speech of harald hartung, head of culture unit, european commission

Your Royal Highness,
Herr Staatssekretär,
Mr Executive President,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure and honour for me to represent the European Commission at this ceremony and to have been co-awarding the prizes to the winners of the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards 2003.

This award is symbolic of the richness and diversity of European culture and - at the same time - of the common cultural heritage we share in Europe.

The preamble of the future constitutional treaty of the Union underlines that Europe is "united in its diversity" and that this offers European citizens the best chance of pursuing this great venture which makes Europe a special area of great hope. Furthermore, this preamble recalls that, while remaining proud of their own national identities and history, the peoples of Europe are determined to transcend the ancient divisions and..... to forge a common destiny.

Later this month, ladies and gentlemen, the heads of governments and states of the EU member states will have to decide at the European Council meeting in Brussels if they can finally agree on this constitutional treaty.

This decision is an important one, not only for adapting the rules of our being together to the new realities and to make the EU function with 25 Member States and almost 500 million citizens.

This is important because this constitution will fill the notion of European citizenship with life. For the first time, it lays down the fundamental rights and values of the European citizens in a treaty at European level.

In a context of a general feeling of a loss of social cohesion, unemployment and increasing immigration flows, shared values that hold our societies together become more important than ever. herefore, to develop European citizenship in a concrete and meaningful way will be one of the priorities for the years to come.

The challenge in the European Union of today is neither enthusiasm nor fierce opposition but disinterest and indifference. From 1979 till 1999, the turn out at European elections steadily decreased from 63% to 49%. Recent polls for the European elections next week suggest a turn out of between 30% and 40%. The reality is that many citizens experience the Union as a distant and remote political and economic entity.

Jacques Delors once said: “You don’t fall in love with an internal market.” Therefore, the notion of European citizenship must be given a concrete meaning through direct and personal experience. By direct participation in cross-border projects and by fostering mobility of citizens, artists, cultural works and events, our citizens can be made aware not only of the rich and diverse cultural heritage but also of the elements we have in common in European culture.

The preservation and promotion of European heritage brings the historic and cultural foundations of Europe - our common roots - to the fore. In this respect our common heritage is an essential part of our cultural identity.

Direct involvement is one approach, setting symbolic acts is another.

The creation of European symbols has succeeded in making the European project more visible. The European flag, the European anthem and burgundy EU passport have contributed to the creation of a sense of belonging.

The European Capitals of Culture highlight each year the richness of cultural life of their cities and mobilise hundreds of thousands of citizens from all over Europe to take actively part in it. In addition, many of them have established lasting links and networks with partners all over Europe and have used this kick off event for developing a flourishing and lasting cultural life which is still continuing.

Another example is the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Awards 2003 which has been awarded today. This Awards scheme has a high symbolic value as it brings to the fore the rich culture heritage of Europe . The preservation, restoration and promotion of European Cultural Heritage are the main vocation of this Awards scheme. Through the calls for entries which are published each year it mobilises hundreds of citizens and organisations active in the conservation and preservation of our cultural heritage. These Awards highlight excellence which has been achieved in this field and of which the general public would most likely not be aware otherwise.

Such examples stimulate others to follow. They promote an exchange of best practises and foster the creation of networks for an exchange of knowledge and expertise. With this Awards scheme we achieve wide public recognition to outstanding initiatives by individuals and organisations in the heritage field.

Europa Nostra has been selected for good reason by the European Commission for awarding the European Culture heritage prize. It is a well established organisation which has confirmed its pan-European vocation and has anticipated the present and future enlargements by covering practically the entire continent. It is only through well established and widely renowned organisations, that such initiatives can create a lasting effect at European level and mobilise at the same time experts in this field and the general public.

Our role at European level is not to impose one culture for all Europeans. Our role is to preserve the right balance between the different cultures in Europe and to make sure that more dominating cultures do not make the less dominating ones disappear. There is no hierarchical order between these different cultures as they, all together, constitute the riches and diversity of European culture.

This task is not an exclusive task of the European Union. We complement what has already been successfully undertaken at national, regional and local level. In order to further pursue this goal we must rely on local, regional and national cultural bodies and operators, on European networks, on sponsorship and private initiatives and last but not least on organisation like Europa Nostra.

Thank you!