Bulgaria's Culture Minister Stefan Danailov and Dutch ambassador Willem van Ee opened the final conference of the Cultural Heritage Bulgaria - EU initiative at the National Gallery for Foreign Art on March 25 2008.

The conference is part of the MATRA framework project for strengthening the institutions and administrative capacity of the Culture Ministry to meet European Union requirements for control of artefacts smuggling.

For the past two and a half years, Bulgarian and Dutch experts have worked closely to ensure an efficient system for protection of cultural heritage objects, including the Customs Agency, Culture Ministry, Interior Ministry and prosecution, and render support for the development of an adequate legal framework on cultural heritage, the Dutch embassy said in a media statement.

The results of the project will be published in a book called Moving Heritage, Managing Movable Heritage in the EU: Bulgarian-Dutch Experiences 2005 - 2008. The book would summarise information from conferences, lectures and consultations that took place in the course of the project and focuses on moveable cultural heritage.

"As an external border of the EU, Bulgaria hаs the obligation and responsibility to protect the European cultural heritage. This requires dedication, perseverance and a firm believe that the future generations should be able to enjoy and learn from it," van Ee said.

An exhibition of Dutch art owned by the gallery accompanies the conference.