Proposal for a Council Regulation on the export of cultural goods (Codified version)
Date: 2006-09-20
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: administrative cooperation, cultural object, cultural relations, export, export licence, heritage protection

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 20.9.2006 
COM(2006) 513 final 

2006/0171 (CNS) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

on the export of cultural goods 

(Codified version) 

(presented by the Commission) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

In  the  context  of  a  people’s  Europe,  the  Commission  attaches  great  importance  to 
simplifying  and  clarifying  Community  law  so  as  to  make  it  clearer  and  more 
accessible to the ordinary citizen, thus giving him new opportunities and the chance 
to make use of the specific rights it gives him. 

This aim cannot be achieved so long as numerous provisions that have been amended 
several times, often quite substantially, remain scattered, so that they must be sought 
partly  in  the  original  instrument  and  partly  in  later  amending  ones.  Considerable 
research work, comparing many different instruments, is thus needed to identify the 
current rules. 

For  this  reason  a  codification  of  rules  that  have  frequently  been  amended  is  also 
essential if Community law is to be clear and transparent. 

On  1  April  1987  the  Commission  therefore  decided1  to  instruct  its  staff  that  all 
legislative acts should be codified after no more than ten amendments, stressing that 
this  is  a  minimum  requirement  and  that  departments  should  endeavour  to  codify  at 
even  shorter  intervals  the  texts  for  which  they  are  responsible,  to  ensure  that  the 
Community rules are clear and readily understandable. 

The  Conclusions  of 
the  Edinburgh  European  Council 
(December 1992) confirmed this2, stressing the importance of codification as it offers 
certainty as to the law applicable to a given matter at a given time. 

the  Presidency  of 

Codification  must  be  undertaken  in  full  compliance  with  the  normal  Community 
legislative procedure. 

Given  that  no  changes  of  substance  may  be  made  to  the  instruments  affected  by 
codification, the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission have agreed, 
by  an  interinsitutional  agreement  dated  20  December  1994,  that  an  accelerated 
procedure may be used for the fast-track adoption of codification instruments. 

is 

this  proposal 

The  purpose  of 
to  undertake  a  codification  of  Council 
Regulation (EEC) No 3911/92 of 9 December 1992 on the export of cultural goods3. 
The new Regulation will supersede the various acts incorporated in it4; this proposal 
fully preserves  the  content of  the acts being  codified  and  hence  does  no  more  than 
bring  them  together  with  only  such  formal  amendments  as  are  required  by  the 
codification exercise itself. 

The codification proposal was drawn up on the basis of a preliminary consolidation, 
in  all  official  languages,  of  Regulation  (EEC) No 3911/92  and  the  instruments 
amending  it,  carried  out  by  the  Office  for  Official  Publications  of  the  European 
Communities, by means of a data-processing system. Where the Articles have been 
given new numbers, the correlation between the old and the new numbers is shown 
in a table contained in Annex III to the codified Regulation. 

COM(87) 868 PV. 
See Annex 3 to Part A of the Conclusions. 
Carried out pursuant to the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the 
Council – Codification of the Acquis communautaire, COM(2001) 645 final. 
See Annex II to this proposal. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

1 
2 
3 

4 

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(cid:208) 3911/92 (adapted) 

2006/0171 (CNS) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

on the export of cultural goods 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Community,  and  in  particular 
Article ⌦ 133 ⌫ thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament1, 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee2, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

Council Regulation (EEC) No 3911/92 of 9 December 1992 on the export of cultural 
goods3  has  been  substantially  amended  several  times4.  In  the  interests  of  clarity  and 
rationality the said Regulation should be codified. 

(cid:208)  

(2)  ⌦ In order to maintain ⌫ the internal market, rules on trade with third countries are 

needed for the protection]of cultural goods. 

(cid:208) 3911/92 Recital 1 (adapted) 

1 
2 
3 

4 

OJ […], […], p. […]. 
OJ […], […], p. […]. 
OJ L 395, 31.12.1992, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 806/2003 (OJ L 122, 
16.5.2003, p. 1). 
See Annex II. 

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(3)  ⌦ It ⌫  seems  necessary  to  take  measures  in  particular  to  ensure  that  exports  of 

cultural goods are subject to uniform controls at the Community's external borders. 

