CELEX: 51991PC0447(01)
Language: en
Date: 1992-02-10
Title: Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION ( EEC ) on the export of cultural goods

No C 53 / 8                           Official Journal of the European Communities                                 28 . 2 . 92
                                                              II
                                                      (Preparatory Acts)
                                                COMMISSION
                        Proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) on the export of cultural goods
                                                        (92/G 53 / 14)
                                              COM(91) 447 final — SYN 382
                                    (Submitted by the Commission on 20 January 1992)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,                         the law on customs or agricultural matters ('), as
                                                                  amended by Regulation (EEC) No 945 / 87 (2), the said
                                                                  Regulation should be applied to this matter;
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Economic Community, and in particular Article 113
thereof,                                                          Whereas the Annex to this Regulation is aimed at
                                                                  making clear the types of cultural goods which should be
                                                                  given particular protection in trade with third countries,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,                but is not to prejudice the definition by Member States
                                                                  of national treasures within the meaning of Article 36 of
                                                                  the Treaty,
Having regard to the opinion of the European
Parliament,
                                                                  HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION :
Whereas, in view of the forthcoming completion of the
single market and the resultant removal of internal                                         Article 1
borders, rules on trade with third countries are needed
for the protection of cultural goods ;                            For the purposes of this Regulation, the term 'cultural
                                                                  goods' shall refer to the items listed in the Annex.
Whereas, in the light of the conclusions of the Council
meeting of 19 November 1990, it seems necessary to                                           TITLE 1
take measures to ensure that exports of cultural goods
are subject to uniform controls at the Community's
external borders ;                                                                       Export licence
                                                                                            Article 2
Whereas such a system should require the presentation
of a licence prior to the export of cultural goods covered        1 . The export of cultural goods shall be subject to
by this Regulation ; whereas this necessitates a clear defi­      presentation of an export licence.
nition of the scope of such measures and the procedures
for their implementation ; whereas a committee should be
set up to assist the Commission in carrying out the               2. The export licence shall be valid in all Member
responsibilities conferred on it by this Regulation ;             States of the Community.
Whereas, in view of the considerable experience of the            3 . An export licence shall be issued at the request of
Member States ' authorities in application of Council             the person concerned by the competent authorities of the
                                                                  Member State on whose territory the cultural article
Regulation (EEC) No 1468 / 81 of 19 May 1981 on
mutual assistance between the administrative authorities
of the Member States and cooperation between the latter           0) OJ No L 144 , 2 . 6 1981 , p . 1 .
and the Commission to ensure the correct application of           O OJ No L 90 , 2 . 4 . 1987 , p . 3 .
 ---pagebreak--- 28 . 2 . 92                            Official Journal of the European Communities                             No C 53 /9
in question was lawfully and definitively located on                                       Article 7
1 January 1993 , or, thereafter, on whose territory it is
located following lawful and definitive export from               1.    The Commission shall be assisted by a Cultural
another Member State .                                           Goods Committee (hereinafter referred to as the
                                                                 'committee'), composed of the representatives of the
4.      Member States shall furnish the Commission with a        Member States and chaired by the representative of the
list of the national authorities empowered to issue export       Commission, which shall operate in an advisory capacity.
licences for cultural goods .
                                                                 2.     The Commission representative shall submit to the
                                                                 committee a draft of the measures to be taken . The
5. The Commission shall publish the list of these auth­
orities in the Official Journal of the European                  committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft within a
Communities} C series .                                          time limit which the chairman may lay down according
                                                                 to the urgency of the matter, if necessary by taking a
                                                                 vote .
                          Article 3
                                                                 The opinion shall be recorded in the minutes ; in
The export licence shall be presented to customs at the          addition, each Member State shall have the right to ask
time of completing customs formalities for export.               to have its position recorded in the minutes .
                          Article 4                              The Commission shall take the utmost account of the
                                                                 opinion delivered by the committee . It shall inform the
1 . Member States may restrict the number of customs             committee of the manner in which its opinion has been
offices empowered to handle formalities for the export           taken into account.
of cultural goods .
                                                                 3 . The committee shall examine any question arising
2. Member States taking the option offered by                    from the export of cultural goods which may be tabled
paragraph 1 shall inform the Commission of the customs           by the chairman either on his own initiative or at the
offices duly empowered .                                         request of a Member State's representative.
The Commission shall publish this information in the
Official Journal of the European Communities, C series .                                   Article 8
                                                                 Each Member State shall determine the penalties to be
                          TITLE 2
                                                                 applied in the event of breach of this regulation and of
                                                                 any national measures necessary for its application ; such
                                                                 penalties should be effective, proportionate and dis­
                 Administrative cooperation                      suasive .
                          Article 5
                                                                                           Article 9
For the purposes of implementing this Regulation, the
provisions of Regulation (EEC) No 1468/ 81 , and in              Each Member State shall inform the Commission of the
particular the provisions on the confidentiality of infor­       measures taken for implementation of this Regulation.
mation, shall apply mutatis mutandis.
                                                                 The Commission shall pass on this information to the
                                                                 other Member States . Every three years it shall present a
                          TITLE 3                                report to the Parliament, the Council and the Economic
                                                                 and Social Committee on the implementation of this
                General and final provisions                     Regulation.
                          Article 6
                                                                                          Article 10
The provisions necessary for the implementation of this          This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January 1993 .
