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1. The shortlisted candidate cities shall complete and revise their applications with a view to complying with the criteria as well as taking into account the recommendations contained in the pre-selection report, and shall submit them to the Member State concerned, which shall then transmit them to the Commission.

2. Each Member State concerned shall convene the panel for a selection meeting with the shortlisted candidate cities no later than nine months after the pre-selection meeting. Where necessary, the Member State concerned, in consultation with the Commission, may extend that nine-month deadline for a reasonable period.

3. The panel shall assess the completed and revised applications.

4. The panel shall issue a selection report on the applications of the shortlisted candidate cities with a recommendation for the designation of a maximum of one city in the Member State concerned. The selection report shall also contain recommendations to the city concerned regarding the progress to be made by the year of the title. The panel shall submit the selection report to the Member State concerned and to the Commission.

5. Notwithstanding paragraph 4, if none of the candidate cities fulfils all the criteria, the panel may recommend that the title not be awarded for the year in question.