Revisiting History: The 2007 European Capital of Culture and the Integration of Fractal Europe

Abstract

Much has been written on the construction of a European identity, including debates as to whether it may be viewed as complementing or conflicting with national identities and, more fundamentally, whether such a concept is even conceivable (Delanty and Rumford 2005: 50–68). It has been argued that EU-sponsored attempts to foster a sense of European identity have recently shifted towards strategies seemingly devoid of cultural baggage, for example, emphasizing the practical benefits of EU membership (Stråth 2006; Caliendo 2007). While this sort of argument holds weight in certain contexts, attempts to construct a European identity framed explicitly in cultural terms have not been completely abandoned, as is illustrated by the annual European Capital of Culture (ECC). Based on an idea frequently credited to the former Greek Minister of Culture, Melina Mercouri, the first ECC was organized in Athens in 1985 and was subsequently hosted by individual cities in various EU member-states until 1999. In the year immediately preceding the introduction of the Euro, cities in nine European countries jointly hosted the 2000 ECC (Sassatelli 2002).¹ From 2001 to 2006, the ECC was held in either one or two cities in different EU member-states, with a European Cultural Month sometimes added as a satellite activity, often in a city in an EU candidate country.