The Douzelage is a town twinning association with one town from each of the member states of the European Union.[1]
The name is a combination of the French words "douze" for twelve and "jumelage" for twinning and stands for the twelve founder members, one for each European Union member state in 1991, when the Douzelage Charter was signed in Granville, in France.[1]
Although the membership of the EU, and of the association, has grown, the name Douzelage has been kept unchanged..[1]
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Aims and organisation
The aims of the Douzelage are to promote and foster the spirit of Europe and to establish among others educational, economic, tourist, sporting and cultural links between the towns for the mutual benefit of the inhabitants thereof.
Douzelage is chaired by a president and two vice-presidents, all elected for a period of 3 years. The official language used is English, partially also French..[1]
The Douzelage movement received European recognition in 1993 when it was honoured by the European Commission with the "Golden Stars of Twinning"..[1]
Members
The original 12 founder members were:
Altea, Spain
Bad Kötzting, Germany
Bellagio, Italy
Bundoran, Ireland
Granville, France
Holstebro, Denmark
Houffalize, Belgium
Meerssen, the Netherlands
Niederanven, Luxembourg
Preveza, Greece
Sesimbra, Portugal
Sherborne, United Kingdom
Towns that joined later are:
In a first step of further expansion, 5 new towns joined the Douzelage in harmony with the European enlargement process:
Chojna, Poland - 2004
Kőszeg, Hungary - 2004
Sigulda, Latvia - 2004
Sušice, Czech Republic - 2004
Türi, Estonia - 2004
In a second step, 2 further towns were accepted:
In 2009 there was another addition of
Marsaskala, Malta - 2009
Discussions regarding membership are in hand with towns in Cyprus, Slovenia, Romania and Bulgaria.
External links
References
- ^ a b c d e "Douzelage.org: Home". www.douzelage.org. http://www.douzelage.org/. Retrieved 2009-10-21.
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