Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2016)543 - European Year of Cultural Heritage - Main contents

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dossier	COM(2016)543 - European Year of Cultural Heritage.
source	COM(2016)543
date	30-08-2016

1. CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL

• Reasons for and objectives of the proposal

The ideals, principles and values embedded in the European cultural heritage constitute a shared source of remembrance, understanding, identity, dialogue, cohesion and creativity for Europe. Since the adoption of the European Agenda for Culture ¹ in 2007, cultural heritage has been a priority under successive Council Work Plans for Culture, including the current plan for the period 2015-2018 ² . Cooperation at European level has taken place mainly through the open method of coordination. In 2014, the role of heritage policies for delivering social and economic benefits was highlighted in the Council conclusions on cultural heritage as a strategic resource for a sustainable Europe ³ (21 May 2014), and in the Commission Communication Towards an integrated approach to cultural heritage for Europe. ⁴ The Communication was welcomed by the Committee of the Regions in its Opinion of 16 April 2015 ⁵ , and by the European Parliament, which adopted a Resolution on 8 September 2015 ⁶ .

In particular, an invitation to the Commission to propose a ‘European Year of Cultural Heritage’ was included in the Council conclusions on participatory governance of cultural heritage, adopted on 25 November 2014 ⁷ . The European Parliament made a similar invitation in its resolution and invited the Commission ‘to designate, preferably for 2018, a European Year of Cultural Heritage’. The Committee of the Regions also echoed that call in its opinion and stressed that a European Year of Cultural Heritage would contribute to the attainment of shared goals in the pan-European context.

As highlighted in the Commission Communication, the contribution of cultural heritage to economic growth and social cohesion in Europe is insufficiently known and often undervalued. At the same time, the heritage sector in Europe is facing many challenges. These include: decreasing public budgets; declining participation in traditional cultural activities; increasing environmental and physical pressures on heritage sites; transforming value chains and expectations as a result of the digital shift; and the illegal trafficking of cultural artefacts.

As with all European Years, the main objective is to raise awareness of the challenges and opportunities and highlight the role of the EU in promoting shared solutions. In line with the objectives of the European Agenda for Culture, the European Year of Cultural Heritage should have the following overall objectives:

– It shall contribute to promoting the role of European cultural heritage as a pivotal component of cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue. It should highlight the best means to ensure its conservation and safeguarding and its enjoyment by a wider and more diversified public. This includes through audience development measures and heritage education, in full respect of the competences of the Member States, thereby promoting social inclusion and integration.

– It should enhance the contribution of European cultural heritage to the economy and society, through its direct and indirect economic potential. This includes the capacity to underpin the cultural and creative industries and inspire creation and innovation, promote sustainable tourism, and generate long-term local employment.

– It should contribute to promoting cultural heritage as an important element of the EU’s international dimension, building on the interest in partner countries for Europe’s heritage and expertise. Heritage plays a major role in several programmes in the area of external relations, mainly — but not exclusively — in the Middle East. The promotion of the value of cultural heritage is also a response to the deliberate destruction of cultural treasures in conflict zones ⁸ .

The European Year of Cultural Heritage will offer opportunities for European citizens to better understand the present through a richer and shared interpretation of the past. It will stimulate a better evaluation of the social and economic benefits of cultural heritage and of its contribution to economic growth and social cohesion. This can be assessed, for instance, in terms of the promotion of sustainable tourism and urban regeneration. It will highlight the challenges and opportunities linked to digitisation. It will also contribute to addressing the identified challenges, through the dissemination of best practices concerning: safeguarding; management; enhancement; governance; and research and innovation activities. Recent breakthroughs in terms of technological and social innovation in the field of cultural heritage, as well as the EU's initiatives in these domains, will be highlighted.

• Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area

The European Year of Cultural Heritage will be implemented using existing EU programmes. Cultural heritage is currently eligible for significant EU funding under several EU programmes for conservation, digitisation, infrastructure, research and innovation, enhancement and skills. These programmes include: Creative Europe; the European structural and investment funds; Horizon 2020; Erasmus+; and Europe for Citizens. Three EU actions specifically dedicated to cultural heritage are funded under Creative Europe: European Heritage Days; the EU Prize for Cultural Heritage; and the European Heritage Label.

