Brussels, 11 September 2020,
Member of the European Parliament Željana Zovko has been appointed as the rapporteur for the revision of the Union action for the European Capitals of Culture for the years 2020-2033. As member of the Committee of Culture and Education, Zovko will draft and coordinate the report based on a proposal from the Commission.
Zovko emphasised that this report is of great importance for the cities of Rijeka and Galway. “The European Capital of Culture action, celebrates the European cultural diversity. We promote traditions and cultural heritage and we offer a stage for local creative projects.” Zovko said. “Unfortunately, both cities were severely affected by the restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.” She stated that many events had to be cancelled or postponed and the organizers could not capitalize their preparatory work. “The European Commission proposes to extend the status of Rijeka and Galway as European Capital of Culture until the end of April 2020. With this Parliamentary report, I will also call on the European Union to provide the necessary financial assistance in order to share the burden in these difficult times. This way we offer these Croatia and Ireland an additional chance to show their cultural heritage to the world.” Zovko concluded.
The proposal foresees that the European Capitals of Culture nominated for 2021, will be scheduled for 2023. Since these cities face a high degree of uncertainty about the possibility to carry out their ideas from January onwards, this measure provides them another chance in hopefully better circumstances.