Art and antiques trade associations have stepped up their campaign to “dilute the worst effects” of the incoming EU import licensing regulation which comes into force next summer.
Although not being introduced in Great Britain (following Brexit, the regulation was repealed except in Northern Ireland), the changes will still impact many art, antiques and antiquities dealers who trade into the European Union.
The measures, first proposed in July 2017 by the European Commission and due to come into force on June 28, 2025, were designed to stop the movement of objects illicitly exported from their country of origin and were drawn up in an attempt to stop trafficking of looted antiquities.