed to Decision (EU) 2017/1545.

The general and specific objectives of the ECOC action are described in Article 2 of Decision No 445/2014/EU. These are: safeguarding and promoting the diversity of cultures in Europe, fostering the contribution of culture to the long-term development of cities, enhancing the range, diversity and European dimension of the cultural offering in cities, including through transnational cooperation, widening access to and participation in culture, strengthening the capacity of the cultural sector and its links with other sectors, raising the international profile of cities through culture.

The attainment of these objectives, which is linked to mobility, travel, organisation of events and public participation is severely compromised by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had serious implications on the delivery and preparation of current and upcoming ECOC.

Decision No 445/2014/EU does not provide for the necessary flexibility to take into account such extraordinary circumstances.

Ensuring delivery of the objectives of the ECOC action under these circumstances would therefore require changes to Decision No 445/2014/EU. These changes should not deviate from the original principles, rules and procedures of the Decision but be limited to what is strictly necessary to deal with this unprecedented situation.

The most affected ECOC are obviously those that should now be delivering their year (the two ECOC 2020) or should be accelerating their preparatory work to be ready on time next year (the three ECOC 2021). The two ECOC 2022 and the one ECOC 2023 are much less impacted as they have still enough time ahead of them to think thoroughly about how to adjust their programmes to take account of different restricting scenarios in the future.

Both ECOC 2020 have had to postpone or cancel all events since March 2020 without any clarity when the situation will come back to normality. In practice, they are prevented from implementing their ECOC year and capitalizing on their good preparatory work. A possible prolongation of the ECOC 2020 cultural programmes into 2021 – though it would not compensate the two cities for the enormous loss they are suffering – would shed an increased rebranded light on the activities of both ECOC 2020 in the early months of 2021. It would also benefit them with the spotlight associated with the ECOC brand for a longer period.

Furthermore, COVID-19 has resulted in a high a level of uncertainty in nearly all areas associated with the ECOC 2021 year in terms of insecure financing perspectives from public and private partners, unknown safety regulations affecting both participatory work with citizens and event types to be authorised, as well as travel restrictions reducing tourism flows and possibilities of European/international partnerships. The preventive measures have slowed down the preparatory work of the three ECOC 2021 to a critical point, when they should, under normal circumstances, double efforts. Delivery teams were in lockdown for a few months and the economic survival of potential contracting partners is uncertain. A postponement of the three ECOC 2021 into 2022 or 2023 is therefore recommended.

Following the UK’s withdrawal from the Union, only one city is scheduled to hold the ECOC title in 2023. Postponing two of the three ECOC 2021 to 2023 would be more balanced: there would be three ECOC in 2022 and three ECOC in 2023. Such a balanced approach would maximise the visibility of the ECOC action.

To accommodate for the circumstances described above, namely give the possibility to the two ECOC 2020 to prolong their cultural programmes into 2021 and postpone the years in which the ECOC 2021 countries will be able to host the title, it is necessary to amend Decision No 445/2014/EU.

2. LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY

• Legal basis

This proposal amends Decision No 445/2014/EU establishing a Union action for the European Capitals of Culture for the years 2020 to 2033 and is therefore based on the same legal base, Article 167(5) TFUE.

• Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)

As Decision No 445/2014/EU is a legal act of the Union, it can only be amended by way of an equivalent legal act. Member States cannot act individually.

• Proportionality

The proposed amendments are suitable to address the extraordinary situation created in ECOC 2020 and 2021 by creating more favourable conditions for them to deliver their cultural programmes and activities in a way that will ensure the attainment of the objectives of the action.

The proposed amendments do not go beyond what is necessary to achieve the above aim, as they are limited to changes concerning the years 2020 and 2021, when the impact of the pandemic is expected to be the highest.

• Choice of the instrument

Decision No 445/2014/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council is a legal act of the Union and can only be amended by a legal act of the same type.