(cid:208) 3911/92 Recital 2 (adapted) 

(cid:208) 3911/92 Recital 3 (adapted) 

(4) 

Such  a  system  should  require  the  presentation  of  a  licence  issued  by  the  competent 
Member  State  prior  to  the  export  of  cultural  goods  covered  by  this  Regulation.  This 
necessitates  a  clear  definition  of  the  scope  of  such  measures  and  the  procedures  for 
their  implementation.  The  implementation  of  the  system  should  be  as  simple  and 
efficient as possible. 

(5) 

The measures necessary for the implementation of this Regulation should be adopted 
in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the 
procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission5. 

(cid:208)  

(cid:208) 3911/92 Recital 4 (adapted) 

(6) 

In  view  of  the  considerable  experience  of  the  Member  States'  authorities  in  the 
application  of  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  ⌦ 515/97  of  13  March  1997 ⌫  on 
mutual  assistance  between  the  administrative  authorities  of  the  Member  States  and 
cooperation between the latter and the Commission to ensure the correct application of 
the law on customs or agricultural matters6, the said Regulation should be applied to 
this matter. 

(7) 

Annex ⌦ I ⌫ to this Regulation is aimed at making clear the categories of cultural 
goods which should be given particular protection in trade with third countries, but is 
not intended to prejudice the definition, by Member States, of national treasures within 
the meaning of Article ⌦ 30 ⌫ of the Treaty, 

(cid:208) 3911/92 Recital 5 (adapted) 

5 
6 

OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23. 
⌦ OJ  L  82,  22.3.1997,  p.  1 ⌫.  Regulation  as  amended  by  Regulation  ⌦ (EC)  No  807/2003  (OJ 
L 122, 16.5.2003, p. 36) ⌫. 

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HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

(cid:208) 3911/92 (adapted) 

Article 1 
Definitions 

Without prejudice to Member States' powers under Article ⌦ 30 ⌫ of the Treaty, the term 
“cultural goods” shall refer, for the purposes of this Regulation, to the items listed in Annex 
⌦ I ⌫. 

(cid:208) 3911/92 

Article 2 
Export licence 

1.  The  export  of  cultural  goods  outside  the  customs  territory  of  the  Community  shall  be 
subject to the presentation of an export licence. 

2. The export licence shall be issued at the request of the person concerned: 

(cid:208) 3911/92 (adapted) 
(cid:206)1 Corrigendum 3911/92 
(OJ L 267, 19.10.1996, p. 30) 
(adapted) 

⌦ (a) ⌫ 

by  a  competent  authority  of  the  Member  State  in  whose  territory  the  cultural 

object in question was lawfully and definitively located on 1 January 1993, ⌦ ; ⌫ 

⌦ (b) ⌫ 

or, thereafter, by a competent authority of the Member State in whose territory 
it  is  located  following  either  lawful  and  definitive  dispatch  from  another  Member 
State,  or  importation  from  a  third  country,  or  re-importation  from  a  third  country 
after lawful dispatch from a Member State to that country. 

However,  without  prejudice  to  paragraph  4,  the  Member  State  which  is  competent  in 
accordance with ⌦ points (a) or (b) of ⌫ the first subparagraph (cid:206)1 ⌦ is ⌫ authorised not 
to require export licences  for the cultural goods specified in the first and second indents of 
category A.1 of Annex ⌦ I ⌫ where they are of limited archaeological or scientific interest, 
and  provided  that  they  are  not  the  direct  product  of  excavations,  finds  ⌦ or ⌫ 
archaeological sites within a Member State, and that their presence on the market is lawful. 

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The  export  licence  may  be  refused,  for  the  purposes  of  this  Regulation,  where  the  cultural 
goods in question are covered by legislation protecting national treasures of artistic, historical 
or archaeological value in the Member State concerned. 

(cid:208) 3911/92 

(cid:208) 3911/92 (adapted) 

Where necessary, the authority referred to in ⌦ point (b) ⌫ of the first subparagraph shall 
enter into contact with the competent authorities of the Member State from which the cultural 
object  in  question  came,  and  in  particular  the  competent  authorities  within  the  meaning  of 
Council Directive ⌦ 93/7/EEC ⌫7. 

3. The export licence shall be valid throughout the Community. 

4. Without prejudice to the provisions of ⌦ paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 ⌫ , direct export from the 
customs  territory  of  the  Community  of  national  treasures  having  artistic,  historic  or 
archaeological  value  which  are  not  cultural  goods  within  the  meaning  of  this  Regulation  is 
subject to the national law of the Member State of export. 

