Communication from the Commission - Summary of the Progress Report to the Council on the implementation of Council Recommendation 2005/835/EC of 14 November 2005 on priority actions to increase cooperation in the field of archives in Europe presented by the European Archives Group {SEC(2008) 2364}
Date: 2008-08-01
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: archives, cultural policy, data processing, document management

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 1.8.2008 
COM(2008) 500 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 

Summary of the 

Progress Report to the Council 
on the implementation of Council Recommendation 2005/835/EC 
of 14 November 2005  
on priority actions to increase cooperation in the field of archives in Europe 
presented by the European Archives Group  

{SEC(2008) 2364} 

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BACKGROUND 

1. 
In its Resolution of 6 May 2003 on archives in the Member States1, the Council recognised 
the challenges that archives were facing on the eve of the enlargement of the Union with ten 
new Member States. The Council called for an assessment of the situation of public archives 
in the EU, taking particular account of enlargement, and asked the Commission to submit a 
report that would address the possibilities for enhanced co-ordination and co-operation.  

In  response  to  the  Council  Resolution,  the  Report  on  archives  in  the  enlarged  European 
Union, prepared by a group of experts from the Member States, was submitted to the Council 
by the Commission in February 2005.2 The Report contains both an analysis of the situation 
of archives in the European Union and a number of proposed actions and future orientations 
for increased co-operation between archives at the European level.  

The Report on Archives led to Council Recommendation 2005/835/EC on priority actions to 
increase cooperation in the field of archives in Europe of 14 November 2005.3 Point A of the 
Council  Recommendation  calls  for  the  creation  of  a  European  Archives  Group  (EAG), 
comprising  experts  designated  by  the  Member  States  and  the  institutions  of  the  Union,  to 
ensure cooperation and coordination on general matters relating to archives and in particular 
to implement five priority measures referred to in point B of the Recommendation. In point C 
the  Member  States  and  the  institutions  of  the  Union  are  jointly  called  upon  to  promote  the 
implementation of these priority measures. It is noted that the European Union will endeavour 
to  support  projects  aimed  at  the  implementation  of  these  measures  under  existing 
programmes. In point D of the Recommendation the Council requests that, at the latest three 
years  after  the  date  of  publication  of  the  Recommendation,  the  European  Archives  Group 
present a progress report on implementation of the priority measures.  

The progress report requested by the Council was adopted by the European Archives Group at 
its meeting of 6 June 2008. The EAG progress report is submitted to the Council in annex to 
this Communication. 

The  EAG  considered  that  the  report  should  include  not  only  the  achievements  on  the 
implementation  of  the  Council  Recommendation  but  should  also  set  out  some  of  the  new 
challenges for archives that lie ahead. The progress report has been structured accordingly.  

2. 

ACHIEVEMENTS 

2.1. 

Increased cooperation in the field of archives in Europe 

The  EAG  was  created  at  the  beginning  of  2006 and comprises experts from all 27 Member 
States  of  the  European  Union4  as  well  as  from  the  five  European  institutions  mentioned  in 
Article  7(1)  of  the  EC  Treaty.  Since  its  inaugural  meeting  in  April  2006,  the  EAG  has  met 
once  every  semester  to  discuss  the  progress  achieved  in  the  implementation  of  the  Council 
Recommendation  and  to  provide  guidance  and  general  orientations  for  the  work  undertaken 
on the five priority actions. 

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4 

OJ C 113, 13.5.2003, p. 2 
COM(2005) 52 final. 
OJ L 312, 29.11.2005, p. 55 
Bulgaria and Romania participated as observers in 2006 and are full members of the EAG since their 
accession to the EU at the beginning of 2007. 

