Brussels, 30/05/2005 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has adopted a proposal to set up a new selection procedure for European capitals of culture, an amendment that became necessary with the entry of the ten new Member States into the European Union in May 2004. During the debate on amending the decision in force, the European Parliament highlighted some of the weaknesses in the current decision making process, notably the “European dimension” of the initiative (EUROPE 8897). In its proposal, the Commission encourages Member States to organise competitions between cities interested at a national level. To this end, it is proposing to call on a “mixed” selection panel composed of experts appointed by the European institutions and Member States concerned. The selection process will be organised in two phases. It will begin six years before the date planned for the beginning of the event and finish during the Council's designation of the European capitals of culture for a given year around 4 years before the event. The Commission is also planning to set up a “European Monitoring Panel” of experts appointed by the European institutions and who will provide the cities involved in the project with assistance and advice for elaborating their programmes by focusing on the European dimension and by contributing, if needs be, on guaranteeing European added value. Although the programme preparation stage complies with the objectives and action criteria, particularly the European dimension, the European Commission will award the selectioned city, funded by “Culture 2000”, the framework culture programme (“Culture 2007” beginning that year), which is currently the case for subsidies currently granted to European capitals of culture. The current chronological list of the two Member States called on annually to propose cities for 2009-19 will remain unchanged. The proposal will enter into force in 2007, which will mean that the first European capitals of culture selected during the new process will organise the 2013 event (with France and Slovakia). Commissioner for Culture Jan Figel said that, “The changes proposes will make the selection process more rigorous, more transparent, and better equipped to cater for the ever increasing numbers of culturally vibrant cities vying to be the European Capital of Culture”. Further information: (http: //europa.eu.int/comm/culture/eac/other_actions/cap_europ/cap_eu_fr.html).