Article 3 
Competent authorities 

1.  Member  States  shall  furnish  the  Commission  with  a  list  of  the  authorities  empowered  to 
issue export licences for cultural goods. 

2. The Commission shall publish a list of the authorities and any amendment to that list in the 
“C” series of the Official Journal of the European ⌦ Union ⌫. 

(cid:208) 3911/92 

Article 4 
Presentation of licence 

The export licence shall be presented, in support of the export declaration, when the customs 
export  formalities  are  carried  out,  at  the  customs  office  which  is  competent  to  accept  that 
declaration. 

Article 5 
Limitation of competent customs offices 

1.  Member  States  may  restrict  the  number  of  customs  offices  empowered  to  handle 
formalities for the export of cultural goods. 

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⌦ OJ L 74, 27.3.1993, p. 74 ⌫. 

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2. Member States availing themselves of the option afforded by paragraph 1 shall inform the 
Commission of the customs offices duly empowered. 

The Commission shall publish this information in the «C» series of the Official Journal of the 
European ⌦ Union ⌫. 

(cid:208) 3911/92 (adapted) 

Article 6 
Administrative cooperation  

For  the  purposes  of  implementing  this  Regulation,  the  provisions  of  Regulation  (EC) 
No ⌦ 515/97 ⌫, and in particular the provisions on the confidentiality of information, shall 
apply mutatis mutandis. 

In addition to the cooperation provided for under the first paragraph, Member States shall take 
all necessary steps to establish, in the context of their mutual relations, cooperation between 
the  customs  authorities  and  the  competent  authorities  referred  to  in  Article  4  of  Directive 
⌦ 93/7/EEC ⌫. 

(cid:208) 3911/92 (adapted) 

Article 7 
Implementing measures 

The  provisions  necessary  for  the  implementation  of  this  Regulation,  in  particular  those 
concerning  the  form  to  be  used  (for  example,  the  model  and  technical  properties)  shall  be 
adopted in accordance with the procedure ⌦ referred to ⌫ in Article 8(2). 

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(cid:208) 806/2003 Art. 1 and Annex I, 
pt. 2 (adapted) 

Article 8 
Committee 

1. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee. 

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 3 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall 
apply. 

3. The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure. 

(cid:208) 3911/92 (adapted) 

Article 9 
Penalties 

⌦ The  Member  States  shall  lay  down  the  rules  on  penalties  applicable  to  infringements  of 
the provisions of this Regulation and shall take all measures necessary to ensure that they are 
implemented. The penalties provided for must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. ⌫  

Article 10 
Reporting 

⌦ 1. ⌫ Each Member State shall inform the Commission of the measures taken pursuant to 
this Regulation. 

The Commission shall pass on this information to the other Member States. 

⌦ 2. ⌫  Every  three  years  the  Commission  shall  present  a  report  to  the  European 
Parliament,  the  Council  and  the  European  Economic  and  Social  Committee  on  the 
implementation of this Regulation. 

The Council shall review the effectiveness of this Regulation after a period of application of 
three years and, acting on a proposal from the Commission, make any necessary adaptations. 

In  any  event,  the  Council,  acting  on  a  proposal  from  the  Commission,  shall  examine  every 
three years and, where appropriate, update the amounts indicated in Annex ⌦ I ⌫, on the 
basis of economic and monetary indicators in the Community. 

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(cid:208)  

Article 11 
Repeal 

Regulation (EEC) No 3911/92 is repealed. 

References to the repealed Regulation shall be construed as references to this Regulation and 
shall be read in accordance with the correlation table in Annex III. 

(cid:208) 3911/92 Art. 11 (adapted) 

Article 12 
Entry into force 

This Regulation shall enter into force on the ⌦ twentieth ⌫ day following that of ⌦ its ⌫ 
publication in the Official Journal of the European ⌦ Union ⌫. 

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. 

Done at Brussels,  

For the Council 
The President 

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(cid:208) 3911/92 Annex 

ANNEX I 

CATEGORIES OF CULTURAL OBJECTS COVERED BY ARTICLE 1 

A. 

1.  Archaeological objects more than 100 years old which are the products of: 

– 

– 

– 

excavations and finds on land or under water 

9705 00 00 

archaeological sites 

archaeological collections 

9706 00 00 

2. 