Regulation, in particular those concerning the form to be
used (model, technical properties, etc.) and the revision
of the Annex, shall be adopted in accordance with the            This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and
procedure laid down in Article 7 (2).                            directly applicable in all Member States.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 53/ 10                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                 28 . 2. 92
                                                                 ANNEX
                                            Categories of cultural goods covered by Article 1
                                                                                                          CN code
            A.    1 . Products of archaeological excavations and archaeological finds, of an age       ex 9706 00 00
                      exceeding 100 years
                  2 . Elements, including furniture, of artistic, historical and religious monuments   ex 9706 00 00
                      or archaeological sites which have been dismembered, of an age exceeding
                      100 years
                  3 . Pictures, paintings and drawings produced entirely by hand on any support           9701 10 00
                      and in any material (')
                  4 . — Original engravings, prints and lithographs (')                                ex 9702 00 00
                      — Lithographic plates (')                                                        ex 8442 50 99
                  5 . Original sculptures and statuary (')                                             ex 9703 00 00
                  6. Constructions and composite works (')                                             ex 9701 90 00
                                                                                                       ex 9703 00 00
                  7 . Photographs (')                                                                  ex 4911 91 80
                  8 . Manuscripts and incunabula more than 100 years old, singly or in collections     ex 9706 00 00
                  9. Books more than 200 years old, singly or in collections                           ex 9706 00 00
                10 . Archives, on any support :
                      — from 50 to 100 years of age                                                    ex 4901
                      — of over 100 years of age                                                       ex 9706 00 00
                11 . Collections and specimens for collections of postage stamps                       ex 9704 00 00
                12 . Collections and specimens of fauna, flora, minerals and anatomy or of                9705 00 00
                      historical, archaeological, palaeontological, ethnographic or numismatic
                      interest
                13 . Motor vehicles over 75 years old                                                  ex 9705 00 00
                14 . Antiquities over 100 years old                                                       9706 00 00
                The cultural objects in these categories are only covered by the present Regulation if they fulfil the
                financial criteria under B.
            B. Financial criteria applicable to certain categories under A :
                Category 3 : — Objects from between 1600 and 1900 : ECU 75 000 ;
                                   — Objects from after 1900 : ECU 150 000 ;
                Category 4 : ECU 7 500 ;
                Category 5 : ECU 50 000 ;
                Category       6 : ECU 100 000 ;
            (') Of deceased authors .
 ---pagebreak--- 28 . 2 . 92                            Official Journal of the European Communities                                    No C 53 / 11
                 Category 7 : ECU 7 500 ;
                 Category 11 : ECU 35 000 ;
                 Category 14 : — Furniture, furnishings or decorative items : ECU 20 000 ;
                               — Musical instruments : ECU 20 000 ;
                               — Any other object : ECU 50 000 .
                 The assessment of whether or not a monetary threshold is reached must be made at the moment the
                 request for an authorization is made. The monetary threshold is that of the cultural object in the
                 Member State applicable under Article 2 (5) (3) of the present Regulation.
              Proposal for a Council Directive on the return of cultural objects unlawfully removed from the
                                                 territory of a Member State
                                                           (92 /C 53 / 15)
                                                COM(91) 447 final — SYN 382
                                     (Submitted by the Commission on 20 January 1992)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,                              and have been removed from their territory in breach of
                                                                       the abovementioned national measures or of Council
                                                                       Regulation (EEC) No . . .; whereas to facilitate
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European                  cooperation with regard to return, the scope of the
Economic Community, and in particular Article 100a                     arrangements should be confined to items belonging to
thereof,                                                               common categories of cultural object ; whereas the
                                                                       Annex to this Directive is consequently not intended to
                                                                       define objects which rank as 'national treasures' within
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,                     the meaning of Article 36 of the Treaty, but merely
                                                                       categories of object which may be classed as such and
                                                                       may accordingly be covered by the return procedure
In cooperation with the European Parliament,                           introduced by this Directive ;
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and                       Whereas the procedure introduced by this Directive is a
Social Committee,                                                      first step in establishing cooperation between Member
                                                                       States in this field in the context of the internal market ;
                                                                       whereas the aim is mutual recognition of the relevant
Whereas Article 8 a of the Treaty provides for the estab­              national laws ; whereas provision should therefore be
lishment, not later than 1 January 1993 , of the internal              made, in particular, for the Commission to be assisted by
market, which is to comprise an area without internal                  an advisory committee with a view to amending, if
frontiers in which the free movement of goods, persons,                necessary, the Annex to this Directive in the light of
services and capital is ensured in accordance with the                 experience,
provisions of the Treaty ;
                                                                       HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE :
Whereas, under the terms and within the limits of Article
36 of the Treaty, Member States will after 1992 retain                                            Article 1
the right to define their national treasures and to take
the necessary measures to protect them ; whereas they                  For the purposes of this Directive :
will, on the other hand , no longer be able to apply
checks or formalities at the Community's internal
frontiers to ensure the effectiveness of those measures ;              1 . 'cultural object' means an object which :
Whereas arrangements should therefore be introduced                        — is a 'national treasure' under national legislation in
enabling Member States to secure the return to their                           the context of Article 36 of the Treaty,
territory of cultural objects which are classed as national
treasures within the meaning of Article 36 of the Treaty                       and