With 689 votes in favour MEPs adopted a report by Croatian MEP Zeljana Zovko (HDZ/EPP) to extend the status of European Capitals of Culture in the 2020-2023 period, which gives Rijeka and the Irish city of Galway the "green light" until April 2021 to present their programmes while the next capitals will be deferred from 2021 to 2022 and from 2022 to 2023.
Rijeka and Galway were the European Capitals of Culture for 2020 however the COVID-19 pandemic thwarted them from presenting their planned projects.
After the motion was upheld at a plenary of the parliament in Brussels the Council is expected to confirm the decision next week so that it can take effect before the end of the year.
Ahead of the plenary meeting, Zovko underlined that extending Rijeka's status "in this turbulent time of the pandemic, Rijeka will have another significant opportunity to show that the culture sector has adapted to new circumstances and that creative power during the corona crisis can show what is most important in the creative industry and cultural heritage in promoting European values."