Annexes to COM(2022)800 - EU Action Plan against Trafficking in Cultural Goods - Main contents
Please note
This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2022)800 - EU Action Plan against Trafficking in Cultural Goods. |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2022)800  |
| date | December 13, 2022 |
The EU also works globally to tackle illicit financial flows related to cultural goods. This is being done through the EU Global Facility on Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism. The Global Facility aims to help countries adapt to Financial Action Task Force standards, which ensure a co-ordinated global response to prevent organised crime, corruption and terrorism. Actions include improving investigations and facilitating cooperation between partner countries’ relevant authorities, for example Financial Intelligence Units.
EU action specifically addresses the vulnerability of cultural goods to criminal harm in conflict and crisis regions. 69 Its progress is monitored by the EEAS, together with the Commission services and the Member States. 70 This includes an informal task force of experts from the EEAS and relevant Commission services to exchange information and facilitate concrete new actions. Since agents deployed in missions and operations can play a major role in the protection of cultural goods, cultural goods trafficking will be included in the dedicated Common Security and Defence Policy training modules on cultural heritage in conflicts and crises. Another notable example is support of countries at risk of looting by satellite and drone technology via the European Union's Earth observation programme Copernicus.
Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine calls for further action to safeguard Ukrainian cultural goods. The Commission services and the EEAS will continue to support safeguarding cultural goods in Ukraine by various means, including assistance to protect and evacuate cultural goods. 71 To this end, Commission services and the EEAS regularly exchange in a dedicated task force on best practices, lessons learnt and possible new actions. Actions include financial support to protect buildings and collections, as well as support to cultural heritage professionals enabling them to continue their work in Ukraine, in cooperation with the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas. 72 Furthermore, for the first time, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism has been activated to provide assistance in the field of the protection of cultural heritage. 73 The House of Europe II programme, funded by the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument, will include support to preserve and promote of Ukrainian cultural heritage.
The Commission welcomes Member States’ existing support to non-EU source or transit countries, including in conflicts and crises, such as in the Middle East 74 and Ukraine.
Key actions
The Commission services, in cooperation with the EEAS, and the Member States where appropriate, will:
·Monitor and report on the progress of the implementation of the Council Conclusions on EU Approach to Cultural Heritage in conflicts and crises
·Increase support to the protection of Ukrainian cultural goods from destruction by supporting evacuation and physical protection of collections;
·Boost third country capabilities for cross-border cooperation and investigations into money laundering related to cultural goods, notably by extending the scope of the EU Global Facility on Anti-Money Laundering to cover Asia and Latin America.
3.4. Increase protection of cultural goods from trafficking by maximising stakeholder support
Consultations with stakeholders, including UNESCO and UNODC, have shown that there is limited public awareness of the harm that trafficking in cultural goods can bring. It is vital to generate awareness of the importance of cultural heritage and the damage done by the illicit trade in cultural goods beyond the law enforcement and cultural heritage communities. Target audiences include potential buyers of cultural goods, young people, journalists, individuals or entities able to influence public opinion on cultural goods, as well as communities in source countries that can influence the way local cultural goods are preserved and protected.
To this end, the Commission supports several awareness raising projects. To raise awareness about cultural heritage protection in Ukraine, the Commission supports the #ArtvsWar campaign. Furthermore, the Commission works together with UNESCO and supports their campaign on ‘the Real Price of Art’, to raise awareness of potential buyers to the impact of trafficking on cultural heritage. In order to reach a wider audience, the Commission supports the creation of teaching material on the protection of cultural heritage, 75 and its EU-wide promotion via the School Education gateway. The EU also supports the involvement of youth. For example, the European Students' Association for Cultural Heritage, established on the occasion of the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018, is part of a network project supported by the Creative Europe Programme "European Cultural Heritage Agora: Empowering Europe’s Civil Society Movement for Heritage”.
Key actions
The Commission services, in cooperation with the EEAS where appropriate, will:
·Provide financial support to the ICOM, to upgrade the ICOM Observatory, which centralises and disseminates various instruments and materials for international public understanding and policy orientation to protect cultural goods;
·Support UNESCO in creating a manual for journalists on reporting on cultural heritage related crimes;
·Support youth engagement initiatives via the Creative Europe, the EU Solidarity Corps, and the Erasmus+ ;
·Engage in a dialogue with relevant youth organisations in order to promote awareness on the need to protect cultural heritage from destruction, theft and looting.
4.Conclusion
Cultural goods trafficking is not a victimless crime: it not only fuels activities that threaten the safety of EU citizens, but can also cause irreparable damage to our cultural heritage and therefore, our common identity. This is why fighting trafficking of cultural goods requires additional common and sustained efforts from a large range of stakeholders within and beyond the EU. This action plan provides a comprehensive framework for the EU and the Member States to advance prevention, detection and criminal justice response to cultural goods trafficking and related crimes. The Commission calls on the European Parliament and the Council to endorse this action plan and support its implementation.
