download this speech as pdf document

Ladies and gentlemen,

Welcome to the former chamber of the House of Representatives.

This is a good place to hold a conference on collection mobility. As you move around the parliament buildings you may notice busts of former members on display. In a way, they tell the political history of the Netherlands . And in the Nieuwspoort press centre a hundred metres from here there is an exhibition of work by modern Dutch artists like Appel, Lucebert and Dumas.

All these works, including the busts, are actually 'on the move'. They are part of the collection of the Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage and are here on loan. Their presence has turned the parliament buildings and the press centre into temporary 'museums'. What we call 'museums extra muros'.

Of course, the term 'extra muros' comes from Latin. Originally it referred to a settlement outside the walls of a city.

The use of these objects for this exhibition is a good example of collection mobility at national level. But we also plan to send the objects in our collections on international visits. In fact, we want to send them off on real, old-fashioned 'Grand Tours' of Europe .

There is a lot to be said about the European dimension of collection mobility. And a lot still to be learned. That is what we are devoting the next two days to.

How can we learn from each other? How can we learn from the arts? And from the cultural heritage? And, more particularly, how can we learn from each other's art? And from each other's cultural heritage?

These are important questions. The answers will help us think about the significance of culture for the European Union. And about the significance of the European Union for culture.

Personally, I believe that culture can have great significance for the European Union.

The European Union has many different faces. Political, economic and bureaucratic. All are rather remote and anonymous. This can make it hard for ordinary people - European citizens - to identify with the idea of Europe . Economically and politically, Europe affects the everyday lives of all Europeans, the Dutch as well as the Poles, the Germans as well as the Estonians. Yet relationships built on the basis of minced meat, cut flowers, or coal and steel are not enough to cement really close ties between them.

But the great thing about the cultural face of Europe is that it speaks to the imagination. Literally and figuratively. It is a face that makes us feel at home in Europe . The arts challenge us to explore what we have in common. By, for instance, telling us about the long-forgotten Baltic connection, as the National Archives are doing at the moment. By showing how the Dutchman Van Gogh and the Frenchman Gauguin influenced each other's work. Or by giving artists from the ten new member states the opportunity to show their work, as Breakthrough, an exhibition held recently in The Hague , succeeded in doing. Initiatives like these contribute to our European cultural self-awareness. The people in this hall probably know that Tallin and Riga are international centres for video art and design. But the average Dutch person is not yet aware of that. Culture shows us what we have in common.

You see, even if the cultures of European countries are sometimes very different, there is a kind of unity in their artistic heritage. A common language of line, colour, light, space and composition. A common tradition of depicting historical events, conveying spiritual beliefs, and expressing individual ways of looking at the world. A unity even if you see the cultural tradition as a 'vivid record of the hopes, dreams, convictions and desires all men and women have shared'. And, however much subjects and styles have changed over time, the human impulses and emotions that lie at the heart of our cultural heritage have remained the same.

At the same time, European culture displays huge diversity. As Richard Eyre, Director of the Royal National Theatre in London , put it, and I quote: 'If I'm sceptical about the idea of 'European theatre' it is not because I feel insular about European culture. Far from it. I want there to be a French theatre, a German theatre, a Spanish theatre, a Belgian theatre, and so on. And a British theatre. And I want to have the opportunity of seeing French theatre in Britain , German theatre in Spain , and so on. I want a theatre that is rooted in the observation of individual behaviour. Not a theatre that is rooted in grand conceits and wishful thinking. What travels across national borders is the recognition of our differences as much as our common humanity.'

Eyre is talking about theatre. But the point he is making - that it is as important to recognise our differences as to recognise our common humanity - applies to European culture as a whole.

The cultural face of Europe - the face of the arts - is one that we can all read. It tells us what it is to be European. And how we are united by a common cultural tradition.

That is the aspect of the arts that we need to strengthen. And that we can strengthen.

