European capitals of culture

Essen, Pécs and Istanbul celebrate debut as European capitals of culture

Three European cities are set to kick off a year-long culture fest featuring exhibitions, music and theatre. The cities chosen to be this year's European capitals of culture are Essen and the Ruhr region of Germany, Pécs in southern Hungary and Istanbul in Turkey. Taking over from Linz (Austria) Vilnius (Lithuania), the three have put together a packed programme of events that should attract tens of thousands of visitors.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the EU's culture capital programme. Events must reflect the city's European character and directly involve residents. They must also promote the cities' overall development. To that end, each ‘capital' receives €1.5m in EU funds.

Organisers of the Ruhr programme hope to contribute to the revival of the heavily urbanised area in western Germany - home to well over 7 million people. A century ago, the Ruhr was Europe's biggest industrial region, teeming with coal mines and steel mills. Today the idle factories, furnaces and industrial canals are being turned into museums and tourist attractions.

Istanbul is playing up its history as a crossroads of European civilisation and a bridge between Europe and Asia. Turkey, a candidate for EU membership, is not the first non-EU country to hold the title. The Norwegian city of Stavanger was a European capital of culture in 2008.

Halfway between Essen and Istanbul, the Hungarian city of Pécs is highlighting its rich multicultural heritage. Historically a staging grounds for traders and armies that crisscrossed Europe, the city of 150 000 hopes to build ties with neighbouring countries, especially in the Balkans, to become a cultural hub for the region.

Essen and Pécs kick off their cultural programmes this weekend. In Germany the remains of the vast Zollverein coal mining complex, now a UNESCO world heritage site, will provide an extraordinary venue. The opening ceremony in downtown Pécs will feature actors and puppeteers in historical costumes and songs composed by Róbert Erdész, keyboard player in the internationally renowned band Solaris.

Istanbul's cultural celebration debuts the following weekend. More on European capitals of culture

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EU fills new top jobs

European leaders select Belgian premier to be the EU’s first permanent president. EU trade commissioner Catherine Ashton from the UK lands the foreign policy spot.

After nail-biting negotiations at a council meeting headed for the history books, the decision on Belgian prime minister Herman Van Rompuy and commissioner Ashton was unanimous.

President Barroso congratulated the two. “I think it will be impossible to have a better choice than those personalities for the European Union leadership.”

A Christian-Democrat politician and economist by training, Mr Van Rompuy, 62, has served as Belgium’s premier for nearly a year. Many credit him with bringing stability to the country during tensions between the French- and Flemish-speaking communities.

“I have not sought this high position. I have intervened in no way. But from tonight, I will take it up with conviction,” he said.

In an agreement with the European commission, the council appointed Catherine Ashton, 53, to be the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy. A member of the UK Labour Party, she will also serve as a vice-president of the next commission now being formed.

The two posts were created by the recently approved Lisbon treaty, which aims to enhance the EU’s role in world affairs and streamline its decision-making.

The new president will serve for 2½ years. The position will replace the rotating presidency under which one member country chairs major EU meetings for six months.

Van Rompuy’s core responsibilities will include chairing council meetings and representing EU leaders on the global stage. He will also represent the council in relations with other EU institutions.

Catherine Ashton will have the authority to propose defence and security measures. She will also be tasked with setting up a network of diplomats around the world to support the new office.

She said she was surprised by her nomination, which must still be confirmed by parliament. "I am very honoured and proud to have been asked to take on this role. “"I will make sure I represent our values across the world.”

The post of high representative merges two existing portfolios: high-representative for common foreign and security policy and commissioner for external relations.

The selections become official with the entry into force of the Lisbon treaty on 1 December.

Poverty: one of the main priorities of the European Union

'Any progress in thwarting the scourge of poverty is a success for our common values,' declared President Barroso in a video message broadcast during the conference 'Poverty, between reality and perceptions: the communication challenge'. This event was organised in Brussels to mark the launch of 2010 European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion. Unable to attend in person due to meetings related to the preparation of the European Council, the President nevertheless wished to speak by this means in order to explain how strongly he felt about the issue. At present almost 80 million people in Europe are on the poverty line, including 19 million children.

You could also view President's (Barroso) video message by clicking at: 
http://c14005-o.l.core.cdn.streamfarm.net/video4/dgComm/barroso/66159W_2.mp4

If you are also interested in checking the results of the Eurobarometer survey on poverty and social exclusion visit:  http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/09/480&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=fr