3. RESULTS OF STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATIONS

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commission has been in close contact and dialogue with the delivery teams of all ECOC 2020 to 2023 in various individual, bilateral and collective settings with the view to better understanding the impact of the pandemic on the delivery and preparation of current and upcoming European Capitals of Culture. The delivery teams have also liaised with their respective Boards as well as with their local, regional and national authorities in order to explore with them the best venues for moving forward. The Commission has also been contacted directly by some national authorities (Ireland, Romania, Greece, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary and Serbia).

More particularly, four joint online meetings were arranged over the period: on 2 April, joint teleconference with the two ECOC 2020 and representatives from the Irish and Croatian Culture Ministries; on 29 April, joint online meeting with the two ECOC 2022; on 30 April, joint online meeting with the three ECOC 2021; and on 5 May, joint online meeting with the eight ECOC 2020-2023.

On invitation from the Commission, each ECOC 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 sent the Commission a letter (most of them co-signed by their respective Culture Ministry/Minister) to express whether they were willing to prolong/postpone the cultural programme of their title-year and give solid justification for their position.

The following paragraphs give an overview of the outcome of this consultation process.

The two ECOC 2020 are the most severely and directly hit. Both had to postpone or cancel all events since March 2020 without any clarity when (and whether) the situation will come back to normality. In practice, they are prevented from implementing their ECOC year and capitalising on the huge investment made. Both ECOC delivery teams have had to lay off staff and are in semi-hibernation mode.

In the three ECOC 2021, the pandemic results in a very high a level of uncertainty in nearly all areas associated with their preparation: insecure financing perspectives from public and private partners, unknown future safety regulations affecting both participatory work and event types to be authorised, as well as travel restrictions reducing tourism flows and possibilities of European/international partnerships. The preventive measures have slowed down the preparatory work of the three ECOC 2021 to a critical point, when they should, under normal circumstances, double efforts, due to the fact that delivery teams were in lockdown while the economic survival of potential contracting partners is uncertain.

The two ECOC 2022 and the one ECOC 2023 are much less impacted as they have still enough time ahead to think thoroughly about how to adjust their programmes to take account of different restricting scenarios in the future.

In conclusion, it appears that the ECOC 2020 to 2023 are not affected in the same way by the pandemic.

The most affected are obviously those ECOC that should now be delivering their year (the two ECOC 2020) or should be accelerating their preparatory work to be ready on time next year (the three ECOC 2021).

It is also worth noting that the ECOC of a same year may be affected to various degrees because confinement measures were not the same across Europe, because the resilience of the cultural sector and the financial capacity of their local, regional and national authorities are not the same and/or because they had not reached the same level of development in their preparation when they were hit by the pandemic, resulting in some being caught at a moment when they had to move very fast.

4. BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS

The Commission's proposal has no direct budgetary implication. The pecuniary Melina Mercouri Prize paid to each designated city by the end of March of the year of the title under conditions specified in Article 14 of the Decision and the costs associated with the work of those members of the expert panel designated by Union institutions and bodies are covered by the existing resources of the Creative Europe programme for the 2014-2020 financial framework, or will be covered by the subsequent Union programmes supporting culture for the years after 2020. Furthermore, the proposal will not result in a higher number of European Capitals of Culture over the period from 2020 to 2033.

5. OTHER ELEMENTS

1.

In its proposal, the Commission proposes to:


–allow the Member States in the calendar set out in the Annex to be more than two for the year 2023;

–give to the ECOC designated by Croatia and Ireland for 2020 the possibility to implement their programmes until 30 April 2021 without changing the year of designation;

–postpone the year in which Romania and Greece are entitled to host the ECOC title from 2021 to 2023;

–postpone the year in which a candidate country or potential candidate is entitled to host the ECOC title from 2021 to 2022;

–confirm the validity of the processes referred to in Articles 7 to 11 and Article 13 of Decision 445/2014/EU already concluded for the year of the title 2021 (only the year of the title being changed as indicated above);

–update accordingly the dates of the submission of the final evaluations for the two ECOC 2020.