Cultura e património cultural da União Europeia: : realidades ou ficções do direito?

Abstract

The notions of "culture" and "cultural heritage" are theoretically difficult; international legal instruments usually waive generic definitions, limiting themselves to descriptions or to circumscribed definitions. The Treaties on the European Union follow these trends; so, in order to conclude whether there is a culture and/or cultural heritage of the European Union, one must analyze some topics: assess the existence of a Western cultural heritage; consider that Europe passed successively through a period of cultural Renaissance and European nationalisms; and find out about conditionings of a possible cultural area of the European Union. Due to its limitations and sinuosity, we conclude for the absence of a genuine culture or cultural heritage of the European Union.