top of page
gerard van weyenbergh

Europe intensifies fight against art trafficking.

To deal with the growing traffic of cultural goods, the European Union is preparing a new action plan.

Trafficking in cultural property has been a matter of concern for the European Union. The European Commission will soon publish an action plan to strengthen the European Union's fight against the trafficking of cultural goods. If the extent of this traffic is difficult to assess – it is illicit, clandestine – it is not decreasing. An investigation conducted by the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) in 2020 showed that it was maintained or even increased during the Covid-19 pandemic. It is all the more difficult to fight against this criminality that it plays the chameleon. It is developing in the traditional art market. But also online, on social networks, such as Facebook. Covid-19 does not recognize borders. Neither does the trafficking of cultural property.

All the Member States of the European Union "do not control the trade in works of art in the same way," according to the website Touteleurope.eu. Despite this, the European Union can count on rules common to all its members. Thus, since 1993, an EU member state must return the property of another member state when they are illegally removed from the latter's territory. Since 2008, a regulation has ensured that exports of cultural goods are subject to controls at EU borders. Since 2019, paintings, sculptures, manuscripts and coins must be declared to customs when they are imported into an EU state. They have to be over 200 years old and have a market value greater than 18,000 euros.

Effective but insufficient, these rules will be reinforced in the future action plan of the European Union in the fight against the trafficking of cultural goods. As part of the Council of the European Union presidency, France has reiterated its desire to support this action plan. The "Conference for the reinforcement of European cooperation against the trafficking of cultural goods", which took place on February 1, 2022, already gives some ideas. Co-organized by the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture in Paris, the conference consisted of three parts. The first was "devoted to new technologies and innovative devices in the service of the fight against trafficking".

The second was "focused on the role of the art market and its regulation within the European Union."

The third was "dedicated to the ways and means of promoting actions to fight against trafficking with all actors (general public, professionals, students, researchers, etc.").

Seen in Le Journal des Arts - Paul Berat

Comments

Rated 0 out of 5 stars.
No ratings yet

Add a rating
bottom of page