Press Release: Easier repatriation of illegally removed national treasures

The European Commission is taking new action to help Member States recover national treasures which have been unlawfully removed from their territory. European Commission Vice-President Antonio Tajani proposed on 30 May 2013 to strengthen the possibility for restitution available to Member States, since the current legislation is not proving sufficiently effective in achieving the recovery of unlawfully removed national treasures.

The changes would ensure that more cultural goods will be recovered, the deadline for restitution claims will be extended, any possessor of an object requiring compensation for returning the object would be required to prove it was not knowingly acquired illegally, and information sharing between national authorities on the movement of culturally significant objects will be improved.

The loss of cultural objects, classified as "national treasures of artistic, historic or archaeological value" is a particularly severe form of illicit trafficking of cultural property. It deprives citizens of their history and identity and endangers the preservation of Member States' cultural heritage.