Europa Nostra addresses the EU Council Working Party on the Western Balkans Region

On 25 November 2024, upon invitation from the Hungarian Presidency, Europa Nostra addressed the Working Party on the Western Balkans Region of the Council of the European Union. Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović, Secretary General of Europa Nostra, presented the work of our organisation and the European Heritage Hub to safeguard and celebrate Europe’s shared heritage in the region to the representatives of the Permanent Representations of the 27 EU Member States, the European Commission’s DG NEAR and the European External Action Service (who chairs the Working Party). This marked the first time that this Working Party met with civil society on the topic of cultural heritage, thus the intervention was followed by an engaging exchange of views.

 

The Secretary General started by reminding the mission and values for which Europa Nostra stand for, representing a movement of European heritage civil society without borders. Going through the various pillars of our work, she highlighted that our strategic priorities – as encapsulated in our latest policy documents, such as the Bucharest Manifesto “Upholding Quality Principles in Heritage Conservation”, the Venice Manifesto “For a European Cultural Citizenship” and the Prague Manifesto “For a Value and Culture-Driven”) – ought to inspire the EU to develop a much-needed strategy for heritage as part of its overall strategy for the Western Balkans.

Mentioning the EU-funded European Heritage Hub pilot project initially proposed by the European Parliament, Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović emphasised that it demonstrates the willingness of both the Parliament and European Commission to pay special attention to the Western Balkans and the wider EU neighbourhood. Indeed, the triple transformation (green, social and digital) of the heritage sector, which lies at the core of the Hub project, is relevant for the Western Balkans and the overall EU enlargement strategy.

The Secretary General of Europa Nostra and Project Leader of the European Heritage Hub continued by providing some examples from the Western Balkans of our flagship programmes, demonstrating the urgent need for support and investment in heritage and human capital – which is not only soft investment but hard investment in security, urban and regional development.

Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović mentioned several winners of the European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards, run in partnership with the European Commission, such as  The Bač Fortress, Serbia (2018, Conservation and Adaptive Reuse), the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, Bosnia and Herzegovina (2010, Heritage Champions), the Gjirokastra Foundation, Albania (2021, Heritage Champions), the ‘Cultural Heritage without Borders’ Regional Restoration Camps, Albania (2014, Education, Training and Awareness Raising), the “Lumbardhi Public Again” Project, Kosovo (2022, Citizens Engagement and Awareness-raising) and the Conservation Study of the Village Gostuša in Pirot district, Serbia (2016, Research).

 

The Secretary General of Europa Nostra highlighted that the current threats to our heritage are multifaceted: from climate impacts, lack of maintenance or funding, political manipulations, unsustainable development, overtourism to conflict situations. She  illustrated these with a few symbolic sites listed in the frame of our 7 Most Endangered Programme, run in partnership with the European Investment Bank Institute, including the Partisan Memorial Cemetery, Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Dečani Monastery, Kosovo*, the Cultural Landscape of Sveti Stefan, Paštrovići, Montenegro, the Central Post Office, Skopje, North Macedonia, the Synagogue in Subotica, Serbia, the Watermills of Bistrica, Petrovac na Mlavi, Serbia and the Home of the Yugoslav People’s Army in Šabac, Serbia. In the spotlight were also the unsuitable urban developments happening in Belgrade, accompanied by threats to EU values of democracy and the rule of law, in particular the Belgrade Fortress and its Surroundings and the General Staff and Ministry of Defense Complex (Generalštab).

All of these examples demonstrate that even little investment or support for heritage can have a huge positive impact on local communities. They also highlight the fundamental role our shared heritage can and must play in the EU enlargement process.

To conclude, Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović emphasised that, after having been a target of war, cultural heritage must become a soft security instrument and a vehicle for – tangible and intangible – connectivity in the framework of the EU’s enlargement agenda. Cultural heritage must be used to facilitate integration by focusing on a shared cultural and historical narrative that highlights what brings us together rather than what sets us apart, and thus enhances reconciliation, intercultural and interreligious dialogue, inclusion and well-being of communities. She called on the EU to play a much more important role in this process, by standing by its values and raising its voice.

Followed an intervention by Claus Giering and Annika Palo from the European Commission’s DG NEAR, touching upon the participation of the Western Balkan countries in the Creative Europe programme, regional cooperation on the fight of illicit trafficking in cultural property (as part of the the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance), the European Capitals of Culture and the Western Balkans agenda on innovation, research, education, culture youth and sport.

Key messages expressed during the exchange with representatives of the EU Member States included: engaging in a dialogue with and support civil society in the Western Balkans, placing our shared heritage and collective history in a European context through adequate history teaching, and the need for a holistic approach to tangible and intangible heritage

Being responsible for EU relations with the Western Balkans region (notably Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo*), COWEB deals with general political and economic development and the Stabilisation and Association Process (SAP). This meeting is the result of previous meetings held with the Working Party on the Protection of Cultural Heritage initiated by the Hungarian Permanent Representation to the EU, and recently operating within the EU Council.

 

* All references to Kosovo, whether the territory, institutions or population, in this news item shall be understood in full compliance with United Nations’ Security Council Resolution 1244 and without prejudice to the status of Kosovo.