Elements  forming  an  integral  part  of  artistic,  historical  or 
religious  monuments  which  have  been  dismembered,  of  an 
age exceeding 100 years 

9705 00 00 

9706 00 00 

(cid:208) 2469/96 Art. 1 pt. 1(a) 
(adapted) 

3. 

in 
Pictures  and  paintings,  other 
⌦ categories  4  or  5 ⌫  ,  executed  entirely  by  hand  in  any 
medium and on any material1 

included 

those 

than 

9701 

⌦ 4. ⌫  Water-colours, gouaches and pastels executed entirely 

by hand on any material1 

9701 

(cid:208) 2469/96 Art. 1 pt. 1(b) 
(adapted) 

(cid:208) 2469/96 Art. 1 pt. 1(c) 
(adapted) 

⌦ 5. ⌫  Mosaics  in  any  material  executed  entirely  by  hand, 
other than those falling in categories 1 or 2, and drawings in 
any medium executed entirely by hand on any material1 

6914 

9701 

1 

Which are more than 50 years old and do not belong to their originators. 

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(cid:208) 3911/92 (adapted) 

⌦ 6. ⌫ 

Original engravings, prints, serigraphs and lithographs 

with their respective plates and original posters1 

⌦ 7. ⌫ 

Original  sculptures  or  statuary  and  copies  produced 
by  the  same  process  as  the  original1,  other  than  those  in 
category 1 

⌦ 8. ⌫ 

Photographs, films and negatives thereof1 

⌦ 9. ⌫ 

Incunabula  and  manuscripts,  including  maps  and 

musical scores, singly or in collections1 

Chapter 49 

9702 00 00 

8442 50 99 

9703 00 00 

3704 

3705 

3706 

4911 91 80 

9702 00 00 

9706 00 00 

4901 10 00 

4901 99 00 

4904 00 00 

4905 91 00 

4905 99 00 

4906 00 00 

⌦ 10. ⌫  Books  more  than  100  years  old,  singly  or  in 

9705 00 00 

collections 

⌦ 11. ⌫  Printed maps more than 200 years old 

9706 00 00 

9706 00 00 

1 

Which are more than 50 years old and do not belong to their originators. 

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⌦ 12. ⌫  Archives,  and  any  elements  thereof,  of  any  kind  or 

3704 

any medium which are more than 50 years old 

3705 

3706 

4901 

4906 

9705 00 00 

9706 00 00 

⌦ 13. ⌫ 

(a) 

Collections2  and  specimens  from  zoological, 

9705 00 00 

botanical, mineralogical or anatomical collections; 

(b)  Collections2  of  historical,  palaeontological,  ethnographic  or 

9705 00 00 

numismatic interest 

⌦ 14. ⌫  Means of transport more than 75 years old 

9705 00 00 

Chapters 
86—89 

Chapter 95 

7013 

7114 

Chapter 94 

⌦ 15. ⌫  Any  other  antique  items  not  included  in  categories 

A.1 to ⌦ A.14 ⌫ 

(a) 

between 50 and 100 years old 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

toys, games 

glassware 

articles of goldsmiths' or silversmiths' wares 

furniture 

optical, 
apparatus 

photographic 

or 

cinematographic 

Chapter 90 

musical instruments 

clocks and watches and parts thereof 

Chapter 92 

Chapter 91 

2 

As defined by the Court of Justice in its judgment in Case 252/84, as follows: ‘Collectors' pieces within 
the meaning of heading No 9705 of the Common Customs Tariff are articles which possess the requisite 
characteristics  for  inclusion  in  a  collection,  that  is  to  say,  articles  which  are  relatively  rare,  are  not 
normally used for their original purpose, are the subject of special transactions outside the normal trade 
in similar utility articles and are of high value’. 

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– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

articles of wood 

pottery 

tapestries 

carpets 

wallpaper 

arms 

(b)  more than 100 years old 

Chapter 44 

Chapter 69 

5805 00 00 

Chapter 57 

4814 

Chapter 93 

9706 00 00 

The cultural objects in categories A.1 to ⌦ A.15 ⌫ are covered by this Regulation 
only if their value corresponds to, or exceeds, the financial thresholds under B. 

B. 

