46 Amendments of Kostas CHRYSOGONOS related to 2017/2023(INI)
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 1 a (new)
Citation 1 a (new)
- having regard to its resolution [P8 TA(2015)0179] on Destruction of cultural sites perpetrated by ISIS/Da'esh of 30 April 2015 on the destruction of cultural sites perpetrated by ISIS/Da’esh (2015/2649(RSP)),
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 1 b (new)
Citation 1 b (new)
- having regard to the Second Protocol to the Hague Convention of 1954 for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, of 1999,
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 11 b (new)
Citation 11 b (new)
11 e having regard to the UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property of 14 November 1970,
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 1 a (new)
Citation 1 a (new)
- having regard to the UNIDROIT Convention onStolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects of 1995,
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 11 a (new)
Citation 11 a (new)
- having regard to the Council Resolution of October 2012 on the creation of an informal network of law enforcement authorities and expertise competent in the field of cultural goods (EU CULTNET) (14232/2012)
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital –A (new)
Recital –A (new)
-A. whereas cultural heritage constitutes one of the basic elements of civilisation, inter alia, with symbolic value and cultural memory of humankind;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital –A a (new)
Recital –A a (new)
-A a. whereas cultural heritage enriches the cultural life of all peoples and it unites people in shared memory, knowledge and development of the civilization;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital –A b (new)
Recital –A b (new)
-A b. whereas cultural goods are often of major cultural, artistic, historical and scientific importance;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
B a. whereas the restitution of objects traded and/or excavated or obtained illegally must be ensured with regard to the European Union's commitment to fair processes and victim compensation, as well as the UNESCO constitution and conventions on heritage protection;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
B b. whereas cultural goods shall be protected from unlawful appropriation and pillage;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Underlines that looting of works of art and other cultural goods, during armed conflicts and wars, as well as in times of peace, is a major common concern that needs to be addressed both in terms of prevention and restitution of looted cultural property in order to protect and ensure the integrity of the cultural heritage and identity of societies, communities, groups and individuals;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes that insufficient attention has been paid at EU level to the restitution of works of art and cultural goods looted, stolen or illegally obtained, inter alia, in armed conflicts, in particular in the fields of private law, private international law and civil procedure; calls on the Commission therefore to explore the possibility of protecting cross-border restitution claims of cultural assets displaced and misappropriated as a result of state-sanctioned acts of plunder and looted during armed conflicts;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Regrets that there are no reliable statistics on the precise scale of looting and illicit trade with cultural property; calls on the Commission and the Member States to establish reliable statistics in this field;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2 b. Expresses concern that most current political and legislative initiatives focus exclusively on public, administrative and/or criminal law; stresses that in order to set up a comprehensive regulatory framework, private law must be taken into account more intensely; calls on the competent authorities to take all the appropriate measures and initiatives to achieve this;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 c (new)
Paragraph 2 c (new)
2 c. Recommends that that the EU should(re-)consider introducing a ground of general jurisdiction in rem (not only limited to cultural objects), as proposed by the Commission in its Proposal for the Recast of the Brussels I Regulation and as laid down e.g. in Article 98 of the Swiss Federal Act on Private International Law, in order to create a sphere of harmonization as far-reaching as possible in this field;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 d (new)
Paragraph 2 d (new)
2 d. Considers that more investigation is needed in order to bring light into the dark field of illicit trade in cultural property and to obtain better information about its scale, structure and size, such as e.g. by the ILLICID project currently conducted in Germany;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 e (new)
Paragraph 2 e (new)
2 e. Stresses that he deeply fragmented national legislation on granting immunity for cultural property on loan (”anti- seizure statutes”) amongst the EU Member States should be harmonized by an EU instrument of a plausible scope and reliable structure, in particular in respect to Nazi looted art;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 f (new)
Paragraph 2 f (new)
2 f. Considers that immunity for cultural property on loan needs to be balanced against the interests of claimants, in order to avoid a denial of justice; unconditional immunity, in particular for Nazi looted art shall not be permitted;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Welcomes the recognition by some Member States that the unique problems associated with the restitution claims of works of art and cultural goods looted, stolen or illegally obtained in armed conflicts and wars need to be addressed in order to arrive at legal solutions ensuring the property rights of private individuals unfairly dispossessed of their works of art during an armed conflict of war;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Welcomes the Commission’s proposal for a regulation on the import of cultural goods of 13 July 2017, as well as the amendments adopted by the European Parliament on 25 October 2018 on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the import of cultural goods; considering the global scope of the art market and the number of objects in private hands, underlines the need for further efforts concerning the cross-border restitution of works of art and cultural goods looted in armed conflicts and wars [P8_TA- PROV(2018)0418];
