The Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sia Anagnostopoulou, participated in the meeting of the European Affairs Ministers of EU Member States, held in Paris, on the creation of a European mechanism for the protection of the cultural monuments of Europe.
During her intervention, the Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs proposed, among other things, “the creation of an observatory of endangered cultural heritage monuments” which, in fact, Greece is willing to host. She also presented a proposal for the creation of a funding mechanism for all European monuments, depending on their protection needs. This mechanism can be funded from the revenue of the monuments themselves (tickets, programme sales, audiovisual tours, etc.), following the example of the Greek Fund of Archaeological Proceeds. A percentage of profits can be used for the creation of a pool which, in turn, will fund the cataloguing, preservation, protection and restoration of monuments in the event of emergencies. This percentage would be fiscally neutral for the national budgets of all EU Member States.
Additionally, the Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs proposed the creation of a European post-secondary vocational training diploma in a city with a wealth of emblematic cultural heritage monuments in need of preservation and restoration, as well as the promotion of educational programmes for the exchange of students between European schools of specialised technical studies.
April 30, 2019