The Commission of the European Union manages the title and each year the Council of Ministers of the European Union formally designates European Capitals of Culture: more than 40 cities have been designated so far. The current European Capitals of Culture are Galway, Ireland and Rijeka, Croatia. Initially, Novi Sad, Serbia was selected to be the 2021 European Capital of Culture. However, on 23 December 2020, the European Parliament adopted a proposal by the European Commission to postpone its term until 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, Galway and Rijeka, the 2020 Capitals of Culture, were allowed to prolong their title until April 2021.