Corrigendum to 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 ( Official Journal of the European Union L 159 of 28 May 2014 ).

In the title:

for: ‘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)’, read : ‘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) (Text with EEA relevance)’.

In Article 17 (Report) paragraph 1:

for: ‘1. By 18 December 2015 and every five years thereafter, Member States shall submit to the Commission a report on the application of this Directive.’ read : ‘1. By 18 December 2020 and every five years thereafter, Member States shall submit to the Commission a report on the application of this Directive.’

The European Parliament adopted by 626 votes to 40 with 8 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the return of cultural objects unlawfully removed from the territory of a Member State (recast).

Parliament adopted its position at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure. The amendments adopted in plenary were the result of a compromise between Parliament and Council. They amend the Commission’s proposal as follows:

Purpose: Parliament and Council agreed that the directive applied to the return of cultural objects defined or classified by a Member State as being among national treasures , which had been unlawfully removed from the territory of that Member State.

‘Cultural object’ : this was defined as means an object which was classified or defined by a Member State, before or after its unlawful removal from the territory of that Member State, as being among the ‘national treasures possessing artistic, historic or archaeological value’ under national legislation or administrative procedures within the meaning of Article 36 TFEU.

Tasks of competent national authorities : Member States' central authorities shall cooperate and promote consultation between the Member States' competent national authorities. The latter shall upon application by the requesting Member State, seek a specified cultural object, which has been unlawfully removed from its territory, identifying the possessor and/or holder. It was specified that the application must include all information needed to facilitate the search, with particular reference to the actual or presumed location of the object.

In order to cooperate and consult with each other, the central authorities of the Member States will use a module of the Internal Market Information System ("IMI") specifically customised for cultural object s. They may also use the IMI to disseminate relevant case-related information concerning cultural objects, which had been stolen or unlawfully removed from their territory.

Exchange of information : the amendments stipulated that the exchange of information should be conducted using the IMI in accordance with the applicable legal provisions on the protection of personal data and privacy . However, competent central authorities may use other means of communication in addition to the IMI.

In order to maintain the platform for the exchange of experience and good practices on the implementation of the Directive among Member States, the Commission should set up an expert group , composed of experts from the Member States' central authorities responsible for the implementation of the Directive, The group should be involved, inter alia, in the process of customising a module of the IMI system for cultural objects.

Limitation : in the case of objects forming part of public collections, and objects belonging to inventories of ecclesiastical or other religious institutions in the Member States where they were subject to special protection arrangements under national law, return proceedings should be subject to a time limit of 75 years.

Compensation for possessor : where return of the object was ordered, the competent court in the requested Member State should award the possessor fair compensation according to the circumstances of the case, provided that the possessor demonstrated that he exercised due care and attention in acquiring the object.

Application to other cultural objects : the amended text stated that it should be possible for Member States to return cultural objects other than those defined in the directive.

The Committee on Culture and Education adopted the report by Marie-Christine VERGIAT (GUE/NGL, FR) on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the return of cultural objects unlawfully removed from the territory of a Member State (recast)

The committee recommended that the position of Parliament adopted in first reading following the ordinary legislative procedure should amend the Commission proposal as follows:

Purpose: the directive aims to ensure the physical return of cultural objects which are classified or defined by a Member State as a national treasure possessing artistic, historic or archaeological value within the meaning of Article 36 of the Treaty, which have been unlawfully removed from the territory of a Member State, even if they originate from illegal excavations.

It is recalled Article 36 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) empowers the Union to take steps to protect cultural objects defined or classified as national treasures, in the context of the opening-up of the Union's internal borders.

This Directive applies irrespective of whether the object in question was classified or defined by a Member State as a ‘national treasure’ before or after its unlawful removal from the territory of that Member State.

‘Cultural object’ is defined as an object which: is classified or defined , before or after its unlawful removal from the territory of a Member State, as being among the ‘national treasures possessing artistic, historic or archaeological value’ under national legislation or administrative procedures within the meaning of Article 36 of the Treaty. The directive will thus cover cultural objects such as objects of historical, paleontological, ethnographic or numismatic interest or scientific value, whether or not they form part of a public or other collection or are single items, provided that they are classified or defined as national treasures.

Tasks of Member States’ competent authorities : the proposal provides that national authorities must cooperate and stresses the need for consultation between competent authorities. The amended text states that the latter must:

· disseminate all information concerning cultural objects stolen or unlawfully removed from their territory which are listed in their registers or similar documents;

· notify the Member States concerned, where a cultural object is found in their own territory and there are reasonable grounds for believing that it has been unlawfully removed from the territory of another Member State;

· enable the competent authorities of the requesting Member State to check that the object in question is a cultural object, provided that the check is made within six months of the notification. With that aim in view, the requested Member State must reply to the requesting Member State as quickly as possible , so that the latter can carry out the check within the time limit.

Exchange of information : the report specified the exchanges of information, including those referred to in provisions relating to illegally removed cultural objects, should be conducted using the Internal Market Information System (IMI), in accordance with the applicable legal provisions on the protection of personal data and privacy.

