At the May session of the National Assembly of the Slovak Republic, MPs will vote on the new law on the European Capital of Culture. For the Trenčín 2026 project, this is an existential step that follows more than a year of negotiations with the Ministry of Culture and national institutions.
The draft law defines who can carry out the project, regulates the legal relations of the implementer with the direct implementers of the project and the financing system. It aims to set up the financing of the project in a transparent, functional and meaningful way, so that the project can be implemented by 2026, when the eyes of the whole of Europe will be on it.
A step that adds flexibility to the project
“The whole European Capital of Culture project is a long-term change of the city and the region, which normally takes decades, but we are going to do it in 4 years. European Capitals of Culture accelerate progress, that’s the point of them. But in order to do that, we need a legal system that makes it possible,” explains Lucia Dubačová, director of the Trenčín 2026 project.
The European Capital of Culture will turn Trenčín into a city of European standards. However, it will not only be a physical change of the environment, but also a systemic change and a change of mindset.
Among other things, the project creates conditions for people working in the cultural-creative industry to find employment or develop their business and talent in the Trenčín region. In order to bring about a change in thinking, the Trenčín 2026 project is working on expanding the cultural offer for all. The aim is not just to bring culture closer to people, but to offer it to them so that they can enjoy it.
Finally, the European Capital of Culture will put Trenčín and Slovakia on the cultural map of Europe. It will attract tourism, but most importantly, it will also give smart people from Slovakia a chance to show their skills abroad, gather experience there and contribute it when they return home.
Great support at first reading
The new law is not unique in Europe or Slovakia. Other countries in Europe have also had to make various legislative adjustments to enable the implementation of European Capitals of Culture. Even in Slovakia, an identical regulation has existed for many years in the Sports Act.
“In the first reading, the bill received a lot of support, up to 124 votes,” gratefully says the director of Trenčín 2026. She adds: “We are glad that also in Slovakia many people have understood that the funding system made possible by the new law is existentially important for the European Capital of Culture project.”