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Urges the EU competent authorities the EU to introduce a general prohibition of sale and acquisition for looted, stolen and illegally exported/imported cultural property;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6 b. Regrets that due to the absence, laxity or differences of rules between Member States concerning provenance research and due diligence, many cross- border restitution claims cannot be carried out in an effective and coordinated way, which may as a result foster looting and trafficking and incentivise smuggling; as a result of the lack of common standards the applicable procedure often remains unclear for all stakeholders, including museums, art dealers, collectors, tourists and travellers; asks, therefore, the Commission to harmonise the rules on provenance research and to incorporate some basic principles of the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention on stolen or illegally exported cultural objects;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 c (new)
Paragraph 6 c (new)
6 c. Emphasises that there is an urgent need to actively promote the systematic recourse to high-quality and independent provenance research in order to identify looted art works, to facilitate their restitution to the legitimate owners, to achieve a fully transparent, responsible and ethical art market, and to effectively prevent and deter looting and trafficking of art and cultural goods; notes the possibilities offered by European financial instruments in this direction;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 d (new)
Paragraph 6 d (new)
6 d. Calls on the Commission and Member States to encourage and support special training programmes in provenance research at Union and national level, in order to enable in particular those involved in the fight against the illicit trade in cultural goods to develop and improve their expertise, including through cross-border projects;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 e (new)
Paragraph 6 e (new)
6 e. Underlines that provenance research and European cooperation have proved to be useful for the identification of looted objects and subsequently enabling them to be restituted and in some cases preventing the financing of terrorist groups or wars;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 f (new)
Paragraph 6 f (new)
6 f. Considers that provenance research is closely linked to the due diligence obligation applicable when acquiring works of art and constitutes a major concern for all the actors in the art market as acquiring, knowingly or by negligence, stolen artworks is punishable under certain national laws;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Considers that care should obviously be taken to create a comprehensive listing of all Jewish-owned cultural objects plundered by the Nazis and their allies, from the time of their spoliation to the present day; urges the Commission to support a cataloguing system, to be used also by public entities and private art collections, to gather data on the situation of looted, stolen or illegally obtained cultural goods and the exact status of existing claims;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Considers that care should obviously be taken to create a comprehensive listing of all cultural objects, including Jewish-owned cultural objects, plundered by the Nazis and their allies, from the time of their spoliation to the present day; urges the Commission to support a cataloguing system, to be used also by public entities and private art collections, to gather data on the situation of looted cultural goods and the exact status of existing claims;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Considers that to enable proper provenance research, the creation of a documentary record or transaction register that is as detailed as possible is needed; asks the Commission to actively support the drafting of common guidelines on such registers and to adopt appropriate measures in order to encourage Member States to introduce a general obligation for art market professionals to maintain such a transaction register and, more generally, to adhere to the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention on stolen or illegally cultural objects;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Underlines that retroactive legislative measures that change the status of otherwise valid legal acquisitions of Nazi looted art in the past, e.g. by good faith acquisitions or acquisition by a longer period of possession after the Second World War, would not be in conformity with guarantees under the European Convention on Human Rights, the EU Charter of Human Rights and national constitutional guarantees; stresses that such measures should not be permitted;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7 b. Urges the EU in respect to future transactions, that it shall consider defining minimum standards for pre- contractual information on the provenance of the object to be sold, in particular whether and to what extent there is reason to suspect that the object is spoliated;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7 b. Urges the Commission to encourage, and support financially, provenance research activities throughout the Union; suggests that the Commission organise a discussion forum in order to exchange best practices and find the best solutions for the present and the future;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 c (new)
