No L 74/74 Official . Journal of the European Communities 27. 3. 93  (Acts whose publication is not obligatory) COUNCIL COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 93/7/EEC of 15 March 1993 on the return of cultural objects unlawfully removed from the territory of a Member State THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, ‘Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 100a thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ('), In cooperation with the European Parliament (3), Having regard to the opmlon of the Economic and Social ~ Committee (%), Whereas Article 8a of the Treaty provides for the es- tablishment, not later than 1 January 1993, of the internal market, which is to comprise an area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of goods, persons, services-and capital is ensured in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty; Whereas, under the terms and within the limits of Article 36 of the Treaty, Member States will, after 1992, retain the right to define their national. treasures and to take the necessary measures to protect. them in this area without internal frontiers ; Whereas arrangements should therefore be introduced enabling Member States to secure the return to their terri- tory of cultural objects which are classified as national treasures within the meaning of the said Article 36 and have been removed from their territory in breach of the abovementioned national ‘measures or of Council Regula- tion (EEC) No 3911/92 of 9 December 1992 on the () OJ No C 53,28.°2. 1992, p. 11, and OJ No C 172, 8. 7. 1992, p. 7. () O] No C 176, 13. 7. 1992, p. 129 and O] No.C 72,.15. 3. 1993. () OJ No C 223, 31. 8. 1992, p. 10. export of cultural goods () ; whereas the implementation of these arrangements should be as simple and efficient as possible ; whereas, to facilitate cooperation with regard to return, the scope of the arrangements should be confined to items belonging to common categories of cultural object; whereas the Annex to this Directive is conse- quently not intended to define objects which rank as ‘national treasures’ within the meaning of the said Article 36, but merely categories of object which may be classi- fied as such and may accordingly be covered by the return procedure introduced by this Directive ; Whereas cultural objects classified as national treasures and forming an integral part of public collections or inventories of .ecclesiastical. institutions but which do not fall within these common categories should also be covered by this Directive ; Whereas administrative cooperation should be established between Member States as regards their national treasures, in close liaison with their cooperation in the field of stolen works of art and involving in particular the recording, with Interpol and other qualified bodies issuing similar lists, of lost, stolen or illegally removed cultural objects forming part of their national treasures and their public collections ; ‘ Whereas the procedure introduced by this Directive is a first step in establishing cooperation between Member States in this field in the context of the internal market; whereas the aim is mutual recognition of the relevant national laws; whereas provision should therefore be made, in partxcular for the Commlssmn to be assisted by an advisory committee ; Whereas Regulation (EEC) No 3911/92 introduces, toge- ther with this Directive, a Community system to protect Member States’ cultural goods ; whereas the date by which () OJ No L 395, 31. 12. 1992, p. 1.