(1)
See for example UN Security Council Resolutions 2199 (2015), 2253 (2015), 2322 (2016), 2347 (2017), 2462 (2019) and 2617 (2021); G20 Culture Ministers Rome Declaration of 30 July 2021.
(2)
In 2021 the “licit” art and antiquities market was valued at USD 65 billion globally, up by 29% compared to 2020, surpassing pre-Covid-pandemic levels; see Clare McAndrew, The Art Market 2022 – An Art Basel & UBS Report.
(3)
Cf. Europol, 2021 Serious and Organised Crime Threat Assessment.
(4)
Interpol, Assessing Crimes Against Cultural Property 2020, report.
(5)
An operation part of the European Multidisciplinary Platform against Criminal Threats (EMPACT). See https://www.europol.europa.eu/media-press/newsroom/news/total-of-52-arrests-in-operation-across-28-countries-targeting-trafficking-in-cultural-goods .
(6)
See European Commission, Illicit trade in cultural goods in Europe - Characteristics, criminal justice responses and an analysis of the applicability of technologies in the combat against the trade, final report, 2019, p. 81, 159, 160.
(7)
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the EU Security Union Strategy, COM/2020/605 final .
(8)
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the EU Strategy to tackle Organised Crime 2021-2025, COM/2021/170 final.
(9)
Including pillaging, i.e. looting in war, considered a war crime in customary international humanitarian law. See https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v1_rul_rule52 .
(10)
See for example United States Senate, Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, The Art Industry and U.S. Policies that Undermine Sanctions Staff Report Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations United States Senate, 2020.
(11)
In situ location of an object at the date of its archaeological discovery.
(12)
The "origin-to-present" chain of custody details of an object.
(13)
Such as use of cash transactions, anonymity of buyers and use of shell companies and free ports.
(14)
See for example on the vulnerabilities of the art market to money laundering and terrorism financing, TRACFIN (Traitement du renseignement et action contre les circuits financiers clandestins), La lettre d’information de TRACFIN, number 16, June 2018.
(15)
See the report quoted in footnote 7, p. 70, 81, 158 - 160.
(16)
If not further specified, the term law enforcement authorities as used in this document refers to police, customs, border control and other relevant authorities carrying out tasks for the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences.
(17)
See in particular UN Security Council Resolutions 2199 (2015), 2253 (2015), 2322 (2016), 2347 (2017), 2462 (2019) and 2617 (2021), UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/69/196 (International Guidelines for Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Responses with Respect to Trafficking in Cultural Property and Other Related Offences), Report of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime on its tenth session, UNTOC COP/2020/10 Resolution 10/7, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property of 1970, UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects of 1995, G20 Ministers of Culture Rome Declaration of 30 July 2021, Interpol’s report “Assessing Crimes Against Cultural Property 2020”, “The Safety and Security of Cultural Heritage in Zones of War or Instability” published under the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Science for Peace and Security series 2021, Declaration of the UNESCO World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development – MONDIACULT 2022.
(18)
See also UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/69/196.
(19)
Article 1 of the UNESCO 1970 Convention.
(20)
Including various participants involved in art market transactions, such as buyers, galleries, auction houses, further cultural goods dealers (including online sales platforms), free ports, art storage facilities, cultural goods experts, businesses involved in the financing of cultural goods transactions, as well as accountants, auditors, tax advisors and legal professionals involved in cultural goods transactions.
(21)
Art markets and cultural institutions are subject to rules and other norms regarding due diligence, due care or reporting regarding customers, provenance of cultural goods or transactions. These rules and norms stem from market practice, codes of conduct (such as UNESCO’s International code of ethics for traders in cultural property or the International Council of Museums Code of Ethics for Museums), case law or legislation (such as Directive (EU) 2015/849 on preventing the use of the financial system for money laundering or terrorist financing as amended by Directive (EU) 2018/843, OJ L 156, 19.6.2018, p. 43–74; Directive 2014/60/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on the return of cultural objects unlawfully removed from the territory of a Member State, OJ L 159, 28.5.2014, p. 1 – 10, or national requirements to record sales in registers.).
(22)
https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/expert-groups-register/screen/expert-groups/consult?lang=en&do=groupDetail.groupDetail&groupID=3204 .
(23)
See for more details: https://en.unesco.org/fighttrafficking/eu-cooperation.
