Exploring the EU Perspective on the Organised Nature of the Trafficking in Cultural Goods

Abstract

In recent years the characterisation of the trafficking of cultural property as a form of organised crime has gained prominence in EU policies on the protection of cultural heritage. This article analyses how the EU has conceptualised and operationalised this link in terms of describing the phenomenon and designing countermeasures. Through a content analysis, we evaluate this connection in EU policy documents published from 1993 to 2023 that include both “organised crime” and “trafficking of cultural property” or similar terms (n=58). The analysis demonstrates conceptual deficits and a correspondingly weak foundation for EU policy, since misunderstandings related to the organised nature of trafficking of cultural property and its overlaps with other forms of organised crime, particularly terrorist financing, may result in misguided policies with the potential to undermine law enforcement efforts. We also address the addition to the list of obliged entities and persons in the anti-money laundering framework of persons trading or acting as intermediaries in the trade of cultural goods, because it opens new opportunities to disrupt the illicit financial flow in the art market. This paper is one of the results of the EU project Research, Intelligence and Technology for Heritage and Market Security (RITHMS).