One, a hundred, a thousand capitals” “

One Europe, a hundred, a thousand capitals. While the progress of a Europe of 25 States (destined to grow to 27, 28, 30 or more) continues towards economic and social integration and political unity, one problem, apparently less important, remains to be solved: what is the capital of the European Union? It is pointless to seek an answer in the Treaties and in Community law. Many cities aspire to the “crown” but no choice can – and perhaps not even should – be made. And the “virtuous paradox” will remain such. NOW AS IN THE PAST, UNITY IN DIVERSITY. In effect the Europe of the past, just like the Europe of today, had an historical development strongly linked to the cities. The growth of the continent has been especially urban. Scholars of various disciplines are agreed about that: demographers, economic historians, architects, art historians, scientists and churchmen. From ancient Athens to the Rome of the Caesars, down to the Middle Ages and the modern and contemporary period, the “face”, indeed the faces of Europe, have been reflected in her cities: Paris, London, Madrid, Vienna, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Berlin… Maritime cities and fortified strongholds; capitals of the West and vanguards in the East; belfries and towers; craftsmen’s workshops and town halls; Gothic art and Romanesque masterpieces. Yet there is only one Europe. So the “unity in diversity” that we now find enshrined in the new Constitution as the “motto” of the EU, has deep roots. Faced by this reality, even the “founding fathers” of the Community and their successors have found it impossible to decide. No one single “European capital” can exist: the conviction is widespread. Brussels, StrasbOurg, Schengen, Laeken, NiCE… The history of European integration, from the ECSC to the EEC, right down to the European Union, has confirmed the rule. It is a long process, punctuated with summits and treaties that frequently bear the name of a city. Maastricht, Amsterdam, Nice, Schengen, Copenhagen or Laeken are just some of the symbolic names of the most recent developments of the EU. To tell the truth, two cities recur more than others in the life of the Union. The first is Brussels, which houses the headquarters of the European Council and Commission, a “working seat” of the European Parliament, and an infinite quantity of committees, offices, councils and agencies. The second is Strasbourg, capital of the French region of Alsace, which houses the headquarters of the European Parliament, as well as the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights (although the latter two institutions, however important, are not an integral past of the EU). Each of these two cities declares itself “capital”, “heart of Europe”, and poses as the real nerve centre of the continent, at least at the level of “style”. If we seek other “institutional” capitals, we cannot ignore Luxembourg, seat of the EU Court of Justice, the secretariat of the EP and the European Investment Bank, or Frankfurt, “financial heart” of the Union, with the headquarters of the European Central Bank. Rome, too, claims the primacy of having “baptized” the two main treaties: the one establishing the EEC and Euratom on 25 March 1957, and the more recent Constitutional Treaty, signed on the Capitol on 29 October 2004. FROM CAPITALS OF CULTURE TO DECENTRALIZED AGENCIES. The list is still long. “European Capital of Culture” is the title conferred on the city chosen each year by the EU as symbol of the multiplicity of Europe’s artistic, literary, musical and media expressions. In 2005 the spotlight is on Cork (Ireland), while last year at the centre of the stage were Lille (France) and Genoa (Italy). In 2006 the choice will fall on Patras (Greece). All the institutions founded to disseminate knowledge of the EU and to bring the institutions closer to citizens also assume relevance in this “tour of the capitals”: the three national Centres of Information (Paris, Lisbon and Rome), the 140 Info-Points established in as many cities of the 15 pre-enlargement member states, to be augmented with further offices in the ten new members and in the candidate countries. Alongside these, the EU promotes 129 centres of rural information and animation, 544 documentation centres in the universities, national offices representing the Parliament and Commission in each capital and in the main cities of the 25 (Munich, Barcelona, Marseilles, Edinburgh…). We can also learn something of geography by studying the list of the decentralized European agencies (organs created by the EU to support the legislative process and the specialized tasks of the institutions). The European Agency for the Environment, for example, is based in Copenhagen, that for vocational training in Turin (Italy), while the Office for the harmonization of the internal market is in Alicante (Spain). The European Watchdog for Phenomena of Racism is based in Vienna, while the agency that monitors drug addiction is in Lisbon. There are also agencies in London, Luxembourg, Brussels, Bilbao (Spain), Parma (Italy), Angers (France) and Thessalonica (Greece).