The European Capitals of Culture (ECOC) are an action of the European Union.

The general objectives of the action are:

a) to safeguard and promote the diversity of cultures in Europe and emphasise the common features they share, as well as to strengthen citizens’ sense of belonging to a common cultural area; and
b) To promote the contribution of culture to the long-term development of cities in accordance with their respective strategies and priorities.’

In addition, its specific objectives determine the following:

a) Strengthen the scope, diversity and European dimension of the cultural offer in cities, notably through transnational co-operation;
b) Widening access to and participation in culture;
c) Strengthen the capacity of the cultural sector and its links to other sectors;
d) Improve the international profile of cities through culture.’

Each year, two to three European Capitals of Culture (ECOC) are named: one in two different Member States and, in the years specified in Decision No 445/2014/EU, a third Capital of Culture in a city in a candidate or potential candidate country for EU membership or in an EFTA/EEA country participating in the EU’s Creative Europe programme, as specified in Decision (EU) 2017/1545.

The ECOC action receives financial support through the Creative Europe programme.

It contributes to the European Agenda for Culture, which promotes cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue. Through the Agenda for Culture, culture acts as a catalyst for creativity within the strategic framework for growth and jobs, and as a vital element of the Union’s international relations.

A first external and independent mid-term evaluation of this action should be submitted to the European Parliament, the Council and the Committee of the Regions by 31 December 2024.

The aim will thus be to fulfil the obligation laid down in Decision No 445/2014/EU. In addition, the evaluation will be a crucial element in the development of a future new legal basis for the ECOC action beyond 2033.

The evaluation will focus on placing all previous European Capitals of Culture in a European context, allowing comparisons to be made and useful lessons to be learnt for future European Capitals of Culture, as well as for all European cities.

The evaluation should include an assessment of the action on the basis of the five evaluation criteria set out in the Better Regulation Guidelines, including the effectiveness and efficiency of the processes involved in its implementation, its impact and ways of improvement, relevance, coherence and EU added value.

Due to changes in the timing of ECOC due to the COVID-19 pandemic and in order to gain a better understanding of the long-term impact, the evaluation will focus on ECOC cities designated for the period 2013-2023, thus also covering ECOC designated under the previous legal basis, i.e. Decision No 1622/2006/EC.

The evaluation will cover all Member States with an ECOC or participating in an ECOC competition in this period, as well as the third countries concerned.

The evaluation will take into account the costs and benefits of the ECOC action, the impact of the title on the designated cities and on the competing cities. The evaluation will also take into account the changes made to the legal framework of the previous action and the possibility of simplifying or improving the procedure.

The evaluation of the European Capital of Culture (ECOC) initiative will result in a Commission staff working document and a report for the other EU institutions.

The ECOC is governed by Decision 445/2014/EU. According to its Article 16, the Commission must ensure that independent evaluations of the results of the initiative are carried out on a regular basis.

The main stakeholders in this evaluation are: ECOC title holders, competing cities, ministries of culture/national authorities of the Member States responsible for organising the competitions, current and past panellists, the European Parliament, the Council of the EU, the European Committee of the Regions and the European Commission’s ECOC team.

In addition to the existing material, the evaluation will gather new evidence from the 2013-2023 ECOC title holders, the cities participating in the ECOC competition in this period, the national authorities responsible for the competitions in the Member States, as well as current and former panellists.

The evaluation will include specific suggestions on improving or simplifying the action and its procedure.

The benefits and cost of the action will be calculated on the basis of the budgets provided by the cities in the annual evaluation of each ECOC title, as well as the costs potentially borne by the cities competing for the title.

The evaluation report on the ECOC is expected to be presented in the last quarter of 2024.

Our team is at your disposal for more information.