Dialogue between Romanian and Dutch foreign affairs ministers: Artifacts must be recovered

Foreign affairs minister Emil Hurezeanu had talks with his Dutch counterpart, Caspar Veldkamp, on Monday on the theft of the Dacian treasure items from the Drents Museum in Assen, Netherlands."The Romanian foreign affairs minister insisted on the importance of the stolen artifacts being recovered and emphasized their significance in Romanian culture. The two ministers have agreed to cooperate very closely at the operational and diplomatic level," the Romanian Foreign Ministry said on the X platform.Emil Hurezeanu is attending the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels.The iconic golden helmet of Cotofenesti, dated to the 5th-4th centuries BC, as well as three Dacian gold bracelets from Sarmizegetusa Regia, dating from the second half of the 1st century BC, some of the most important artifacts of Romania's national heritage, were stolen in a "particularly serious incident", in which the robbers used an explosive device to break open the only exterior wall of the museum building, the Ministry of Culture announced.All the stolen pieces had been insured in accordance with Romanian legislation and international standards on the organization of exhibitions.On Saturday, the Prosecutor General's Office informed that a criminal investigation had been opened ex officio in the case of the theft of several prized Dacian treasure artifacts exhibited at the Drents Museum.Prime minister Marcel Ciolacu also announced on Sunday the organization of a crisis cell at the Government level for the efficient coordination of the activities to recover the four stolen treasure items.   Prosecutors looking at transfer abroad of Dacian treasure items without a relevant Gov't decision    The General Prosecutor's Office is looking at the transfer of the Dacian treasure items from Romania to the exhibition in the Netherlands without a relevant government decision."We shut out no investigation hypothesis that would lead to the complete clarification of the situation that made possible the robbery of four heritage Treasure artifacts from the Drents Museum in Assen, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, where they were on display as part of the international exhibition 'Dacia! Empire of Gold and Silver'," the institution's Information and Public Relations Office said in response to a question as to whether the investigation is also focusing on how the treasure items were sent out of Romania in absence of a relevant government decision.Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu confirmed on Monday that no such government decision was issued in the case of the exhibition organized by the Romanian authorities with Dacian treasure artifacts at the Drents Museum in the Netherlands, emphasizing that all the details will come to light following the measures ordered at governmental level.Article 34 of Law 182 of 25/2000 on the protection of the national movable cultural heritage provides the following: "(1) For the purpose of organizing exhibitions, or the realization of cultural projects, public institutions may lend, as the case may be, to public institutions or legal entities under private law in the country, under compliance with the common law, classified movable cultural assets that they hold under administration."OUG No. 27/2023 introduced a new article to the law - article 34^1, with the following content: "For the purpose of organizing exhibitions abroad, or for carrying out international cultural projects by public museum institutions under the authority of the Ministry of Culture, the measures regarding their organization shall be approved by Government decision, should several authorities and public institutions be involved."On Saturday, the Prosecutor General's Office informed that a criminal investigation had been opened ex officio in the case of the theft of several prized Dacian treasure artifacts exhibited at the Drents Museum.The iconic golden helmet of Cotofenesti, dated to the 5th-4th centuries BC, as well as three Dacian gold bracelets from Sarmizegetusa Regia, dating from the second half of the 1st century BC, were stolen in a heist in which the robbers used an explosive device to break open the only exterior wall of the museum building.