The event comes at a time when Delhi would also host the 8th EU-India Summit being on November 30.

The cultural weeks would be held jointly by the European Union member state missions and the Delegation of the European Commission in India, in collaboration with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.

According to Daniele Smadja, the head of the delegation of the European Commission to India, the objective is to reinforce the cultural component of the EU-India relations.

This will be done by presenting the European Union as a dynamic and contemporary entity with much shared heritage and culture, in addition to the distinct cultural identity and traditions of each member state.

The President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, and the Prime Minister of Portugal, Jose Socrates, representing the presidency of the Council of the European Union, will be come to Delhi to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other politica11eaders during the summit.

The EU-India Business Summit will be organised by the respective chambers of commerce on November 29.

There will be 35 different events in the cultural weeks, including 12 exhibitions, 10 musical events, 11 film screenings and two talks. Almost all EU member states that have a presence in India would participate in the cultural weeks.

Eight different exhibitions will be put up at the Mati Ghar Gallery, IGNCA, by Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Poland, Portugal, Sweden and the European Commission.

Other venues in Delhi will also be used, including the National Gallery of Modern Art (Romania), the British Council (UK), the Rajiv Chowk metro station (Finland) and Lalit Kala Akademi (Portugal).

The works on display would include paintings or graphics by European artists, works of European photographers, theatre architecture, an exhibition that traces the history of maritime contacts between the EU and India, among others.

Musical events would mostly be held at the Sri Sathya Sai auditorium. These will include Dancing through Europe by Poland on November 24, folk dance and music by a Bulgarian group on November 27 as well as a joint classical music concert by Austria and Spain on November 29.

Films from Italy, Greece, Portugal, Slovenia, Austria and Hungary would be screened.