FINANCIAL  THRESHOLDS  APPLICABLE  TO  CERTAIN  CATEGORIES  UNDER  A  (IN 
⌦ EURO ⌫) 

(cid:208) 974/2001 Art. 1 pt. 1 

(cid:208) 3911/92 

Value: 

Whatever the value 

– 

– 

– 

– 

1 (Archaeological objects) 

2 (Dismembered monuments) 

9 (Incunabula and manuscripts) 

12 (Archives) 

15 000 

– 

– 

– 

– 

5 (Mosaics and drawings) 

6 (Engravings) 

8 (Photographs) 

11 (Printed maps) 

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30 000 

–  ⌦ 4 ⌫ (Water-colours, gouaches and pastels) 

(cid:208) 2469/96 Art. 1 pt. 2 (adapted) 

(cid:208) 3911/92 (adapted) 

50 000 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

7 (Statuary) 

10 (Books) 

13 (Collections) 

14 (Means of transport) 

15 (Any other object) 

150 000 

– 

3 (Pictures) 

The assessment of whether or not the conditions relating to financial value are fulfilled must 
be made when an application for an export licence is submitted. The financial value is that of 
the cultural object in the Member State referred to in Article 2(2). 

(cid:208) 974/2001 Art. 1 pt. 2 (adapted) 

For the Member States which do not have the euro as their currency, the values expressed in 
euro in Annex ⌦ I ⌫ shall be converted and expressed in national currencies at the rate of 
exchange  on  31  December  2001  published  in  the  Official  Journal  of  the  European 
Communities. This countervalue in national currencies shall be reviewed every two years with 
effect from 31 December 2001. Calculation of this countervalue shall be based on the average 
daily value of those currencies, expressed in euro, during the 24 months ending on the last day 
of  August  preceding  the  revision  which  takes  effect  on  31  December.  This  method  of 
calculation  shall  be  reviewed,  on  a  proposal  from  the  Commission,  by  the  Advisory 
Committee  on  Cultural  Goods,  in  principle  two  years  after  the  first  application.  For  each 
revision,  the  values  expressed  in  euro  and  their  countervalues  in  national  currency  shall  be 
published periodically in the Official Journal of the European ⌦ Union ⌫ in the first days 
of the month of November preceding the date on which the revision takes effect. 

_________________ 

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(cid:207) 

ANNEX II 

Repealed Regulation with its successive amendments 

Council Regulation (EEC) No 3911/92 
(OJ L 395, 31.12.1992, p. 1) 

Council Regulation (EC) No 2469/96 
(OJ L 335, 24.12.1996, p. 9) 

Council Regulation (EC) No 974/2001 
(OJ L 137, 19.5.2001, p. 10) 

Council Regulation (EC) No 806/2003 
(OJ L 122, 16.5.2003, p. 1) 

_________________ 

Annex I point 2 only 

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ANNEX III 

CORRELATION TABLE 

Regulation (EEC) No 3911/92 

This Regulation 

Article 1 

Article 2(1) 

Article 1 

Article 2(1) 

Article  2(2),  first  subparagraph,  introductory 
wording 

Article  2(2),  first  subparagraph,  introductory 
wording 

Article 2(2), first subparagraph, first indent 

Article 2(2), first subparagraph, point (a) 

Article 2(2), first subparagraph, second indent 

Article 2(2), first subparagraph, point (b) 

Article 2(2), second subparagraph 

Article 2(2), second subparagraph 

Article 2(2), third subparagraph 

Article 2(2), third subparagraph 

Article 2(2), fourth subparagraph 

Article 2(2), fourth subparagraph 

Article 2(3) 

Article 2(4) 

Articles 3 to 9 

Article 2(3) 

Article 2(4) 

Articles 3 to 9 

Article 10, first paragraph 

Article 10(1), first subparagraph 

Article 10, second paragraph 

Article 10(1), second subparagraph 

Article 10, third paragraph 

Article 10(2), first subparagraph 

Article 10, fourth paragraph 

Article 10(2), second subparagraph 

Article 10, fifth paragraph 

Article 10(2), third subparagraph 

— 

Article 11 

Article 11 

Article 12 

Annex, points A.1, A.2 and A.3 

Annex I, points A.1, A.2 and A.3 

Annex, point A.3A 

Annex, point A.4 

Annex, point A.5 

Annex, point A.6 

Annex I, point A.4 

Annex I, point A.5 

Annex I, point A.6 

Annex I, point A.7 

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Annex, point A.7 

Annex, point A.8 

Annex, point A.9 

Annex, point A.10 

Annex, point A.11 

Annex, point A.12 

Annex, point A.13 

Annex, point A.14 

Annex, point B 

— 

— 

Annex I, point A.8 

Annex I, point A.9 

Annex I, point A.10 

Annex I, point A.11 

Annex I, point A.12 

Annex I, point A.13 

Annex I, point A.14 

Annex I, point A.15 

Annex I, point B 

Annex II 

Annex III 

_________________ 

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