May 28, Directive 2014/60/EU has been published in the EU Official Journal on May 28 (L159/1).
The Directive concerns the return of cultural objects defined or classified by a Member State as being among national treasures, which have been unlawfully removed from the territory of that Member State.
Directive 93/7/EEC is repealed with effect from 19 December 2015. The new directive has
- Extend the scope to any cultural object classified or defined by a Member State under national legislation or administrative procedures as a national treasure possessing artistic, historic or archaeological value within the meaning of Article 36 TFEU;
- Increase cooperation between Member States through the use of the Internal Market Information System ("IMI") provided for by Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012;
- Increase the time limit to initiate return proceedings for certain objects;
- Increase the time-limit for checking whether the cultural object found in another Member State is a cultural object and for bringing return proceedings;
- Stipulate that the possessor must provide proof that he exercised due care and attention in acquiring the object, for the purpose of compensation;
- Set out non-exhaustive criteria to be taken into account to determine whether the possessor exercised due care and attention when acquiring the cultural object.