Paragraph 7 c (new)
7 c. Urges the EU to further consider clarifying and harmonizing the buyer’s remedies in case of non-compliance with the seller’s pre-contractual duties to inform the buyer;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the Commission to promote the use of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms for works of art looted, stolen or illegally obtained in armed conflicts and wars; calls on the Commission to look into practical ways to help overcome existing legal obstacles, such as a hybrid form of arbitration and mediation; stresses the importance of clear standards and transparent and neutral procedures;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Calls on Member States to take appropriate action to put an end to the illegal trade in cultural goods, thereby preventing cultural goods from being used as a source of terrorist financing;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Notes that statutes of limitation often create difficulties for claimants in restitution matters; calls on the Commission to assess the issue and strike the right balance for the limitation period applicable to looted art restitution claims, including Nazi-looted art restitution claims, which should take into account both the protection of the interests of the victims of looting and theft and those of the market; considers that the US Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act could serve as an example;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Highlights that in order to have a set of rules that can effectively prevent looting and smuggling of works of art and cultural goods, and to achieve a fully transparent, responsible and ethical global art market, the Commission should seek to cooperate with third countries with a view to establishing fruitful partnerships, taking into account, to this end, the principles set out in the1995 UNIDROIT Convention on stolen or illegally exported cultural objects;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9 b. Calls on the competent EU institutions to encourage Member States to share information on existing practices with regard to the provenance check of cultural goods and to intensify their cooperation in order to harmonise the control measures and administrative procedures aiming at determining the provenance of cultural goods;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 c (new)
Paragraph 9 c (new)
9 c. Asks the Commission and all competent authorities to encourage Member States to share information on existing practices with regard to the provenance check of looted, stolen or illegally obtained or exported cultural goods and to intensify their cooperation in order to harmonise the control measures and administrative procedures aiming at determining the provenance of cultural goods;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11 a. Urges the Commission to proceed to a thorough mapping of existing databases of cultural goods and to envisage the creation of a central meta- database that takes account of the available information, is updated regularly and can be accessed by all relevant actors; considers that on the basis of this central meta-database, a common cataloguing system should be put in place which could use standardised object IDs; asks therefore the Commission to encourage introducing the object IDs developed and promoted by ICOM and other organisations as the market standard within the entire internal market;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls on the Member States and candidate countries to make all necessary efforts to adopt measures to ensure the creation of mechanisms which favour the return of the property referred to in this resolution and to be mindful that the return of artworks looted, stolen or illegally obtained in the course of crimes against humanity to the rightful claimants is a matter of general interest under Article 1 of Protocol 1 to the European Convention on Human Rights;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13 a. Recalls that education fosters respect and appreciation for art works and other cultural goods as symbols of cultural heritage, and that it therefore plays an important role in preventing and discouraging looting and illicit trade of cultural goods; calls on the Commission and Member States to encourage and support educational and awareness- raising activities in this regard, including in non-formal and informal settings;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13 a. Calls on the Commission and all the competent authorities to adopt measures aimed at making the art market and also the potential buyers of artefacts aware of the importance of provenance research, given that such research is linked to the due diligence obligation;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13 b. Underlines that the cross-border nature of most restitution claims requires a clear and coherent cross-border approach that can overcome existing difficulties and facilitate the achievement of just and fair solutions; calls on the Commission to envisage setting up an advisory body at Union level to assist Member States and other actors in their efforts to locate and identify looted art works and other cultural goods and expedite their restitution to the legitimate owners;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13 b. Urges the EU to seek, under Article 167 TFEU, to encourage those Member States to accede to the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects, that have not yet done so;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 c (new)
Paragraph 13 c (new)
13 c. Supports the idea that cross-border restitution procedures concerning works of art and cultural goods looted, stolen or illegally obtained, and the active promotion of provenance research, should be addressed in the context of the 2018 European Year of Cultural Heritage (‘EYCH’) initiative; calls therefore on the Commission and the working group it has set up to include this item in their working plan detailing the activities for 2018 EYCH;