Translation of "action en restitution " (French → English) :

The Commission puts forward three reasons to explain the ineffectiveness of the directive: the conditions which objects classified as 'national treasures' must meet if they are to be the subject of return proceedings (categories and financial and age thresholds), the short time limits for completing procedures and bringing proceedings and the cost of compensation.

The impact assessment accompanying the recast proposal shows that since 1993 only 15 return proceedings have been brought: three between 1999 and 2003, six between 2004 and 2007 and six between 2008 and 2011 ; only seven of them actually led to the return of the objects in question.

However, in the case of objects forming part of public collections, defined in point (8) of Article 2, and objects belonging to inventories of ecclesiastical or other religious institutions in the Member States where they are subject to special protection arrangements under national law, return proceedings shall be subject to a time-limit of 75 years, except in Member States where proceedings are not subject to a time-limit or in the case of bilateral agreements between Member States providing for a period exceeding 75 years.

49. Welcomes the decision of the EU-Egypt and EU-Tunisia Task Forces to finalise a roadmap for the return of the illicitly acquired assets which are still frozen in a number of third countries; urges the EU and its Member States to adhere fully to the existing international norms governing asset recovery, such as Chapter V of UNCAC, the asset recovery action plan as developed by the G8 Deauville Partnership with Arab Countries in Transition, and the new legislative framework developed by the Council on 26 November 2012; considers that asset-recovery provisions will support the efforts of countries to redress the worst effects of corrup ...[+++]tion, and urges the EU and its Member States to make significant efforts aimed at facilitating the return of misappropriated assets stolen by the former regimes to the people of Arab Spring countries; stresses the importance of a human rights-based approach to the treatment of asset recovery and sovereign debt by states emerging from regimes where corruption is endemic; supports initiatives for auditing external and internal sovereign debt with a view to detect corruption and its impact on human rights; calls on the Member States to support debt audit initiatives;

Regarding actions for recovery, the Commission notes that the small number of proceedings launched could also be the result of successful administrative cooperation and, in particular, of negotiations for amicable out-of-court settlements[16].

During the reference period, the directive was applied only rarely for administrative cooperation or for return proceedings. This is mainly due to the administrative complexity and cost of applying the directive, its limited scope, and the short time period allowed for initiating return proceedings and the interpretation of the related concepts.