(24)
Council Regulation (EC) No 116/2009 of 18 December 2008 on the export of cultural goods, OJ L 39, 10.2.2009, p. 1 – 7, and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1081/2012 of 9 November 2012 for the purposes of Council Regulation (EC) No 116/2009 on the export of cultural goods, OJ L 324, 22.11.2012, p. 1–24.
(25)
See Regulation (EU) 2019/880 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on the introduction and the import of cultural goods, complemented by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1079 of 24 June 2021. Regarding Syria and Iraq, see Article 3 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1210/2003 of 7 July 2003 concerning certain specific restrictions on economic and financial relations with Iraq and repealing Regulation (EC) No 2465/96 (OJ L 169, 8.7.2003, p. 6–23) and Article 11c of Regulation (EU) No 36/2012 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria as amended on 13 December 2013 by Regulation 1332/2013, OJ L 16, 19.1.2012, p. 1–32.
(26)
Directive 2014/60/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on the return of cultural objects unlawfully removed from the territory of a Member State, OJ L 159, 28.5.2014, p. 1–10.
(27)
Outside of areas harmonized by EU legislation, such as Directive (EU) 2015/849, Directive 2014/60/EU, or national requirements to record sales in registers.
(28)
Article 10 (1).
(29)
On support for increased traceability measures see actions under strategic objective 2.
(30)
See First report on the application of Directive 2014/60/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on the return of cultural objects unlawfully removed from the territory of a Member State and amending Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 (Recast), COM/2021/705 final, 18 November 2021.
(31)
Cf. Europol, 2021 Serious and Organised Crime Threat Assessment.
(32)
Also supported by Interpol’s ID-Art App. See https://www.interpol.int/Crimes/Cultural-heritage-crime/ID-Art-mobile-app .
(33)
Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on a Single Market For Digital Services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC (Digital Services Act) (Text with EEA relevance), OJ L 277, 27.10.2022, p. 1–102.
(34)
Introducing mechanisms to enable the reporting of suspicious dealings or sales on the internet is listed as guideline 3 (d) in the International Guidelines for Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Responses with Respect to Trafficking in Cultural Property and Other Related Offences, UN General Assembly, A/C3/69/L7.
(35)
See Commission Recommendation C(2021)7953 of 10 November 2021 on a common European data space for cultural heritage; European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Brunet, P., De Luca, L., Hyvönen, E., et al., Report on a European collaborative cloud for cultural heritage : ex – ante impact assessment, Publications Office of the European Union, 2022, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/64014 . For more information about Europeana and the creation of a European Competence Centre for the conservation of cultural heritage (4CH) see https://www.europeana.eu/en and https://www.4ch-project.eu.
(36)
See Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2015 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing, amending Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Directive 2005/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Directive 2006/70/EC (Text with EEA relevance), OJ L 141, 5.6.2015, p. 73–117 amended by Directive (EU) 2018/843 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing, and amending Directives 2009/138/EC and 2013/36/EU (Text with EEA relevance), OJ L 156, 19.6.2018, p. 43–74.
(37)
Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing COM/2021/420 final.
(38)
See Article 7 of Directive (EU) 2015/849.
(39)
See Directive (EU) 2015/849.
(40)
For further information: FATF Annual Report 2020-2021, page 32.
(41)
See Article 6 of Directive (EU) 2015/849.
(42)
Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the assessment of the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing affecting the internal market and relating to cross-border activities, COM/2022/554 final, 27 October 2022 and the Commission staff working document accompanying that report, SWD/2022/344 final.
(43)
See Council Resolution on the EU Work Plan for Culture 2023-2026.
(44)
See Council Regulation (EC) No 515/97 of 13 March 1997 on mutual assistance between the administrative authorities of the Member States and cooperation between the latter and the Commission to ensure the correct application of the law on customs and agricultural matters, OJ L 082, 22/03/1997, p. 1 – 16.
(45)
See in particular Directive (EU) 2015/849.
(46)
Council of Europe Convention on Offences relating to Cultural Property, adopted on 3 May 2017 (Council of Europe Treaty Series no. 221).
(47)
Cf. Interpol, Assessing Crimes Against Cultural Property 2020, page 6.
(48)
Intra-agency cooperation can mean for example cooperation within one authority (e.g., between various police units specialized in different forms of crime, or between various regional police units). Inter-agency cooperation means cooperation between different authorities, such as police, customs, judiciary, etc.
(49)
UNODC Practical assistance tool to assist in the implementation of the International Guidelines for Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Responses with Respect to Trafficking in Cultural Property and Other Related Offences (2016).
(50)
See footnote 18.
(51)
Such as Interpol’s Stolen Works of Art database and the corresponding ID-Art App, or the Red Lists of the International Council of Museums, describing cultural goods categories at risk of trafficking from various regions of the world.
