Report
from the Polish chairmanship
of the Reflection group
“EU and cultural heritage”
in 2012
1. INTRODUCTION
The Reflection group “EU and cultural heritage” was
established during the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2010. Its mission, according to the Declaration of Bruges, is to study the impact
on cultural heritage of EU legislation and policies and
to ensure ways so that the potential of cultural heritage is better accentuated and disseminated.
The chairmanship of the Reflection group is rotating – in 2011, it was held by Government of Flanders
and then, in 2012, it was handed over to Poland. During
the Polish chairmanship, the National Heritage Board
of Poland was mandated to organize these efforts.
The aim of this report is to present and summarize
the activity of the Reflection group during the Polish
chairmanship in 2012.
3rd meeting of the Reflection group, 21-22
February 2012, Warsaw, Art Historians Society
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Report
from the Polish chairmanship of the Reflection group “EU and cultural heritage” in 2012
2. SELECTED
ORGANIZATIONAL AND
PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITIES
UNDERTAKEN IN 2012
During the Polish chairmanship of the Reflection
group, the following actions were undertaken:
- Promotion and representation of the Reflection
group at the European level
Report of the Reflection group’s activity was presented at the European Heritage Heads Forum
(EHHF) meeting in Potsdam (25.05.2012) and at the
first meeting of the Steering Committee for Culture,
Heritage and Landscape (CDCPP) of the Council of
Europe (15.05.2012). Moreover, Reflection group
representatives participated in meetings with the
most important organizations of the cultural heritage sector, such as ICOMOS Europe, HEREIN, EAC,
EHLF, Heritage Alliance 3.3, and took part in the Economic Value of Cultural Heritage (EVoCH) seminar.
- Enlargement of the Reflection group
During 2012, Greece joined the Reflection group,
while Italy’s entry was being negotiated. The participation of both countries is greatly desired, as they
will hold the Presidency of the Council of the EU in
2014.
- Securing the continuation of Reflection group’s
activities
It was agreed that the Reflection group chairmanship will be handed over to Lithuania (2013) and
then to France (2014).
- Others
A common e-mail address ([email protected]) was
set for all Reflection group participants.
4th meeting of the
Reflection group, 12-13
September 2012, Warsaw,
Press Center Foksal
3. ANALYSIS OF
PERFORMANCE OF
TASKS ASSIGNED
IN 2012
The general goals and tasks indicated in the Declaration of Bruges have been specified and elaborated
during the Reflection group’s two years of activity. The
four main priorities of its mission are presented below
together with a description of the actions undertaken
in 2012.
1.Cooperation with EU-institutions concerning
legislation and policies that have impact on
cultural heritage
The Reflection group found it crucial to establish
cooperation with the European Commission in order
to ensure that EU legal or policy solutions would not
cause detrimental effects on cultural heritage. This
primary goal was fulfilled in 2012 with the participation of the representatives of the Directorate-General
for Education and Culture of the European Commission
(DG Education & Culture) at both meetings in Warsaw.
Being aware of the importance of the transversal dimension of cultural heritage, the European Commission agreed to a proposal on establishing permanent
liaison and designated a representative for ongoing
communication with the Reflection group. This representative is Mr. Peter Miladinov (Member of Unit D 1
– Cultural Policy, Diversity and Intercultural Dialogue
– of the Directorate General for Education and Culture
of the European Commission).
The rules and character of cooperation for applying Internal Impact Assessment (IIA) procedures have
been established. These procedures give ample opportunity to provide information to the competent EU
services about the possible detrimental effects on cultural heritage, at the earliest phases of the legislative
process. The Reflection group and the EC agreed that
the European Heritage Legal Forum (EHLF) will be
responsible for the immediate contact with the EC in
cases of monitoring proposed legal solutions at the EU
level as well as cooperating within IIA procedures. This
cooperation was already in force in August 2012, when
EHLF assisted the EC by preparing comments on the
Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and
of the Council of 13 December 2011 on the assessment
of the effects of certain public and private projects on
the environment.