The European Year will be an opportunity to encourage Member States and stakeholders to work together to develop a stronger and more integrated approach to cultural heritage. This approach would aim to promote and protect Europe’s cultural heritage, and maximise its intrinsic and societal value, and its contribution to jobs and growth. This will be pursued in full respect of the subsidiarity principle.

Similar to other European Years, measures will include information and promotion campaigns, events and initiatives at European, national, regional and local levels. They will serve to convey key messages and disseminate information about examples of good practice.

Every effort will be made to ensure that the activities organised in the course of the European Year are tailored to meet the needs and circumstances of each Member State. Member States are therefore invited to appoint a national coordinator responsible for organising their participation in the European Year of Cultural Heritage. A European steering group, including representatives of the national coordinators, will be set up. The Commission shall convene meetings of the national coordinators in order to coordinate the running of the European Year and to exchange information regarding its implementation at national and European level.

2. LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY

• Legal basis

The legal basis of the proposal is Article 167 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). This states that the EU ‘shall contribute to the flowering of the cultures of the Member States, while respecting their national and regional diversity and at the same time bringing the common cultural heritage to the fore’. The Union shall also encourage cooperation between Member States in the field of culture and if necessary, support and supplement their action.

• Subsidiarity

The objectives of the proposal cannot be achieved to a sufficient extent solely by action undertaken by the Member States. This is because action at national level alone would not benefit from the European dimension of exchange of experience and good practice between Member States. Article 3 of the Treaty on European Union states that the European Union shall respect the Member States' rich cultural and linguistic diversity, and ensure that Europe's cultural heritage is safeguarded and enhanced. The Union shall pursue its objectives by appropriate means commensurate with the competences which are conferred upon it by the Treaties. In addition, Member States' action would benefit from the awareness and visibility created within and beyond the EU.

• Proportionality

The proposed course of action is simple. It relies on existing programmes and on refocusing communication activities on the themes of the European Year. It imposes no disproportionate management constraints on administrations implementing the proposal.

EU action will support and complement the efforts of Member States. This action will firstly improve the effectiveness of the EU’s own instruments. Secondly, it will act as an enabler by encouraging synergies and cooperation among Member States, cultural organisations and foundations, and private and public enterprises.

EU action would not go beyond what is necessary to address the identified problems.

• Choice of the instrument

A decision of the European Parliament and of the Council is the most appropriate instrument to ensure the full involvement of the legislative authority in designating 2018 as the European Year of Cultural Heritage.

3. RESULTS OF EX-POST EVALUATIONS, STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS

• Stakeholder consultations

In preparing its proposal, the Commission conducted a series of targeted consultations involving a wide range of stakeholders, reflecting the nature of the cultural heritage sector and its high level of organisation and specialisation, the competences of the Member States and the role of professional bodies and international organisations. In addition, the Commission took special account of the above-mentioned Council conclusions, the resolution of the European Parliament and the opinion of the Committee of the Regions.

At EU level, policy developments on cultural heritage have recently benefited from a rich debate. This has been facilitated by bodies bringing together authorities in charge of heritage policies in Member States. These include the Reflection Group ‘EU and cultural heritage’, and the European Heritage Heads Forum. Other intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations include the International Council of Museums (ICOM), the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), the Council of Europe. Other major networks active in the field include Europa Nostra, the European Heritage Alliance 3.3 ⁹ , and the Network of European Museum Organisations (NEMO).

There have been various other developments. In April 2015, the Ministers of Culture of the Council of Europe adopted the Namur Declaration. In this, they welcomed the idea of the Council of the European Union to organise a European Heritage Year. They asked that the Council of Europe, and all States Parties to the European Cultural Convention, be invited to participate.

On 29 June 2015, on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the European Year of Architectural Heritage that was organised in 1975 under the auspices of the Council of Europe, the German Cultural Heritage Committee (Deutsches Nationalkomitee für Denkmalschutz) hosted a public discussion in Bonn on the proposal for a European Year, in conjunction with the session of the World Heritage Committee.

