The paper examines the EU’s attempt to expand its role in cultural heritage, both material heritage such as historic buildings and sites, and immaterial heritage such as traditional practices, languages or forms of culture. These attempts have taken place over more than thirty years, include the identification and selection of heritage, regulation for its protection, programmes for financial support and policies to promote it. Cultural heritage is increasingly important economically as part of tourism, but it is also linked with cultural values and beauty. But it can bring up strong emotions and is often part of local, regional and national identities.
The paper analyses a series of EU moves to expand its role in heritage policy, from competitions to choose heritage to regulatory action to protect certain forms of heritage, such as the audiovisual field. It analyses why the EU’s role has grown slowly and its regulation has been rather limited, but also its focus on particular forms of cultural heritage. It discusses the constraints on EU action such as national government, non-EU European and international organisations, and financial and legal limits. However it also underlines the incremental nature of EU policy making and the importance of legal support linked to the single market. Hence it underlines the limitations on the EU acquiring a political identity akin to that of modern nation states but also the gradual development of action in certain fields clearly linked to trade and powerful economic interests.
