Declaration of the European Parliament on the need for measures to protect the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St Joseph in Bucharest, Romania, an endangered historical and architectural monument
The European Parliament,
– having regard to Rule 116 of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas Article 151 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, ensuring the basis for Community action in the field of culture, aims at promoting and safeguarding the cultural heritage of the Member States,
B. whereas a skyscraper with four basement levels and 20 storeys is being built only eight metres from St Joseph's Cathedral in Bucharest, inside the protection area laid down for this historic monument under Romanian law,
C. whereas, in this case, the competent authorities in Romania are systematically refusing to apply either the provisions of national law on protecting historic monuments or the provisions of Community law on safeguarding the cultural and architectural heritage,
1. Firmly condemns the unlawful construction of this building, which is endangering two buildings belonging to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bucharest: St Joseph's Cathedral and the Roman Catholic Metropolitan Palace, both of which appear on the list of historic architectural monuments in Romania;
2. Calls on the Commission and the Council to firmly condemn the attitude of the Romanian authorities and initiate the necessary legal proceedings in order to persuade the relevant authorities to fulfil their Community-law obligations as regards conserving and safeguarding the cultural and architectural heritage, in accordance with Article 151 of the EC Treaty;
3. Instructs its President to forward this declaration, together with the names of the signatories, to the Council, the Commission, the Romanian Government and the institutions responsible for protecting the European cultural heritage: