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Thursday, March 11, 2010

Culture : European Heritage Label

The European Commission has adopted on 9 March 2010 a proposal to establish a European Heritage Label. This labels aims at enhance the value of sites which have played a key role in the history of the European Union.The general objectives of the European Heritage Label are to strengthen European citizens’ sense of belonging to the European Union, based on shared elements of history and heritage, as well as an appreciation of diversity, and to strengthen intercultural dialogue.

To this end the Label will seek to enhance the value and profile of sites which have played a key role in the history and the building of the European Union, and seek to increase European citizens’ understanding of the building of Europe, and of their common yet diverse cultural heritage, especially related to the democratic values and human rights that underpin European integration.

The Commission's proposal responds to the conclusions adopted by the Council of Ministers of the European Union on 20 November 2008 inviting the European Commission to submit to it 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.

The original concept of the European Heritage Label emerged in 2005 as one of the responses to the gap between the European Union and its citizens. This gap is largely due to a lack of knowledge of European history, the role of the European Union and its values. The scheme was officially launched by several European states in April 2006 on an intergovernmental basis, without the involvement of the European Union. Its aim was to use the potential of cultural heritage to strengthen European citizens’ sense of belonging to Europe and promote a sense of European identity. To date, a total of 64 sites have obtained the Label.

Following the adoption of the Council conclusions and the demand by the Member Sates to transform the current intergovernmental European Heritage Label into a European Union action, an impact assessment was carried out by the Commission. This impact assessment showed that the label has a strong potential, but that this potential cannot be fulfilled with the current intergovernmental arrangements. It also showed that European Union involvement would bring clear added value and would help the initiative to take the qualitative step forward that it needs to make a real impact.

The Commission's proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and Council introduces new common, clear and transparent criteria for the label which would be applied by all participating Member States (participation would be voluntary). New selection and monitoring procedures would ensure only the most relevant sites receive the label, and those that no longer meet the criteria would lose it.

The implementation of the action by the European Commission would give the label greater stability and enable expertise to be built up. Heritage professionals across Europe could share knowledge more easily. Finally, the credibility, the visibility and the prestige of the label would increase.

Special attention was given in the proposal to the added value of the European Heritage Label compared to other initiatives in the field of cultural heritage such as for example the UNESCO World Heritage List and the Council of Europe’s ‘European Cultural Routes’.

This added value is based on the fact that the new European Heritage Label would only designate sites which have played a key role in the history of the European Union, it is not about a site's beauty or architectural quality but rather its symbolic value for European integration, it is not about conservation of sites in itself but rather the activities they offer and their educational dimension, especially for young people, and, finally, it would help labelled sites be more effective by working together.

Following its adoption by the European Parliament and the Council, the Commission's proposal could come into effect in 2011 or 2012.

Source  European Commission-DG Culture

More information  European Commission-DG Culture

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