EUROHERIT Policy Brief I: Increasing the Benefits and Transparency of the European Heritage Label

Abstract

The European Heritage Label (EHL) is the EU’s flagship heritage action. It focuses on promoting the European significance of the cultural heritage and a sense of belonging among the European citizenry. The nature of the action and its proclaimed aims in identity politics necessitate wide public engagement, openness, and transparency. Compared to the European Capital of Culture (ECOC) action and the UNESCO Heritage Lists, the EHL application process has poor transparency, as the applications of the labeled sites are not made public or accessible to other heritage professionals, managers, policymakers, researchers, or public audiences. To increase the transparency of the EU heritage policy in the EHL action and to enhance the benefits this action has for various actors, we recommend changing its policy by making successful applications fully or partly public.