24/08/2020 (Agence Europe) – The European Commission has suggested that the calendar of European Capitals of Culture should be modified because of the Covid-19 pandemic. On 18 August, it presented a proposal for a decision to extend the period during which Rijeka (Croatia) and Galway (Ireland) benefit from this title by a few months, meaning it would last until 30 April 2021. It also suggested changing the timetable for the next European capitals: instead of 2021, Novi Sad (Serbia) would receive the title for 2022 and Timisoara (Romania) and Elefsina (Greece) for 2023. There is no change at this stage for the capitals already designated for 2022 (Kaunas in Lithuania and Esch in Luxembourg) as well as 2023 (Veszprém in Hungary). These three cities are less affected and “still have time to adapt their programme and take into account different possible scenarios”, the Commission noted. The proposal has been forwarded to the European Parliament and the EU Council for adoption. See: https://bit.ly/2Qk51UJ (SPj)