However, the competent central authorities would be able to use other means of communication in addition to the IMI, in particular where the specific measures required in the context of a return procedure make this essential.

However, in the case of objects forming part of public collections, and objects listed in the inventories of ecclesiastical or other religious or lay institutions in the Member States where they are subject to special protection arrangements under national law, return proceedings shall be subject to a time-limit of 75 years.

Compensation for the possess or: the text stated that the possessor might not claim the compensation if he failed to exercise the level of due care and attention required by the circumstances.

Extension of the scope to other cultural objects : each Member State may agree to extend the obligation to return cultural objects to objects other than those defined in the directive, including in respect of cultural objects unlawfully removed from the territory of other Member States prior to 1 January 1993.

Reports: Member States shall send the Commission every five years, and for the first time on 1 December 20 17 at the latest, a report on the application of the directive.

The Commission shall send the European Parliament, the Council and the European Economic and Social Committee, every five years, and for the first time on 1 July 2018 at the latest, a report reviewing the application of the Directive. The report shall be accompanied by any appropriate proposals for the revision of the directive.

Advisory committee : Members wanted an advisory committee of national experts to be established for the purpose of examining any issues relating to the implementation of the Directive, in particular the adaptation of the IMI system to take account of the specific nature of cultural objects, the exchange of information between Member States and good practices implemented by them.

The Council adopted a general approach on the proposal for a directive on the return of cultural objects unlawfully removed from the territory of a member state.

The Council accepted the main changes introduced by the Commission proposal into the current legislation, such as:

deletion of the annex , which specifies categories of cultural objects eligible for return, together with financial and age thresholds. Thus, any cultural object that a member state defines as a national treasure will be eligible for return; extension of deadlines so that member states would have five months, instead of the current two months, to check that the object discovered in another member state is a national treasure, and three years instead of one year to initiate the return proceedings before the competent national court; placing the burden of proof on the possessor for compensation purposes; use of the Internal Market Information System to improve administrative cooperation and information exchanges between national authorities.

Given the proposal to remove the annex, the reference to the Committee on the export and return of cultural goods which was responsible for its application has been deleted. However, the Council wished to keep a platform for the exchange of experience and best practices in this field and requested the Commission to establish an expert group for that purpose. Furthermore, the Council extended the period for transposition of the directive into national law to 18 months instead of the 12 months proposed by the Commission.

The adoption of a general approach has paved the way for the incoming Greek Presidency to start informal negotiations with the European Parliament with the aim of adopting the proposal before the end of this Parliament's term. The competent EP Committee (CULT) vote on the proposal is scheduled for 21 January 2014.

PURPOSE: to contribute to the protection of cultural objects in the context of the internal market by enabling Member States to secure the return of any cultural object which is classified as a national treasure.

PROPOSED ACT: Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: The European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.

BACKGROUND: Council Directive 93/7/EEC on the return of cultural objects unlawfully removed from the territory of a Member State1 was adopted in 1993, when the internal frontiers were abolished, in order to protect the Member States’ cultural objects that are classified as national treasures.

The assessments of the Directive have shown that the effectiveness of this instrument is limited due to: (i) the conditions making objects classified as national treasures eligible for return; (ii) the short time available for bringing return proceedings; (iii) the cost of compensation. The need for improved administrative cooperation and consultation between the central authorities in order to enable them to better implement the Directive has been stressed.

UNESCO’s Convention of 1970 and the UNIDROIT Convention of 1995 on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects have not been ratified by all Member States.

Despite the variety of instruments available, trafficking in cultural objects has become one of the most widespread forms of illegal trade .

Noting the major impact this problem has on the Member States, the Council of the European Union concluded on 13 and 14 December 2011 that measures needed to be taken to make preventing and combating crime against cultural objects more effective.

IMPACT ASSESSMENT: this proposal is accompanied by an executive summary of the impact assessment . The preferred approach results in a combination of options 2 (Promoting the use of common tools by the central authorities) and 3 (Revision of Directive 93/7/EEC).

LEGAL BASIS: Article 114 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

CONTENT: the aim of this proposal is to enable Member States to secure the return of any cultural object which is classified as a national treasure and has been unlawfully removed from their territory since 1993 .

The changes made to the provisions of Directive 93/7/EEC concern:

extending its scope to cover all cultural objects classified as national treasures within the meaning of Article 36 of the Treaty; prescribing the use of the Internal Market Information (IMI) system for administrative cooperation and information exchanges between the central authorities; extending the time given to the authorities of the requesting Member State to check the nature of the cultural object found in another Member State; extending the time-limit for bringing return proceedings; indicating which authority of the requesting Member State starts the period for bringing return proceedings; stipulating that the possessor has the burden of proof that due care and attention was taken when the cultural object was acquired; indicating the common criteria for interpreting the concept of due care and attention; extending the time-limit for the reports assessing and reviewing the application of the Directive (these shall be drawn up every five years).

BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS: the proposal involves only administrative costs. The impact on the EU budget is estimated at EUR 1.25 million for 2015-2019.