On 9 March 2010, the European Commission proposed to establish the 'European Heritage Label' as an EU-wide initiative. The aim of the Label is to enhance the value and profile of sites which have played a key role in the history and the building of the European Union, and seek to increase European citizens’ understanding of the building of Europe, and of their common yet diverse cultural heritage, especially related to the democratic values and human rights that underpin European integration.

The proposed Decision to establish the Label has been submitted to the European Parliament and to the Council for adoption and could come into effect in 2011 or 2012.  

The Commission's proposal builds on a 2006 intergovernmental project involving 17 Member States (see below). Expanding the European Heritage Label into an initiative of the European Union will give it greater credibility, visibility and prestige. It will be a voluntary scheme.  

The new EU Heritage Label scheme  would aim to:

• Designate sites which have played a key role in the history of the European Union
• Choose sites on the basis of their European symbolic value rather than for their beauty or architectural quality
• Stress the educational dimension, especially for young people.

 The main benefits would be:

• new opportunities to learn about Europe's cultural heritage and the democratic values underpinning European history and integration
• increased awareness of European cultural tourism, bringing economic benefits
• clear and transparent criteria for participating Member States
• selection and monitoring procedures that would ensure that only the most relevant sites received the label.

Each of the 27 Member States would be able to nominate up to two sites per year to receive the new European Heritage Label. A panel composed of independent experts would assess the nominations and choose up to a maximum of one site per year in each country to receive the designation. Participation in the scheme would be voluntary.

Background

The Commission's proposal responds to the conclusions adopted by the Council of Ministers of the European Union on 20 November 2008 inviting the European Commission to submit to it ‘an appropriate proposal for the creation of a European Heritage Label by the European Union and specifying the practical procedures for the implementation of the project.’

The original concept of the European Heritage Label emerged in 2005 as one of the responses to the gap between the European Union and its citizens. This gap is largely due to a lack of knowledge of European history, the role of the European Union and its values. The scheme was officially launched by several European states in April 2006 on an intergovernmental basis, without the involvement of the European Union. Its aim was to use the potential of cultural heritage to strengthen European citizens’ sense of belonging to Europe and promote a sense of European identity. To date, a total of 64 sites have obtained the Label. These sites were selected by Member States under intergovernmental arrangements. In order to ensure the overall coherence of the European Heritage Label, sites in the European Union which were awarded the label under the intergovernmental system and which wish to obtain the new Label, will need to be re-assessed against the new criteria.

Following the adoption of the Council conclusions and the demand by the Member Sates to transform the current intergovernmental European Heritage Label into a European Union action, an impact assessment was carried out by the Commission. This impact assessment showed that the label has a strong potential, but that this potential cannot be fulfilled with the current intergovernmental arrangements. It also showed that European Union involvement would bring clear added value and would help the initiative to take the qualitative step forward that it needs to make a real impact.

Special attention was given in the proposal to the added value of the European Heritage Label compared to other initiatives in the field of cultural heritage such as for example the UNESCO World Heritage List and the Council of Europe’s ‘European Cultural Routes’.

For further information, see the European Heritage Label webpage.