The Reflection group should continue to act as a
point of contact and facilitator between the governmental cultural heritage sector and the EU, making
the contact and flow of information between both sides
Report
from the Polish chairmanship of the Reflection group “EU and cultural heritage” in 2012
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more effective as well as initiating activities focused on
fostering and enhancing the role of cultural heritage.
In further consideration, the Reflection group aims
to establish contact with other DG’s of the EC and to
determine principles of possible cooperation with the
Cultural Affairs Committee (CAC) of the Council.
mittee; and Bernd Paulowitz of the ICOMOS Austria)
participated at the meeting in Warsaw. Cooperation
with civil society sector can bring measurable benefits,
especially within the process of defining a new vision
of cultural heritage at the EU level, which is described
below.
2.Cooperation with existing governmental and
non-governmental organizations and networks
from the cultural heritage sector
The aim of this action is to increase cooperation and
strengthen the forces of different actors and stakeholders from the cultural heritage sector at the EU level.
Based on this goal, the overview of different cultural
heritage actors was previously developed in 2011. In
2012, this overview was extended by the graphic diagram illustrating comprehensively the diversity of the
existing international organizations and networks, and
the connections between them. This should be a basis
for a deeper analysis of the actors, their roles and duties and the flow of information.
As to the Reflection group’s activity in 2012, cooperation with the governmental organizations, EHLF and
EAC, as well as with the HEREIN network, has continued and intensified. Moreover, cooperation with nongovernmental organizations has been initiated, which
seems to be essential, as these entities can lobby for
specific solutions more freely and effectively than governmental institutions. As a result, dialogue with the
most significant representatives of the private sector
has been established: the Heritage Alliance 3.3 (representing more than 25 non-governmental networks)
and the ICOMOS Europe. The representatives of these
organizations (Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailovic, Secretary General of the Europa Nostra; Christopher Machat,
member of the international ICOMOS Executive Com-
3.Creating methodology on the assessment of socio-economic potential of cultural heritage
The matter of the social and economic benefits related to cultural heritage is gaining special importance,
mostly within the frameworks of EU policies and strategies, such as the Europe 2020 Strategy. The contribution of cultural heritage to the objectives of smart,
sustainable and inclusive growth is unquestionable;
however, neither this issue has been adequately examined nor results disseminated as yet. Specifically,
the economic weight of this sector seems to be poorly
documented, as there is no official statistical data illustrating the phenomenon of heritage. Therefore, the
socio-economic contribution of heritage should be
highlighted by collecting solid, reliable and comparable
data on the potential of cultural heritage.
At the beginning of 2012, the initiative on establishing a special taskforce to work on this issue was raised
within the Reflection group. Later on, this topic was
discussed at the EHHF meeting in Potsdam, where it
was decided that the EHHF and the Reflection group
members, in collaboration with the London School of
Economics, would establish a taskforce on a common
methodology for collecting economic data of cultural
heritage.
This project has been supported by several countries, including Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy,
Poland, Norway and Iceland. The first meeting of the
taskforce took place on 11 December 2012 in London.
Report
from the Polish chairmanship of the Reflection group “EU and cultural heritage” in 2012
The participants presented the methods of collecting
economic data of cultural heritage that exist in their
countries. It was established that the participants
would send to English Heritage the available data on
tourism, real properties, construction and conservation sector and sustainable management. The value
and compatibility of this information would be analyzed and assessed at the next meeting.
4.Creating a new vision of cultural heritage at the
EU level
Cultural heritage is being influenced by the policies
of different sectors, although there is no specific approach for cultural heritage at the EU level. Through
the cooperation among the Reflection group, the European Commission and other organizations, this
could change in the near future. In 2012, the Reflection group and the EC decided together, that the key
issue is to prepare for the Council of Ministers recommendations (based on Article 167.5 of the Lisbon
Treaty) concerning specific approaches to cultural
heritage. The debate on the necessity of a specific EU
contribution to cultural heritage in Europe has already
been launched. Its aim is to identify areas where common action at the EU level will have a higher added
value than if each Member State takes on such action
individually.
