Greece Holiday News | In The Press - Cultural heritage of Greece to be celebrated in new EU initiative

Cultural heritage of Greece to be celebrated in new EU initiative

By Carole Pugh
In The Press (Published: 15 March 2010)

A new EU-wide initiative aims to highlight the cultural heritage sites among countries such as Greece.

The European Commission has proposed to establish the European Heritage Label in a bid to celebrate sites that symbolise the regions ideals and history.

It builds on a 2006 intergovernmental project involving 17 member states, through which 64 sites have already received the label.

This includes the Greek relics of the Acropolis, Knossos Palace, the archaeological site of Poliochne and the Byzantine site of Monemvasia.

Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, said: "I believe that the European Heritage Label will help to increase public awareness of our common yet diverse cultural heritage as well as to stimulate cultural tourism and intercultural dialogue."

Under the proposed new scheme, each of the 27 member states would be able to nominate up to two sites per year to receive the new European Heritage Label.

Meanwhile, nearly half of British people aged over 55 are considering a new life abroad, after visiting destinations like those in Greece or Cyprus while on holiday.

That is according to research from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, which also reveals that 43 per cent of people think a holiday gives a fair indication of whether the country is a good place to live or not.

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