Mr. Bogdan Stanoevici, Secretary of State, attended the Culture and Audiovisual Council of Education, Youth, Culture, Sports, held on 19 May 2015 in Brussels. The Council adopted a decision designating the cities of Plovdiv (Bulgaria) and Matera (Italy) as European Capitals of Culture in 2019. In the context of celebrating 30 years of existence, action European Capitals of Culture are still enjoying huge success in all EU member states. A proof of this is that 20 Italian cities have joined the competition for the title in 2019, the impressive figure is a record in the history of the contests held so far. The decision designating the cities of Plovdiv and Matera was published in the Official Journal of the European Union L 128 of 23 May 2015.

http://www.cultura.ro/articol/772