Interessengemeinschaft Deutscher Kunsthandel GbR
The Interessengemeinschaft Deutscher Kunsthandel is the umbrella organization of the six largest German art trade associations: Kunsthändlerverband Deutschland e.V., Bundesverband Deutscher Kunstversteigerer e.V., Verband der deutschen Münzenhändler e.V., Verband Deutscher Antiquare e.V., Berufsverband des Deutschen Münzenfachhandels e.V., Bundesverband Deutscher Galerien und Kunsthändler e.V.
ID: 394839250855-73
Lobbying Activity
Response to Implementing rules on the Export of Cultural Goods
17 Nov 2025
The Interessengemeinschaft Deutscher Kunsthandel (German Art Trade Association) is the umbrella organisation for the six major German art trade associations, with approximately 1,000 member companies. We hereby comment on the draft implementing act under Council Regulation (EC) No 116/2009 which will provide for the digitalisation of the currently paper-based export licence system. 1. Article 2 (5) Draft Commission Implementing Regulation It should not be possible to revoke a standard licence. According to Article 3 (7) Draft the period of validity of a standard licence shall not exceed 12 months. There is no need to shorten this period. The owners need legal certainty in order to organize the transport of the cultural good. The repealed Article 2 (4) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1081/2012 correctly restricted the possibility to revoke a licence to specific or general open licences and did not include standard licences. Furthermore, it should be clarified that the revocation of specific or general open licences is restricted to exports in the future. Proposed wording: A Member State may revoke any specific or general open licence it has issued at any time within their period of validity with effect to the future if the conditions under which it was issued are no longer met. 2. Annex I No. 14 Draft, Annex II No. 11 Draft Please specify that for two dimensional cultural goods like drawings two photographs (front and back) are sufficient. 3. Annex I No. 18 Draft, Annex II No. 15 Draft The applicant is using external information which he may not be able to verify. Annex I No. 15 lists certificates, expert appraisals, catalogues, ownership titles, etc. Furthermore, when researching the provenance of a work, there is frequently a degree of uncertainty. To the best of my knowledge needs be inserted into Annex I No. 18 Draft and also into Annex II No. 15 Draft. Proposed wording: I hereby apply for an export licence in respect of the cultural object or objects described above, which I intend to export from the European Union and declare that the information in this application and the supporting documents is true, to the best of my knowledge. 4. Age and value thresholds (Annex 1 Council Regulation (EC) No 116/2009) The age and value thresholds for exports must be raised. They have not been raised since 1993. Inflation adjustment alone would almost double the value thresholds. The value threshold for incunabula and manuscripts is particularly inadequate. It stands at 0. This means that an export licence must be applied for in order to export a postcard by Hermann Hesse with a value of 10 to Switzerland. Germany has significantly higher age and value thresholds for exports to the internal market. Nevertheless, the entries in the register of nationally valuable cultural property are disproportionate to the number of export applications. In the first five years after the Cultural Property Protection Act (Kulturgutschutzgesetz) came into force in 2016, 10,817 export licences were applied for (4,046 to the internal market and 6,771 to third countries). This resulted in only two entries in the register of nationally valuable cultural property (BT Drs. 20/2018, p. 55). Approximately 10 entries in the register of nationally valuable cultural property are planned per year (BT Drs. 19/7145, p. 20), although not only by export controls. The age and value thresholds must be raised in order to avoid unnecessary bureaucracy.
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