ABSTRACT
Chapter 3 argues that if we are to consider the dimensions of European heritage and memory it is imperative to examine the official – the dimension of the legal and political instruments and policies that seek to preserve, record, interpret, transmit and also create an official European heritage and a European backstory. The chapter focuses in particular on two formal European political arenas that are creating European heritage and narratives, namely the Council of Europe (CoE) and the European Union (EU). The chapter shows the plethora of political instruments and policies that both political organisations have produced that relate to or have a bearing on heritage practice, sometimes incidentally and sometimes more purposively and explicitly.
