EU Culture Ministers agreed in launching the European Heritage Label

The European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, Androulla Vassiliou welcomed the “European Heritage Label” because according to her, it highlights sites that celebrate the history and development of the European Union. The first sites to receive the new Label will be announced in 2013.

The European Commission presented its proposal for the European Heritage Label in March last year and the European Parliament and Council have finalised the criteria. Following this agreement, a formal decision establishing the Label should be adopted by the Council in July and by the Parliament in the autumn. In order to set up the Label a preparatory work will be carried out in the next 18 months and the first selection procedure will take place in 2013. From 2015, selection will take place every two years. Moreover, the 68 sites which have received the Label under the previous scheme will be able to apply for the new EU Label.

In this first selection procedure, Member States will be able to nominate four sites to receive the award. Independent experts will assess the nominations and select which should be designated with the Label. Member States will be able to nominate up to two sites each time and the experts will select a maximum of one site in each country. This initiative is placed in the framework of the EU Culture programme.

The Label will complement existing initiatives such as the UNESCO World Heritage List. It will be awarded to sites on the basis of their European symbolic value and educational work rather than on their architectural qualities.