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'European Heritage Label' amid war memorial controversy

Sites or monuments that "have played a significant role in European history or culture or in European integration" awarded 'European Heritage' status to help raise awareness among young people of their common cultural heritage

Plans to award a new 'European Heritage Label' to sites or monuments that symbolise European history came one step closer to fruition this week (27 October) after the European Parliament's culture committee unanimously backed the scheme. But critics of the plans accused the EU of trying to create "a synthetic European identity". The plans, which were endorsed by all 28 members of the committee, would see sites or monuments that "have played a significant role in European history or culture or in European integration" awarded 'European Heritage' status to help raise awareness among young people of their common cultural heritage.

Members of European Parliament (MEP) also hope that the label will enhance EU citizens' sense of European identity and help the authorities to promote the sites as tourist destinations. They suggested European Heritage status could be awarded to places of remembrance or for "intangible heritage" associated with a place, and did not rule out contemporary heritage from the scheme. "The sites would have to ensure access for the widest possible public, including disabled people," the committee insisted.

War memorial controversy

War commemorations are not often discussed in Brussels and the EU institutions do not mark the Belgian bank holiday of Armistice Day on 11 November to avoid offending German sensibilities. But European Commission officials quoted by the Daily Telegraph confirmed that the heritage labels will be used on war memorial sites.

"Places of remembrance clearly have their place in European history, not only as memorials to those who lost their lives but also as places where visitors can reflect on how and why Europe has successfully avoided major conflicts for more than 65 years," an EU official told the newspaper. "They might also think, or learn, about the contribution of the EU to peace and stability."

Meanwhile, despite stressing that "the attribution of the European label shall not entail any obligation of an urban planning, judicial, landscaping, mobility or architectural nature," MEPs decided member states would be responsible for monitoring the sites.

Strengthening citizens' 'sense of belonging'

Hailing the vote, French MEP Marie-Thérèse Sanchez-Schmid, the European People's Party group's rapporteur on the file, said "this label will strengthen European citizens' sense of belonging to the European Union, by relying on the history and the heritage they share, as well as on the value of diversity". She also expressed hope that it would encourage intercultural dialogue. To this end, the committee suggested that "special consideration" could be given to sites that had been jointly nominated by more than one country. MEPs insisted that member states should pre-select up to two sites to be awarded the European Heritage Label every two years instead of annually as originally proposed by the European Commission.

A maximum of one site per country would then be chosen by the Commission in conjunction with "13 independent experts" nominated by the EU executive, the Parliament, the Council and the Committee of the Regions. Sanchez-Schmid expressed her satisfaction that her group's proposal to award the label every two years instead of every year had prevailed. "Awarding the label every year could contribute to 'diluting' its prestige," she warned.

Sites that already hold the European Heritage Label under an existing intergovernmental programme (see 'Background') will have to reapply under the new scheme. These include the Gdańsk shipyards in Poland, birthplace of the Solidarność trade union which helped trigger the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, and the house of Robert Schuman, the French statesman considered as one of the founding fathers of the EU.

The Commission hopes the scheme will create new opportunities for Europeans to learn about the history and building of the EU, and "the democratic values and human rights that underpin European integration," according to Culture Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou. The proposals will now be discussed by member states in the Council of Ministers before being submitted to the European Parliament for adoption in plenary in December.

Background

In March 2010 the European Commission tabled a proposal to establish a European Heritage Label as an EU-wide initiative, presenting plans to highlight historical sites across Europe that "symbolise European integration, ideals and history" (EurActiv 10/03/10). The proposal to establish the label builds on a 2006 intergovernmental project involving 17 member states plus Switzerland.

That label was launched in 2007. Under the existing scheme, 64 sites in 18 countries have received the label after being nominated by the governments of the participating countries. These sites will now need to be re-assessed according to the new criteria to ensure that they still qualify as European Heritage sites under the terms of the revamped scheme. The European Commission hopes that making the heritage label an official initiative of the European Union will give it "greater credibility, visibility and prestige".

Positions

United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) MEP Paul Nuttall accused the EU of wanting to impose its view of history on war sites such as the Menin Gate, which marks the 55,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers who died in the First World War fighting of the Ypres Salient but who have no known graves. "As we come up to Remembrance Sunday it is outrageous to think that the EU might try and hijack the Menin Gate when in fact it commemorates the British and Commonwealth soldiers who died to protect our independence from Europe, not control by Europe," Nutall said. "This is typical of the European Union, desperate to create a synthetic European identity. They are terrified that they do not own people's memory or history and are prepared to spend millions of pounds of our money to generate a new one."

"The European Heritage Label is a testimony to a history that goes beyond the national scenes, and makes the laureates the symbols of a common European culture. Between UNESCO classified sites of world importance, and the ones that arouse legitimate local pride, there is room to concretely help places important to European history and the European construction," said French MEP Marie-Thérèse Sanchez-Schmid (European People’s Party) after yesterday’s vote. "This Label will strengthen European citizens' sense of belonging to the European Union, by relying on the history and the heritage they share, as well as on the value of diversity.

It will also encourage intercultural dialogue," Sanchez-Schmid said. "Cultural Europe should now take its place alongside economic Europe and contribute to shaping a common conscience. The Label has a role to play in that sense, in times when public opinion's belief in the European idea remains a big challenge which the institutions have to face," she added. "Europe is not synonymous with uniformity and standardisation," the MEP stressed, adding that "in this dossier, the local and regional dimension is acknowledged". "The Label will give its laureates more visibility and prestige, thus developing their attractiveness and touristic activity," Sanchez-Schmid concluded.

UK Conservative MEP Syed Kamall is quoted by the Daily Telegraph as saying that "the UK is right to indicate its disinterest in this vain attempt to force a common European identity. If the EU insists on going ahead with this unnecessary idea, it should be at no additional cost to the British taxpayer".

Next Steps

December: European Parliament plenary vote on Heritage Label.

Links

European Union
European Parliament: A European Heritage Label to highlight cultural treasures (Press release; 27 October 2010)
European Commission: European Heritage Label (Portal)

Political Groups
EPP Group: European Heritage Label: 'A prestigious and credible label to value our common heritage and make all Europeans discover what binds us'. Marie-Thérèse Sanchez-Schmid MEP (Press release; 27 October 2010'

Political Parties
UK Independence Party: EU reinvents history with blue plaques

Press articles
Daily Telegraph: EU accused of 'hijacking' Remembrance Sunday
 

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