(52)
See Interpol, Creating a national cultural heritage Unit. The value of a national unit dedicated to fighting crimes against cultural heritage and the illicit traffic of cultural property, January 2019.
(53)
In particular information exchange via the Secure Information Exchange Network Application (SIENA), hosting of operational meetings, operational support during investigations (including online investigation training in the context of EMPACT’s Pandora operations), analytical support, strategic support (e.g., threat assessment), or technical support through the Europol Innovation Lab.
(54)
E.g., the use of Frontex’s Eurosur Fusion Services Catalogue for the detection of cross-border crimes.
(55)
Such as EMPACT cooperation, joint investigation teams, use of joint coordination centers (with possible involvement of non-EU countries), including support of Eurojust and the European Judicial Network in criminal matters, possibilities of mutual legal assistance including under Article 6 of Directive 2014/60/EU, European Arrest Warrant, European Investigation Order, cooperation based on Directive (EU) 2018/1673 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on combating money laundering by criminal law (OJ L 284, 12.11.2018, p. 22–30), Regulation (EU) 2018/1805 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 November 2018 on the mutual recognition of freezing orders and confiscation orders (OJ L 303, 28.11.2018, p. 1–38), cooperation and mutual legal assistance in organised crime investigations based on the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC).
(56)
Trafficking in cultural goods may also result in damage to the Union’s financial interests or may be linked with criminal offences affecting such financial interests. The EPPO is competent to investigate and prosecute criminal offences affecting the Union budget as well as, offences that are inextricably linked to them. See Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 of 12 October 2017 implementing enhanced cooperation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (‘the EPPO’), OJ L 283, 31.10.2017, p. 1–71.
(57)
Draft Council Resolution on the creation of an informal network of law enforcement authorities and expertise competent in the field of cultural goods (EU CULTNET) of 4 October 2012, 14232/12.
(58)
Council of Europe Convention on Offences relating to Cultural Property, adopted on 3 May 2017 (Council of Europe Treaty Series no. 221).
(59)
Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on asset recovery and confiscation of 25 May 2022, COM (2022) 245 final.
(60)
See Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council, Towards a Directive on criminal penalties for the violation of Union restrictive measures, 25 May 2022, COM(2022) 249 final; Council Decision (EU) 2022/2332 of 28 November 2022 on identifying the violation of Union restrictive measures as an area of crime that meets the criteria specified in Article 83(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, ST/10287/2022/REV/1, OJ L 308, 29.11.2022, p. 18–2.
(61)
Two calls for proposals were already published under the first work programme of Horizon Europe, one under Cluster 2 “Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society” (namely HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01-07: Protection of artefacts and cultural goods from anthropogenic threats ), the other under Cluster 3 “Civil Security for Society” (namely HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-08: Fight against trafficking in cultural goods ).
(62)
Thereby taking into account the work of the EU-funded NETCHER project (NETwork and social platform for Cultural Heritage Enhancing and Rebuilding).
(63)
See footnote 72.
(64)
Including but not limited to: UNESCO, the Council of Europe, ICOM, WCO, Interpol, UNIDROIT, UNODC, ICCROM (International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property) and ALIPH (Alliance Internationale pour la protection du patrimoine dans les zones en conflit).
(65)
See Annex to Recommendation of the EU-Egypt Association Council on the EU-Egypt Partnership Priorities 2021–2027, 16 June 2022.
(66)
See https://www.elpaccto.eu/en/news/new-cooperation-tools-to-investigate-trafficking-in-cultural-property/
(67)
For further examples see the European External Action Service’s “2022 Report on the progress in the implementation of the “Concept on Cultural Heritage in conflicts and crises. A component for peace and security in European Union’s external action” and the dedicated Council Conclusions”, 14 September 2022, EEAS (2022) 1556.
(68)
Support is given through the EUROMED Police and EUROMED Justice programmes, led by CEPOL and Eurojust. EUROMED Police aims at enhancing the capacity of the Southern Partner Countries (SPC) to fight serious and organised crime. EUROMED Justice brings together the most relevant stakeholders in the field of criminal justice.
(69)
In line with Council Conclusions on EU Approach to Cultural Heritage in conflicts and crises of 18 June 2021.
(70)
See report mentioned in footnote 67.
(71)
Ibid, p. 6 – 8.
(72)
https://www.aliph-foundation.org/en/actions-country/UA.
(73)
https://civil-protection-humanitarian-aid.ec.europa.eu/where/europe/ukraine_en.
(74)
For cooperation with countries in the Middle and Near East, action can also be built upon the results of the EU-funded “El HIWAR II” training and study on the protection of cultural heritage and fight against cultural goods trafficking in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon.
(75)
For example through PITCHER (Preventing Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Heritage: Educational Resources), https://www.pitcher-project.eu/ .