general consideration regarding eu law in the domain of cultural heritage

The cultural heritage is a rich and diverse mosaic of cultural and creative expressions, our inheritance from previous generations of people and our legacy for those to come. In the terms of the Convention concerning the protection of the world cultural and natural heritage, the cultural heritage includes: monuments, such as architectural works, works of monumental sculpture and painting, elements or structures of an archaeological nature; groups of buildings and sites, such as works of man or the combined works of nature and man and areas including archaeological sites, all of these being of outstanding universal value from the point of view of history, art or science. Because of its substantial importance for the evolution of humanity, all nations in general and the European Union in particular, should have the duty of ensuring the identification, protection, conservation, presentation and transmission to future generations of the cultural and natural heritage. EU law states through the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union at article 167 that the action of the Union shall be aimed at encouraging cooperation between Member States and, if necessary, supporting and supplementing the action in areas such as: improvement of the knowledge and dissemination of the culture and history of the European people; conservation and safeguarding of cultural heritage of European significance and others. While policy in this area is primarily the responsibility of Member States, regional and local authorities, the EU is committed to safeguarding and enhancing Europe's cultural heritage through a number of policies and programmes. Due to the lack of such policies and programmes, the lack of consistent terminology and legal definitions, especially between EU languages, the lack of information and data on the crimes that affect cultural goods, the purpose of the essay is to emphasize the need of a rigorous legal program and policy and to observe the legislation concerning this area existing in Member States.