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Regulation 2019/800, which was first proposed 6 years ago, will be implemented across the EU member nations from Saturday. The law aims to curtail the flow of illegal cultural goods by increasing the due diligence required by the importing authorities. Cultural goods include antiquities, fine art, and collectible items. While not mentioned in the bill, the law specifically focuses on stopping the illegal flow of stolen artifacts from regions affected by armed conflicts or otherwise traded by terrorist or criminal groups.
The bill classifies cultural goods into three categories. Category I is items unlawfully exported from third-world countries, and there is a blanket ban on such imports. Category II is products from archaeological excavations from more than 250 years ago, regardless of value. Such items will require an import license before entering the EU nations, and the importing authority would have to provide sufficient evidence that the product was not obtained illegally. Category III is any type of cultural item more than 200 years old and with a value greater than €18,000. Such items would require a signed importer declaration that they were not obtained illegally.
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The law leaves the implementation to the EU member nations, though seizures and fines are expected in case of violations. Some have commented that the bill would make it harder to get loans from non-EU nations. While the bill makes exemptions to works loaned for educational, restoratives, research, and a few other purposes, another bill – Regulation 2021/1079 – limits such loans to only museums (ergo, private lenders outside the EU cannot avail it).
