Article 1 Subject matter
1. The year 2018 shall be designated as the ‘European Year of Cultural Heritage’ (‘European Year’). 2. The purpose of the European Year shall be to encourage the sharing and appreciation of Europe's cultural heritage as a shared resource, to raise awareness of common history and values, and to reinforce a sense of belonging to a common European space.
Article 2 Objectives
1. The general objectives of the European Year shall be to encourage and support the efforts of the Union, the Member States and regional and local authorities, in cooperation with the cultural heritage sector and broader civil society, to protect, safeguard, reuse, enhance, valorise and promote Europe's cultural heritage. In particular, the European Year shall: (a) contribute to promoting the role of Europe's cultural heritage as a pivotal component of cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue. While fully respecting the competences of the Member States, it shall highlight the best means to ensure the conservation and safeguarding of Europe's cultural heritage as well as the enjoyment thereof by a wider and more diversified audience, including through audience-development measures and heritage education, thereby promoting social inclusion and integration; (b) enhance the contribution of Europe's cultural heritage to society and the economy, through its direct and indirect economic potential, which includes the capacity to underpin the cultural and creative sectors, including small and medium-sized enterprises, and to inspire creation and innovation, to promote sustainable development and tourism, to enhance social cohesion and to generate long-term employment; (c) contribute to promoting cultural heritage as an important element of the relations between the Union and third countries, building on the interest and needs in partner countries and on Europe's expertise in cultural heritage. 2. The specific objectives of the European Year shall be to: (a) encourage approaches to cultural heritage that are people-centred, inclusive, forward-looking, more integrated, sustainable and cross-sectoral; (b) promote innovative models of participatory governance and management of cultural heritage, involving all stakeholders, including public authorities, the cultural heritage sector, private actors and civil society organisations; (c) promote debate, research and the exchange of good practices on the quality of conservation, safeguarding, innovative reuse and enhancement of cultural heritage, and on contemporary interventions in the historical environment; (d) promote solutions which make cultural heritage accessible to all, including via digital means, by removing social, cultural and physical barriers, taking into account people with special needs; (e) highlight and enhance the positive contribution of cultural heritage to society and the economy through research and innovation, including by strengthening the evidence base for such a contribution at Union level; (f) encourage synergies between cultural heritage and environment policies by integrating cultural heritage into environmental, architectural and planning policies, and by promoting energy-efficiency; (g) encourage regional and local development strategies that tap into the potential of cultural heritage, including through the promotion of sustainable tourism; (h) support the development of specialised skills and improve knowledge management and knowledge transfer in the cultural heritage sector, taking into account the implications of the digital shift; (i) promote cultural heritage as a source of inspiration for contemporary creation and innovation, and highlight the potential for cross-fertilisation and stronger interaction between the cultural heritage sector and other cultural and creative sectors; (j) raise awareness of the importance of Europe's cultural heritage through education and lifelong learning, in particular by focusing on children, young and elderly people, local communities and hard-to-reach groups; (k) highlight the potential of cooperation in matters of cultural heritage for developing stronger ties within the Union and with countries outside the Union and for encouraging intercultural dialogue, post-conflict reconciliation and conflict prevention; (l) promote research and innovation in relation to cultural heritage, facilitate the uptake and exploitation of research results by all stakeholders, in particular public authorities and the private sector, and facilitate the dissemination of research results to a broader audience; (m) encourage synergies between the Union and the Member States, including by strengthening initiatives to prevent the illicit trafficking of cultural goods; and (n) highlight, during 2018, significant events that have a symbolic importance for Europe's history and cultural heritage.