Apart from the already mentioned socio-economic
potential of cultural heritage in the Council recommendation, some other aspects concerning cultural
heritage could be considered, such as new models of
financing, cultural heritage professions, and promotion of the European excellence in heritage protection
management in the international relations and cross
sectorial dimension of cultural heritage in regard to
cooperation with other sectors. Moreover, the aim is
to include cultural heritage among the themes of the
next work plan for culture, by establishing at least one
dedicated working group within the Open Method of
Coordination.
Based on that, a conference of experts will be organized in 2013, during the Lithuanian Presidency of
the Council of the EU. The recommendations from this
conference should be a basis for future Council recommendation. This initiative will be continued by the next
Italian and Greek Presidencies of the Council of the EU
in 2014. The Reflection group will follow and support
strongly these developments, contributing to the work
on the document, as well as promoting this initiative
both at the international and national levels.
4. SUMMARY
The summation of the Reflection group’s activity
in 2012 leads to the conclusion that the results of its
work to date exceed previous expectations. Taking the
organizational aspects into account, the election of
the two next chairing countries, gaining a new member state, and the improvement in the area of internal
communication are among its valuable achievements.
However, the most important are the essential actions
undertaken in 2012. These include:
- Establishing cooperation with the European
Commission – its strategic partner as regards
to the success of the initiative;
- Establishing the rules of cooperation with the
EC on monitoring of proposed legal and policy
solutions at the EU level as well as commencement of practical cooperation within the IIA
procedures;
- Launching debate and starting preparation on
the project of Council recommendation concerning a specific approach of cultural heritage
(in cooperation with the EC), agenda setting for
2013-2014;
- Establishing, under the auspices of the EHHF,
a taskforce on a common methodology for collecting economic data of cultural heritage in
cooperation with the London School of Economics;
- Comprehensive mapping illustrating the diversity of cultural heritage sector at the EU level;
- Effective actions concerning the consolidation of cultural heritage sectors at the EU level
through tightening cooperation with governmental organizations and establishing cooperation with the Heritage Alliance 3.3. and ICOMOS
Europe.
As we pass the chairmanship of the Reflection group
to Lithuania, we would like to thank each of the participants for their efforts and valuable contributions in
2012. Poland will maintain its active participation, hoping that this initiative will be very beneficial for cultural
heritage in both national and international forums.
Report
from the Polish chairmanship of the Reflection group “EU and cultural heritage” in 2012
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Reflection group participants
3rd meeting
21-22 Feb.
4th meeting
12-13 Sep.
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Members of the Reflection group
Pilar Barraca de Ramos
Spain
Kim May Dang-Duy
Belgium
Bruno Favel
France
Paulina Florjanowicz
Poland
Maria Geraniou
Greece
Alfredas Jomantas
Lithuania
Monique Krauwer
Netherlands
Isabelle Leroy
Belgium
Brigitte Myle
Belgium
Terje Nypan
Norway/ EHLF
Orane Proisy
France
Heidi Schumacher
Germany
Alexandra Warr-Coxen
United Kingdom
Christopher Young
United Kingdom
Tatiana Corrman
Belgium
Gislinaine Devillers
Belgium
Lászlo Mihályfi
Hungary
Pierre Paquet
Belgium
Dries Van Den Broecke
Belgium
Rónán Whelan
Ireland
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Observers
Claire-Lyse Chambron
EC DG Education & Culture
Petar Miladinov
EC DG Education & Culture
Mikhael de Thyse
Council of Europe
Christoph Machat
ICOMOS
Bernd Paulowitz
ICOMOS
Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailovic
Heritage Alliance 3.3
Katalin Wollak
EAC
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Other participants
Małgorzata Fokt-Willmann
Ministry of Culture and National Heritage
of Poland
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Hanna Jędras
Ministry of Culture and National Heritage
of Poland
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Karolina Zielińska
Ministry of Culture and National Heritage
of Poland
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Organizers
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Jacek Brudnicki
National Heritage Board of Poland
Aleksandra Chabiera
National Heritage Board of Poland
Bartosz Skaldawski
National Heritage Board of Poland
Małgorzata Trelka
National Heritage Board of Poland
Report
from the Polish chairmanship of the Reflection group “EU and cultural heritage” in 2012
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