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The  EAG  has  sought  to  co-operate  with  other  relevant  networks  and  sectors.  For  the 
implementation of a number of the priority measures the EAG has sought to co-operate with 
existing  bodies  such  as  the  DLM  Forum5  and  the  European  Branch  of  the  International 
Council  on  Archives  (EURBICA).  The  archives  sector  is  also  actively  participating  in  the 
European Digital Library Foundation and is represented on the High Level Expert Group on 
Digital Libraries and the EDL interoperability working group. 

With  regard  to  the  priority  measure  'adoption  of  measures  to  prevent  theft  of  archival 
documents',  the  EAG  has  sought  to  work  together  with  museums  and  libraries  to  address  a 
problem  that  is  common  to  all  three  sectors.  Cross-sector  co-operation  is  considered 
fundamental for success in recovering stolen goods. To this end a joint conference to discuss 
the problem will be organised by the French EU presidency in Roubaix in October 2008. 

to  support  projects  aimed  at 

In  accordance  with  point  C  of  the  Council  Recommendation,  the  Commission  has  sought, 
where  possible, 
the  Council 
Recommendation.  Funding  for  the  update  and  extension  of  the  Model  requirements  for  the 
management  of  electronic  records  (MoReq2)6  and  for  the  Legal  database  for  archives  in 
Europe7  was  requested  and  obtained  in  the  framework  of  the  IDABC  programme8.  It  is 
expected  that  a  proposal  from  the  EAG  working  group  to  create  an  internet  portal  for 
archives9 will be funded from the eContentplus programme10.  

implementation  of 

the 

2.2. 

The five priority measures of the Council Recommendation 

Progress has been achieved with regard to all five priority measures in point B of the Council 
Recommendation of November 2005.  

2.2.1.  Preservation and disaster prevention 

The Council Recommendation calls for the development of an action plan to promote 
damage-prevention  measures  for  documents  and  archives  following  natural 
catastrophes and other harmful incidents, the promotion of Community-wide actions 
for  the  preservation  and  restoration  of  damaged  documents  and  archives  and  the 
establishment and promotion, of standards and specifications for the construction of 
new archives purpose built buildings. 

After  the  publication  of  the  recommendation  a  tri-national  working  group  on 
preservation  and  prevention  of  damage  to  archives,  chaired  by  the  German 
Bundesarchiv, was established. The working group has focussed on the most urgent 
of the problems mentioned in the Council Recommendation, i.e. disaster prevention. 
It  has  made  progress  in  regional  cooperation  between  the  Czech  Republic,  Poland 
and  Germany  and  notably  in  its  plans  to  establish,  in  2008,  an  internet  based 

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DLM  =  document  lifecycle  management.  The  DLM  Forum  is  a  stakeholder  organisation  that  unites 
many  of  the  National  Archives  of  the  EU27  and  other  public  and  private  organisations  interested  in 
electronic records and archives management, 
See 2.2.2 below 
See 2.2.4 below 
2004/387/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 on interoperable delivery 
of  pan-European  eGovernment  services  to  public  administrations,  businesses  and  citizens;  see:  OJ  L 
181, 18.5.2004 p. 25  
See section 2.2.3 below 
Decision No 456/2005/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2005 establishing 
a  multiannual  Community  programme  to  make  digital  content  in  Europe  more  accessible,  usable  and 
exploitable, OJ L 79, 24.3.2005, p. 1 

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information  service  for  use  in  case  of  disasters.  This  should  include  detailed 
information on disaster prevention and disaster management, but also information on 
where to find appropriate resources and capacity.  

The  objective  is  to  enlarge  the  internet  database  to  a  European  level  as  a  tool  to 
structure  and  enable  networking  between  European  Archives.  This  will  allow 
archives  across  the  EU  to  prepare  themselves  properly  for  all  possible  cases  of 
disasters. 

2.2.2.  European interdisciplinary co-operation on electronic documents and archives 

The  Council  Recommendation  of  14  November  2005  asks  for  the  further 
development of European interdisciplinary co-operation on electronic documents and 
archives. In particular, the Recommendation asks for the updating and extension of 
the current requirements for setting up electronic document and archive management 
systems, such as MoReq. The Council Recommendation also asks for a continuation 
of the DLM Forum conferences on electronic documents and archives.  

