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Reply to Recommendation | Doc. 13639 | 29 October 2014
Europe’s endangered heritage
1. The Committee of Ministers has given
careful consideration to Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 2038
(2014) on “Europe’s endangered heritage”. It has drawn the text
to the attention of the governments of member States and forwarded
it to the relevant committees 
for comment.
for comment.2. It recognises the important role of cultural heritage in promoting
diversity and fostering mutual knowledge and understanding. In this
vein, the Committee of Ministers selected as one of the sub-themes
of the Council of Europe Exchange on the Religious Dimension of
Intercultural Dialogue, held in Baku in September 2014, “The contribution
of cultural heritage of a religious nature to intercultural dialogue
and to the respect of the universal values defended by the Council
of Europe”.
3. The Committee of Ministers concurs with the Assembly that
there should be greater coherency of action between the Council
of Europe, the European Union and UNESCO at the European level.
The Committee of Ministers welcomes in this respect the efforts
to intensify co-operation with the Council of Europe’s international partners
in areas of common interest, including the preservation and promotion
of cultural heritage. By way of example, it refers to the joint
action by the Council of Europe and the European Union to support
European Heritage Days, one of whose key objectives, in addition
to the promotion of cultural heritage, is to bring citizens closer
together so as to achieve better mutual understanding beyond differences
of culture and language.
4. The Committee of Ministers welcomes the interest shown by
the Assembly in implementation of the Council of Europe conventions
on cultural and natural heritage. It underlines that these also
include the Convention for the Protection of the Architectural Heritage
of Europe and the European Convention on the Protection of the Archaeological
Heritage. Monitoring of these conventions and assistance to States
to facilitate their implementation are part of the Organisation’s
Programme and Budget for 2014-2015. The latter also includes activities
in the cultural, heritage and landscape field, as well as in the
education field, notably on history teaching, which are consistent
with the main lines of paragraph 4 of the Assembly’s recommendation.
5. In conclusion, the Committee of Ministers wishes to assure
the Assembly of its interest in the regional initiatives to which
it refers. It welcomes the potential of these projects to foster
regional dynamics and exchanges of expertise and experience between
neighbouring countries faced with similar situations, particularly
as regards the protection, conservation, rehabilitation and enhancement
of the cultural and natural heritage.