Another relevant discussion was organised in April 2015 by Europa Nostra’s Brussels Office with a selected group of chief executive officers of member organisations. At its June 2015 General Assembly, the entire membership of Europa Nostra discussed the purpose of a European Year for Cultural Heritage and the main actions that could be developed. This was organised in Oslo, in the presence of the European Commission.

Stakeholders were also consulted in the framework of the open working group ‘EYCH 2018’, organised by the German Cultural Heritage Committee and the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media. This resulted in a concept paper (Sharing Heritage’ ¹⁰ ) that was taken into account in preparing this proposal. The discussion was conducted with members of the Reflection Group ‘EU and Cultural Heritage’, including experts from the national administrations of Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, France, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Additional experts came from Estonia, Austria, Portugal, and Slovakia; and from various organisations with observer status, including the European network on cultural management and policy (ENCATC), Europa Nostra, and the Network of European Museum Organisations and others.

A seminar on ‘A European Year for Cultural Heritage: sharing heritage, a common challenge’ was organised in Brussels on 28 October 2015 by the Permanent Representations of Italy and Spain to the EU. Stakeholder organisations such as Europa Nostra, national authorities and experts also participated.

The proposal was further discussed at meetings of the above-mentioned Reflection Group in Luxembourg on 23-24 September 2015, in Rome on 30 November – 1 December 2015, in The Hague on 9 May 2016, and at the meeting of the European Heritage Heads Forum in Bern on 19-20 May 2016. Finally, another discussion took place in the framework of the European Culture Forum 2016 on 19 April 2016.

• Collection and use of expertise

The initiative will draw on independent analyses and studies, in particular the report Cultural Heritage Counts for Europe. ¹¹ This was the result of a two-year comprehensive project, funded by the EU Culture Programme, to gather evidence of the value of cultural heritage and of its impact on Europe’s economy, culture and society, and the environment.

1. It will also draw on the report of the Horizon 2020 expert group on cultural heritage

Getting cultural heritage to work for Europe ¹² and the Strategic Research Agenda developed by the Joint Programming Initiative Cultural Heritage and Global Change. ¹³ The initiative will eventually draw on the Horizon 2020 Social Platform on Cultural Heritage and European Identities, CULTURALBASE, a multiannual stakeholder consultation initiative ¹⁴ , as well as drawing on the establishment of new European Research Infrastructures, such as DARIAH- ERIC (Digital Research Infrastructure for Art and Humanities) and E-RIHS (European Research Infrastructure for Heritage Science) ¹⁵ .

Work Package 9: Culture and Tourism of the Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013, focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) found that investing in culture and tourism can boost a region’s economy and improve social inclusion.

The Ex post evaluation of the 7th EU Framework Programme 2007-2013 (FP7), the EU’s research funding programme between 2007 and 2013, concluded that the programme was effective in boosting excellent science and strengthening Europe’s industrial competitiveness. In so doing, it contributed to growth and jobs in Europe in areas that are typically a national endeavour. FP7 supported research, more than 180 M€, in various aspects of European cultural heritage (tangible, intangible and digital) under the themes Environment, Social Sciences and Humanities, Digital Cultural Heritage, Industrial Technologies, International cooperation and (E)-infrastructure. This existing body of knowledge should be further exploited.

• Impact assessment

No impact assessment is needed, since the objectives of the proposed initiative fall within the objectives of existing Union programmes. The European Year of Cultural Heritage can be implemented within existing budget limits by using those programmes that provide for setting funding priorities on an annual or multiannual basis. The proposed initiative would not commit the Commission to any specific actions of a legislative nature. Nor would it have any significant social, economic or environmental impact beyond that of the existing instruments.

4. BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS

No additional funding is sought for the European Year. This initiative does not require additional EU budget. The flexibility for setting priorities on an annual or multiannual basis in the relevant programmes is sufficient to envisage an awareness-raising campaign on a scale similar to previous European Years