In  co-operation  with  the  Commission,  the  DLM  Forum  has  developed  the  updated 
and  extended  version  of  the  Model  requirements  for  the  management  of  electronic 
records (MoReq2). The DLM Forum will ensure MoReq2 governance and promote 
compliance testing for MoReq2 compliant software. 

In accordance with the Council Recommendation the DLM Forum will continue to 
organise  large  conferences  on  electronic  documents  and  archives.  The  fifth  DLM 
Forum Conference will be held in Toulouse (France) from 10-12 December 2008 and 
will  focus  on  achievements  and  new  directions  for  information  and  records 
management in Europe.  

2.2.3.  The establishment and maintenance of an internet portal for documents and archives 

in Europe 

The  proposal  to  establish  an  internet  portal  for  archives  in  Europe  aims  at  making 
Europe's  diverse  archival  material  kept  by  private  or  public  cultural  heritage 
institutions easier to access and to use online for work, leisure and/or study. For the 
first time it will be possible to retrieve archival information in Europe regardless of 
national, institutional and sector boundaries. This will be an important contribution to 
fulfilling  the  vision  of  a  common  multilingual  access  point  to  Europe's  distributed 
digital cultural and scientific heritage.  

The  project  will  not  establish  or  identify  new  standards  but  implement  a  common 
framework  across  Europe  that  includes  existing  global  archival  standards.  The 
project will also support and encourage the acceptance of trans-national standards in 
order to guarantee interoperability with different archival portals set up on national 
and institutional level.  

The project group, led by the Sub-directorate general of the Spanish State Archives, 
has  built  a  strong  network  of  archival  institutions  and  has  intensive  contacts  with 
other  cultural  heritage  institutions  (libraries,  museums).  The  archives  portal  will  be 
linked  to  EUROPEANA  and  it  is  expected  that  a  contract  will  be  signed  with  the 
Commission to fund the project from the eContentplus programme.  

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2.2.4.  Promotion  of  best  practice  with  regard  to  national  and  European  legislation 

regarding archives 

The Council Recommendation of 14 November 2005 asks for the promotion of best 
practice  with  regard  to  national  and  European  law  on  the  management  of,  and  the 
access to, documents and archives. To achieve this it proposes setting up a database 
that  will  link  data  on  archival  legislation  and  other  related  laws  at  national  and 
Community  level  and  facilitate  their  consultation.  The  database  will  provide  an 
overview  of  existing  legislation  and  allow  best  practices  to  be  identified  and 
disseminated. 

A  working  group  to  develop  a  legal  database  for  archives  in  Europe  is  led  by  the 
Direction  des  Archives  de  France  in  cooperation  with  the  European  branch  of  the 
International Council on Archives (EURBICA). The database contains archival and 
related legislation as well as interpretative and contextual information of the EU and 
the  EU  member  states.  The  development  of  the  legal  database  is  supported  by  the 
European Commission and funded from the European Union's IDABC programme.  

The  legal  database  was  presented  to  the  Commission  in  June.  The  content  will  be 
provided by the Member States and the European institutions during the second half 
of  2008.  The  database  will  be  maintained  by  the  member  states  and  hosted  by  the 
International Council on Archives (ICA).  

2.2.5.  Measures to prevent theft of archival documents 

A  working  group  for  measures  to  prevent  theft  in  archives,  led  by  the  Swedish 
Riksarkivet, focussed on two issues that it considered the most important, first, what 
measures could be taken against theft from archives and the ensuing trade in cultural 
artefacts and second, the need to undertake a study that will show the extent of theft 
problems among archival institutions in the Member States. 

