Culture policy at a crossroads. 40 years of European Capitals of Culture and the strategy forward

In 2025, the European Capitals of Culture (ECoC) initiative, launched in 1985, celebrates its 40th anniversary. To mark this milestone and shape the process that will lead the EU institutions to the adoption of the new legal basis for ECoC hosts post-2033, the city of Chemnitz with the support of Nova Gorica, as the entitled ECoC cities for 2025, initiated an independent research project. This undertaking culminated in the White Paper ‘40 Recommendations from 40 Years of European Capitals of Culture’, an online open-source document presenting 40 proposals for the EU policymakers to redesign the ECoC action. This initiative emerges from a growing concern: despite the initiative’s proven appeal – more than 240 cities have applied and an estimated 52 million European citizens have engaged with the cultural programmes stemming from the title – the future of the ECoC remains uncertain within a geopolitical context where culture is increasingly sidelined in public budgets. Drawing on the research project promoted by the two ECoC 2025 and the resulting novel dataset of over 580 recommendations – gathered through semi-structured interviews with the ECoC managers of 64 out 82 cities that have been awarded the title since 1985 – this article proposes strategic recommendations for the future development of the ECoC’s conceptual and governance model. These proposals are organised into five main reform areas: (1) reaffirm core principles while strengthening the long-term transformative potential; (2) simplify and ensure transparency in selection and monitoring procedusti res; (3) secure and stabilise implementation; (4) institutionalise knowledge and skills transfer; (5) strengthen governance and communication. The main purpose of this article is to show in greater detail than the White Paper where consensus lies and where conflicts may arise for each reform area, with a view to anticipate and shape the subsequent debates that will follow this research initiative from now until the adoption of the new legal basis by 2027. The main contribution of this article lies in adopting an embedded policy perspective, grounded in the lived experience of ECoC managers, to inform the future scope and governance of one of the most well-known EU culture policy actions.