European institutions in Strasbourg seats in Strasbourg. Due to this concentration in such a small area, Strasbourg, like Brussels, claims the title of "capital of Europe". While Brussels is the capital city of a trilingual State, Belgium, Strasbourg has had long periods of rule by both France or Germany, assimilating both of their cultures and languages (it also has the Alsatian language). Strasbourg also has the distinction of being one of only three cities to host major international institutions without being a capital (the others being New York City and Geneva). In Brussels' case, it claims the title through referring to the European Union,
European institutions in Strasbourg freedom, security and justice (eu-LISA) has his operational HQ in Strasbourg. Finally, Strasbourg also hosts the association Apollonia (created in 1998), which defines itself as "a platform of cooperation in the area of the visual arts between European countries and, more specifically, with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans, the countries along the Baltic Sea and in the South Caucasus." The association was created on the basis of work conducted since 1994 by the Council of Europe within the framework of the Program of European Artistic Exchanges. Twenty institutions have their sole, or one of their main,