The Working Group has fulfilled its assignment. In June 2007 it presented a report to 
the  EAG  on  theft  in  archives  based  on  a  survey  of  almost  200  archives  throughout 
Europe.  The  survey  gives  insight  into  the  nature  and  extent  of  theft  in  archives. 
Based  on  this  report  the  working  group  sought  to  provide  advice  and  some 
recommendations. The group developed some 'Principles and practical guidance' for 
the  prevention  of  theft  in  archives  which  will  serve  as  a  common  tool  for  archival 
institutions.  The  'Principles  and  practical  guidance'  were  presented  to  the  European 
Archives Group in June 2008.  

The working group has furthermore prepared a draft declaration on the prevention of 
theft in archives and the fight against their illegal trade for adoption by the Heads of 
the National Archives of the 27 Member States. This declaration will be presented at 
a  seminar  about  theft  in  archives  will  be  held  in  Roubaix,  during  the  French  EU 
presidency in November 2008. 

3. 

FUTURE CHALLENGES 

The  European  Archives  Group  proposes  that  Archives  Services  reflect  on  their  role  in  a 
rapidly evolving environment and examine how they can better serve society in general and 
public  administration  in  particular.  The  group  identifies  five  challenges  for  archives  in  the 
future.  

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3.1.1.  The European Directive for the re-use of public sector information  

The  EAG  proposes  to  more  closely  study  how  to  better  exploit  and  more  widely 
disseminate  archival  content.  It  notes  especially  that  Directive  2003/98/EC  of  the 
European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  17  November  2003  on  the  re-use  of 
Public  Sector  Information11  offers  opportunities  for  re-using  the  rich  content  of 
Europe’s  archives.  It  recommends  that  Member  States'  Archives  Services  consider 
the advantages and disadvantages of extending the terms of that Directive to archives 
and examine the different models for exploiting the content of archives and making it 
more widely available to European and world citizens. 

3.1.2.  The relationship between on-site and on-line access to archives 

The EAG considers that the balance between online and onsite access to archives is 
evolving.  The  progress  report  notes  that  this  question  would  benefit  from  a  wider 
study  of  practice  and  experience  in  EU  countries  and  that,  beyond  an  exchange  of 
information, it would be useful to develop some best practice guidelines. The report 
therefore  recommends  that  the  EAG  should  undertake  further  study  of  this  matter 
and  in  particular  consider  the  implications  for  European  Archives  Services  of  the 
changing  balance  between  online  and  onsite  access  to  archives.  It  proposes  an 
exchange  of  information  about  current  approaches  to  the  digitisation  of  archival 
materials  and  suggests  that  the  EAG  encourage  archives  in  the  EU  to  develop 
appropriate strategies for the future.  

3.1.3.  Digital  record  keeping:  consequences  for  administration  and  society  and  the 

changing role of Archives 

The  growing  use  of  new  technologies  has  crucially  affected  public  administration 
and  how  they  manage  information  as  well  as  the  way  that  documents  are  created, 
stored  and  accessed.  Over  the  past  decades  the  implementation  of  ICT  in 
administration  has  moreover  gone  hand  in  hand  with  the  development  and 
implementation  of  efficiency  and  quality  of  service  and  with  growing  attention  to 
transparency and accountability of government. Good governance and e-government 
are  central  concepts  in  the  public  administration  of  the  21st  century.  It  is 
unmistakable  that  e-government  and  digital  recordkeeping  will  profoundly  change 
many of the traditional principles and practices of archives services.  

Digitisation  of  society  will  affect  not  only  the  traditional  archival  concepts  and 
practices, but it will also change the relations between archives services and records 
creators and ultimately the role that archives services and archivists fulfil  in public 
administration  and  in  society.  An  analysis  of  the  developments  in  the  EU  member 
states,  within  the  context  of  their  different  legislative  and  administrative  traditions, 
could give a valuable insight in the value of different standards and practices. 

