Culture Minister: Stolen objects from the Drents Museum will be found intact

„If you ask for my personal opinion, I believe the stolen objects will be found intact, because their value is immense if they remain undamaged. If they are destroyed, they lose their value,” Intotero told B1 TV on Tuesday.

„So far, we don’t have any new information, and as we have all learned, providing updates falls to our colleagues from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. What was within the scope of the National Museum of Romanian History and the Ministry of Culture was to provide the investigating authorities with all the necessary data to ensure the proper conduct of the investigation. I trust that the Dutch authorities will be able to identify the perpetrators of this robbery,” the minister said.

Intotero also announced that several important changes have been initiated in the management of national heritage, including:

– The process of amending legislation related to international exhibitions has begun.
– Until the new legislation is adopted, all international exhibitions will be blocked.
– The display period for exhibits abroad will be limited to a maximum of six months, while objects must remain in Romania for at least six months.
– Efforts to harmonize legislation regarding the transportation of valuable items.

The Minister of Culture also revealed that for the first time, Romania is starting the process of inventorying its national heritage.

„This has never been done before,” Intotero said.

According to her statement, Romania has approximately 30,000 pieces of treasure and around 30 million items of movable heritage, 17 million of which are stamps.

The inventory of the treasure pieces is expected to be completed by the end of May, after which the full inventory of movable heritage will begin. In parallel, all items will be re-evaluated to establish their correct value in case of compensation claims.