Europe, tighter clamps for non-EU imports of cultural goods

The Italian government's decision to cut MiC spending for the next three years in the Finanziaria could not have come in a worse year. In 2025, Regulation 2019/880 on the import of non-Union cultural goods into the customs territory of the European Union will enter into force. The Regulation adds to the arsenal of EU secondary legislation already aimed at regulating the export of cultural goods that are considered national treasures of the Member States, i.e. created or discovered in the customs territory of the Union (Regulation (EC) No. 116/2009 and Directive 2014/60/EU). The new Regulation foresees the implementation by EU countries of three macro-schemes: one for a total ban (already in force) and two for goods subject to an import licence or import declaration in force from June 2025. The issuing and uploading of documents will take place on an electronic system (Art. 8) which will have costs for staff training. The market will have to become familiar with export certificates. 28 June 2025 will be the watershed date for those goods for which these are required.

The regime provides for a complete ban on the import of all Annex A cultural goods removed from the territory of the country where they were created or discovered in violation of local laws. Therefore, the laws of the third country from which the good originates must be consulted. Among the goods subject to this provision are archaeological goods, parts of artistic or historical monuments or archaeological sites, antiquities over 100 years old, paintings, works of art, statues, engravings, prints and lithographs, manuscripts and incunabula, books, documents and old publications.

The import licence is foreseen for Annex B goods, i.e. archaeological goods and items from the dismemberment of artistic or historical monuments or archaeological sites more than 250 years old of any value threshold, which may be imported subject to the issuance of a licence by the competent authority of the Member State where they are presented for release for free circulation. The application for the Art. 4 licence will be entered by the 'owner of the goods' into the electronic system by uploading documentation proving lawful exportation (with certificates and licences) from the state where the goods were created or, if this cannot be determined, where they were imported before 24 April 1972 or have been for more than five years for purposes other than temporary use, transit, re-export or transhipment. The competent authority has 21 days to request any additions and 90 days from receipt of the complete application to reply. Licences issued are valid throughout the EU for circulation, but not for the purpose of proving the lawful presence of the goods in the territory.

The reasons for refusing a licence are expressly stated in the Regulation. In the case of a reasoned refusal, moreover, the information is communicated via the electronic register to all Member States and the Commission.

A more facilitated system, under Art. 5, is foreseen for cultural goods listed in Annex C that are more than 200 years old and have a value of more than €18,000: i.e. objects of palaeontological, historical or antiquity interest, such as inscriptions, coins and engraved seals, paintings, paintings and drawings, etc. For these objects, a declaration from the owner of the object is required to be uploaded onto the electronic system. The declaration must include an affidavit signed by the owner stating that the cultural goods have been exported in accordance with the legal provisions of the country of origin; a standardised document describing the cultural goods in detail for identification by the authorities and for traceability once they have entered the European market. Also for these goods, if the country of origin cannot be determined, reference will be made to the law of the country where they were imported before 24 April 1972 or where they have remained for more than five years for purposes other than temporary use, transit, re-export or transhipment. This provision is intended to prevent circumvention of this regulation by illegally shipping cultural goods to another third country before their import into the EU. The new regulation, which entails stricter import controls, inevitably increases costs for market operators. The stricter requirements, especially for archaeological and above-threshold goods (value and age), will require the support of lawyers from Member States and third countries, as well as professionals in the field of provenance research for due diligence activities.