The EAG concludes that an exchange of information on the current situation in the 
EU  member  states  would  benefit  the  way  that  these  matters  are  handled  in  the 
different countries. National Archives are actively looking at their current and future 
role  in  e-Government.  The  EAG  proposes  to  stimulate  and  promote  discussion  on 
this issue with a view to exploiting the full potential value of the Archives for society 
in general and public administration in particular and will report more fully on this 
issue in 2010. 

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OJ L 345, 31.12.2003, p. 90–96 

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3.1.4.  Creation of a European expertise network 

The progress report considers that cooperation between archival professionals in the 
EU member States should be considered as one of the main tools for promoting co-
operation between archives themselves. It suggests the establishment of a European 
expertise network to provide archive institutions and professionals in Europe with: 

–  firstly,  support  in  implementing  –  at  their  respective  levels  –  different  projects 

developed as part of current priorities or those yet to be defined;  

–  secondly,  support  and  information  regarding  the  other  areas  of  expertise 

mentioned in the report.  

To  achieve  these  objectives  the  EAG  proposes  to  cooperate  with  both  the  archives 
services  in  the  Member  States  that  are  involved  in  the  different  projects  as  well  as 
with  professional  associations  of  archivists.  In  the  absence  of  a  European  archivist 
association, the latter could be represented by European branch of the International 
Council on Archives (EURBICA) of which many of these associations are a member.  

3.1.5.  Plan for a centre of excellence for European archivists  

Over  the  past  few  years,  a  number  of  societal  and  professional  changes  have 
highlighted the need to develop a category of high-level professional managers in the 
field of document and archive management who could aspire to a successful career 
and  occupy  strategic  posts.  The  aim  is  to  create  in  the  European  Union  a  new 
generation of archival managers who not only have a sound knowledge of the main 
issues  and  challenges  facing  the  profession  but  who  are  also  capable  of  defining 
management strategies and can communicate at the very highest level. This proposal 
could take the form of a European centre of excellence that would bring together the 
archivists of the future and thus further develop European expertise.  

The  European  "centre  of  excellence"  will  allow  for  the  training  of  a  body  of 
professionals capable of developing in both a national and an international context. It 
will also create a specific network for exchanges and discussions on the basis of an 
approach  encompassing  not  only  national  characteristics and expertise, but also the 
purely European context, thereby furthering high-level European cooperation in this 
field.  

The "centre of excellence" would be organised in a decentralised fashion so that its 
structures  would  be  lighter  and  would  not  be  permanently  attached  to  any  one 
organisation or institution. All the EU Member States should be involved.  

4. 

CONCLUSION 

Co-operation  between  the  archives  of  the  Member  States  has  moved  forward  since  the 
adoption  of  the  Council  Recommendation  at  the  end  of  2005.  As  in  the  past,  this  is  an 
evolutionary  process,  based  on  shared  interests  and  ambitions  and  the  recognition  that  co-
operation  should,  and  can,  be  mutually  beneficial.  On  this  basis,  co-operation  between 
archives  in  Europe  has  been  surprisingly  successful  over  the  last  two  decades.  In  order  to 
continue  that  success,  the  EAG  makes  a  number  of  recommendations  to  continue  to  work 
together during the coming years: 

–  the  EAG  shall  continue  to  monitor  and  provide  guidance  for  the  implementation  of  the 
priority actions set out in the Council Recommendation of 14 November 2005 as well as 
the  new  measures  that  have  resulted  from  these  actions  and  that  may  result  from  this 

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progress  report.  The  EAG  shall  closely  co-ordinate  its  work  with  the  European  Board  of 
National Archivists; 

–  the EAG shall increasingly work together with other relevant sectors and networks with a 
view  to  achieving  maximum  mutual  benefits  and  economies  of  scale  in  the  efficient 
management,  storage,  preservation  and  retrieval  of  public  sector  information,  as  well  as 
more  efficient  and  user  friendly  access  to  archival  content  and  services  for  the  European 
citizen;  

–  the  European  Commission  will  continue  to  support  the  work  of  the  European  Archives 

Group.  

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