Written question asked by Lord Renfrew of Kaimsthorn (Conservative), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Davies of Oldham (Labour) on Thursday, 12 October 2006.

Cultural Objects: Export Licences

Question: What progress there has been with the proposed amendment of the European Community regulations governing the refusal of export licences for illicitly removed cultural materials that have entered the United Kingdom (a) from another member state of the European Community; and (b) from outside the European Community.

Answer: No amendment is required to Council Regulation EC 3911/92 to enable the UK to refuse an export licence in relation to an item that has been illegally exported from another member state. In such cases, the UK will not be the competent authority as defined in Article 2 of that regulation to issue a licence in relation to such an item and would, therefore, have to refer the matter to the member state in question. The UK has made a proposal for the amendment of Council Regulation EC 3911/92 which would allow the UK to refuse an export licence in relation to an object that had been illegally exported from a third country to the UK. However, this proposal does not yet have sufficient support from other member states.

Secondary information