Report on the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 116/2009 on the export of cultural goods, 1 January 2014 – 31 December 2017

Summary:

Report presented on 26 September 2019 by the European Commission reviewing the implementation of the export licencing system for cultural goods.

Further information:

Regulation (EC) No 116/2009 subjects the export of certain cultural goods outside the European Union's customs territory to the presentation of an export licence and ensures that exports of those goods undergo uniform controls at the Union's external borders.

Export licences are issued by the competent authority of the last Member State in the territory of which the cultural object was definitively and lawfully located. Customs controls then ensure that cultural goods can only leave the EU's customs territory if they are accompanied by a valid export licence.

Regulation (EU) No 1081/2012 (the Implementing Regulation) povides for three types of export licences: standard licences, specific open licences (repeated temporary exports by private persons) and general open licences (repeated temporary exports by museums and similar institutions).

This report covers the period from 2014 to 2017, and is based on data provided by the Member States in response to a questionnaire covering all aspects of implementation of the export licencing system.