Council conclusions on the creation of a European heritage label by the European Union
Date: 2008-12-13
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EU policy, cultural heritage, cultural policy, heritage protection, public awareness campaign, quality label

13.12.2008

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 319/11

IV

(Notices)

NOTICES FROM EUROPEAN UNION INSTITUTIONS AND BODIES

COUNCIL

Council conclusions on the creation of a European heritage label by the European Union

(2008/C 319/04)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

EMPHASISING IN PARTICULAR:

REFERRING:

— to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

— to the Council Resolution of 16 November 2007 (1) on a
European Agenda for Culture and the Conclusions of the
Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of
the Member States, meeting within the Council, of 21 May
2008 on the Work Plan for Culture 2008-2010 (2), which
includes the promotion of cultural heritage as one of its
objectives.

WELCOMING WITH INTEREST:

— the Commission's communication of 10 May 2007 on a

European agenda for culture in a globalising world (3),

— and the European Parliament Resolution of 10 April 2008
on a European agenda for culture in a globalising world (4),
in which the European Parliament supports the establish-
ment of a European heritage label ‘with a view to empha-
sising the European dimension of cultural goods, monu-
ments, memorial sites, and places of remembrance, which
all bear witness to Europe's history and heritage’.

TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION:

— the inter-governmental

scheme
launched in Granada in April 2006 by several Member
States.

‘European heritage label’

(1) OJ C 287, 29.11.2007, p. 1.
(2) OJ C 143, 10.6.2008, p. 9.
(3) COM(2007) 242 final — doc. 9496/07.
(4) 2007/2211 (INI).

— the importance of raising the awareness of young people of
the shared cultural heritage and hence the necessity to
promote their access to European cultural heritage.

1. CONSIDERS THAT THE CREATION OF A EUROPEAN HERITAGE

LABEL BY THE EUROPEAN UNION,

(a) which would aim to emphasize Europe's common
history in a concrete way by enhancing the European
dimension of its cultural heritage;

(b) could contribute:

— to enhancing the value and raising the profile of
the shared

Member States' heritage and that of
cultural heritage,

— to increasing knowledge and appreciation among citi-
their history and their shared yet diverse

zens of
cultural heritage,

— to the economic attractiveness and sustainable devel-
opment of the regions, in particular through cultural
tourism,

— to artistic, cultural and historical education and, in so
doing, to stepping up intercultural dialogue, espe-
cially among young people,

— to the sharing of experiences and exchange of best
practices across Europe as regards the enhancement
of its cultural heritage,

— more generally,

to the promotion of democratic
values and human rights that form the foundation of
European integration and European citizenship.

C 319/12

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

13.12.2008

3. BELIEVES THAT:

(a) Member States should participate in this initiative on a

voluntary basis;

(b) the project should be based on the following principles:

— a regular selection procedure, based on common,
clear and transparent criteria, carried out initially at
national and then at European level, based on an
expert assessment of the applications and covering a
reasonable and representative number of sites each
time,

— flexible and streamline administrative arrangements,
in compliance with the principle of subsidiarity,

— an implementation with due respect for the criteria
laid out in Section 2 of these conclusions, that seeks
synergies and complementarities with other initiatives
such as the Unesco World Heritage List and the
Council of Europe's ‘European Cultural Routes’, and
adopts a concerted approach as regards notification
of the sites awarded the label;

(c) the project could draw on existing Community funding,
without prejudice to the support policies conducted by
each of the Member States;

(d) this initiative could also be open to third countries parti-
the European

cipating in the Culture Programme of
Union;

(e) award of a European heritage label would require reci-
pient sites to comply with undertakings they have given
and could be subject to periodic review;

(f) sites already awarded the label in the framework of the
intergovernmental European heritage label project should
be taken into account and their status should be defined.

4.

INVITES THE COMMISSION TO:

— submit to it, within a reasonable time frame, and bearing
in mind these conclusions, an appropriate proposal for
the creation of a European heritage label by the European
Union and specifying the practical procedures for the
implementation of the project.

2. CONSIDERS THAT THE EUROPEAN UNION'S EUROPEAN HERI-
TAGE LABEL SHOULD BE AWARDED ON THE BASIS OF
COMMON, CLEAR AND TRANSPARENT CRITERIA:

(a) the following could be eligible for the label:

— monuments, natural or urban sites, cultural

land-
scapes and places of remembrance, as well as cultural
goods and intangible heritage attached to a place,
including contemporary heritage — hereafter referred
to as ‘sites’ (1),

— if

they bear witness,

their
cross-border or pan-European nature,
to Europe's
history, common values or cultural heritage, particu-
larly to the building of Europe;

in particular by

(b) candidates for

the label should submit a long-term

project which would commit them to:

— promoting the European dimension of the site, i.e. its
place and its role in European history, the cultural,
artistic,
and technological movements,
personalities and events linked to the site which have
played a key role in the history and the building of
Europe, etc.,

scientific

— enhancing the value of the site, for example by orga-
nising a range of educational, artistic, cultural and
scientific activities (events, festivals, artist-in residence
schemes, etc.),

— ensuring good management of the sites,

— ensuring the quality of

the reception facilities: a
policy of accessibility for the widest possible public
and the promotion of multilingualism, etc.,

— according special attention to a young public, in par-
ticular by allowing it privileged access to the site,

— raising the profile and the attractiveness of the site
on a European scale: appropriate signposting, the use
of new technologies, etc.,

— taking part

in the activities of networks of sites
awarded the label, possibly in the framework of
groups covering a particular European heritage theme
or a common aspect of the history of Europe.

(1) The Council refers to the definitions commonly accepted by interna-
tional or European law (Unesco Convention on the Means of Prohi-
biting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Owner-
ship of Cultural Property of 14 November 1970; Unesco Convention
concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage
of 16 November 1972; Unesco Convention for the Safeguarding of the
Intangible Cultural Heritage of 17 October 2003; European Landscape
Convention of 20 October 2000).