The European Commission wants to create a European heritage prize in the context of the renewal of the regime that protects and disseminates it, it announced today in Brussels.
© Shutterstock.
23/10/2026
by
Lusa
A The European Commission wants to create a prize for European heritage, in the context of the renewal of the regime that protects and disseminates it, was announced today in Brussels.
The Community executive also wants to change the European Heritage Label to the European Heritage List and increase European citizens' understanding of the history of Europe and the construction of the EU.
The proposal includes the creation of a premium to reward selected and monitored sites for their impact on the ground, together with measures to give more visibility and support.
Brussels also wants the future Heritage List Europeans recognise sites in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, as well as candidate countries or potential candidates for EU membership associated with the Creative Europe programme.
The regime was adopted in 2011 with the aim of providing recognition by the European Union to sites – buildings, monuments, documents – of exceptional symbolic value that have played a key role in the formation of the history, culture and integration of Europe.
The European heritage includes, for example, the Charter of the Law of the Abolition of the Death Penalty in Portugal, approved in 1867 and found in the National Archives of Torre do Tombo, in Lisbon.
The most recent classification in Portugal was, in 2025, the Lagar Velho Shelter, located in the Lapedo Valley in Leiria, considered one of the most important prehistoric archaeological sites in Europe.
The Commission proposal will now be negotiated in the European Parliament and in the Council.
The European Commission already promotes annual prizes with Europe Nostra aimed at “recognizing exceptional heritage conservation initiatives”.