Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-06-11-Speech-1-112"
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"en.20010611.7.1-112"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner Bolkestein, ladies and gentlemen, since time immemorial, man has travelled in order to enhance his knowledge of other nations and to come into contact with other cultures. And since time immemorial, the travelling man has – legally or illegally – taken souvenirs from those other cultures. We only need to think of Lord Elgin or Napoleon, who both believed in the ‘finders keepers’ rule of thumb. It is evident that the cultural heritage of the country visited suffered damaged as a result of that.
It is therefore to be welcomed that Europe is curtailing this practice. The important role which trade is playing in this cannot be underestimated. If we consider that art thefts from museums and churches are often by order of traders, we should indeed devote attention to this.
Although, in my opinion, this is mainly a matter for the Member States themselves, coordination at European level in all fields is essential, particularly so, as Mr Aparicio Sánchez pointed out, in the field of police and customs cooperation.
A first step to prevent theft is to draw up an inventory and detailed description, possibly with photographs, of the artefacts which belong to public and private establishments. But also the requirement to provide cultural goods with a certificate of origin has a preventive effect.
It is obvious that a universally accessible digital network at European level would be priceless. I should therefore like to express the hope that this will be set up as soon as possible, especially in the light of the stolen goods and of those which have not yet been found. We should not only restrict our catchment area to Europe, but should involve the entire world via the United Nations. That is, after all, quite possible via the Internet. We need to start in Europe, however. I would therefore call on the Member States not just to protect their own cultural heritage, but also that of other countries. I am pleased to say that the Netherlands has already taken a step in the right direction. I hope that the other countries will follow suit, so that the illegal trade in cultural goods can be brought to a close."@en1
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