Europe is a treasure house overflowing with sculptures, paintings, prints, photos, installations, furniture, ceramics, glass, jewellery and textiles. Not to mention the contents of natural history collections. Millions and millions of objects which are worth seeing and experiencing. And which can help us to achieve a better understanding of ourselves and each other. But they are often locked away in storerooms. Or people have to undertake long journeys to see them. So why don't we get them up out of the vaults and take them to the people?

Opening up collections across Europe and sharing the cultural heritage - these are the key to collection mobility.

Collection mobility has been on the European agenda ever since 1999. Some progress has been made.

• During the Greek presidency, state indemnity schemes were on the agenda.
• Under the Italian presidency, the question of museum standardisation was discussed.
• During this summer's informal Council, the Ministers of Culture and the European Commission jointly re-emphasised the importance of collection mobility.
• The European Commission has recently proposed a programme featuring the circulation of works of art and transnational mobility for people working in the cultural sector.
• And the European Council is due to produce a work plan in which collection mobility is also included. It is expected at the end of next month.

Much of the Council's work might deal with the practical arrangements needed at EU level to allow us to unlock and share our cultural heritage. Firstly, to make state indemnity schemes more transparent. Secondly, to improve access to collections. And thirdly, to expand and strengthen networks. Let me expand on these three points.

First of all, making state indemnity schemes more transparent.

Under indemnity schemes, states guarantee to compensate owners if objects on loan are lost or damaged. This is an important way of encouraging collection mobility.

The Commission has examined the position on indemnity in thirty-one countries. You are going to discuss its findings tomorrow. But perhaps I can touch upon them now.

The Commission points out that indemnity arrangements vary widely from one country to the next. This is hardly in the interests of transparency. By publishing the details of national schemes in a major language like French, English or German, you can increase transparency.

I am ashamed to confess that the Netherlands was one of the countries at fault. Information on our scheme was only available in Dutch. I have taken the Commission's recommendation to heart and our scheme is now available in English as well. In both paper and digital versions.

Secondly, improving access to collections.

European collections contain millions and millions of objects. Literally. What we lack is clear information on who has what, and where it is stored. And that makes it almost impossible to track down items that we might want to borrow for exhibitions. So some of your colleagues met last month to discuss access to information on these objects. Digitisation of the cultural heritage is a solution. But I don't need to tell you what a huge job that is.

Thirdly, improved networking. This is essential for museum loans. Just think about it. If my neighbour asks to borrow my car, I'll probably say yes. But I'm not likely to hand over my car keys if a complete stranger knocks on my door and asks for them. It's the same when it comes to lending out works of art.

You want to know who you are dealing with and what arrangements are necessary. Will insurance be needed? Is there a state indemnity scheme? What about security arrangements? If you already know and trust the person involved, you may be prepared to take some slight risks. And that will keep down the cost.

So collection mobility depends not just on making indemnity schemes more transparent and digitising collections. It also depends on staff mobility. It is important that the people behind the collections get to know each other. And that they set up networks like Network of European Museum Organisations, the European Museum Forum, the International Council of Museums, Codart and BIZOT, to name just a few.

So, ladies and gentlemen,

We know very well what we need to do to improve collection mobility in Europe . But people often ask me 'how can we achieve all this in practice?' And they are quite right to do so.

What I say to them is that we have to get the experts to tell us. At conferences like this one, for instance.

I hope that this conference will produce genuine results. At the end of it, I would like to see a list of your practical needs with regard to collection mobility.

These can then be fed into the work plan being developed by the European Council. And that means that you will be helping to mould European policy on collection mobility in an extremely bottom-up way.

At the start of my speech I said that we are here during this conference to learn from each other . I will close by adding that the European Council will be very glad to learn from you . How to bring culture closer to Europe . And Europe closer to culture.

Have a good conference.

Thank you.

The term 'Grand Tour' was first used by a traveller called Richard Lessels in 1670. It referred to the practice of young men travelling around Europe to expand their horizons.

Linnea H. Wren, 'Western Art'.

Ingrid von Kruse, 'Europe taken literally', 1994