Article 3 Content of measures
1. The measures to be taken to achieve the objectives set out in Article 2 shall include the following activities at Union, national, regional or local level linked to the objectives of the European Year: (a) initiatives and events to promote debate and raise awareness of the importance and value of cultural heritage and to facilitate engagement with citizens and stakeholders; (b) information, exhibitions, education and awareness-raising campaigns to convey values such as diversity and intercultural dialogue using evidence from Europe's rich cultural heritage and to stimulate the general public's contribution to cultural heritage protection and management and more generally to achieving the objectives of the European Year; (c) the sharing of experience and good practices of national, regional and local administrations and other organisations, and the dissemination of information about cultural heritage, including via Europeana; (d) the undertaking of studies and research and innovation activities and the dissemination of their results on a European or national scale; and (e) the promotion of projects and networks connected to the European Year, including via the media and social networks. 2. The Commission and the Member States, at Union and national level respectively, may identify activities other than those referred to in paragraph 1, provided that they contribute to achieving the objectives of the European Year set out in Article 2. 3. The Union institutions and bodies, as well as the Member States, at Union and national level respectively, may refer to the European Year and make use of its logo in promoting the activities referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2.
Article 4 Coordination at Member State level
The organisation of participation in the European Year at national level is a responsibility of the Member States. To that end, Member States shall appoint national coordinators. The national coordinators shall ensure the coordination of relevant activities at national level.
Article 5 Coordination at Union level
1. The Commission shall regularly convene meetings of the national coordinators in order to coordinate the running of the European Year. Those meetings shall also serve as opportunities to exchange information regarding the implementation of the European Year at national and Union level; representatives of the European Parliament may participate in those meetings as observers. 2. The coordination of the European Year at Union level shall have a transversal approach with a view to creating synergies between the various Union programmes and initiatives that fund projects in the field of cultural heritage. 3. The Commission shall convene regular meetings of stakeholders and representatives of organisations or bodies active in the field of cultural heritage, including existing transnational cultural networks and relevant NGOs, as well as of youth organisations, to assist it in implementing the European Year at Union level.
Article 6 International cooperation
For the purpose of the European Year, the Commission shall cooperate with competent international organisations, in particular with the Council of Europe and Unesco, while ensuring the visibility of the Union's participation.
Article 7 Protection of the financial interests of the Union
1. The Commission shall take appropriate measures to ensure that, when actions financed under this Decision are implemented, the financial interests of the Union are protected by the application of preventive measures against fraud, corruption and any other illegal activities, by effective checks and inspections and, if irregularities are detected, by the recovery of the amounts unduly paid and, where appropriate, by effective, proportionate and dissuasive administrative and financial penalties. 2. The Commission or its representatives and the Court of Auditors shall have the power of audit, on the basis of documents and of on-the-spot checks and inspections, over all grant beneficiaries, contractors and subcontractors that have received Union funds under this Decision. 3. The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) may carry out investigations, including on-the-spot checks and inspections, in accordance with the provisions and procedures laid down in Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 9 ) and Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 ( 10 ) and with a view to establishing whether there has been fraud, corruption or any other illegal activity affecting the financial interests of the Union in connection with a grant agreement or grant decision or a contract funded under this Decision. 4. Without prejudice to paragraphs 1, 2 and 3, cooperation agreements with third countries and with international organisations, contracts, grant agreements and grant decisions resulting from the implementation of this Decision shall contain provisions expressly empowering the Commission, the Court of Auditors and OLAF to conduct such audits and investigations, in accordance with their respective competences.
Article 8 Funding
Co-financing at Union level of activities implementing the European Year shall be in accordance with the rules applicable to existing programmes, such as the Creative Europe Programme, and within the existing possibilities for setting priorities on an annual or multiannual basis. Where appropriate, other programmes and policies, within their existing legal and financial provisions, may also support the European Year.
Article 9 Budget
The financial envelope for the implementation of this Decision for the period from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2018 shall be EUR 8 million. The annual appropriations shall be authorised by the European Parliament and the Council within the limits of the multiannual financial framework.
Article 10 Monitoring and evaluation
By 31 December 2019, the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the implementation, results and overall assessment of the initiatives provided for in this Decision. The report shall include ideas for further common endeavours in the field of cultural heritage.
Article 11 Entry into force
This Decision shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union .