As the creation of the physical manifestation of the New Acropolis Museum reaches its final stages, thought also has to go into the operational, management & legal size of a figurehead museum such as this. A draft bill has just been unveiled, which sets out the framework that will determine how the museum will actually exist & operate once it is properly opened. As it exists at present, the proposed bill with give the museum far more autonomy than any of the other state run museums (which means almost all of the museums – the only major ones in Athens that aren’t state owned are the Goulandris & the Benaki).

From:
Kathimerini (English Edition)

Friday May 23, 2008 – Archive
NEWS
Acropolis Museum unshackled

The New Acropolis Museum is to gain administrative and financial autonomy, according to a draft law which was heralded yesterday by Culture Minister Michalis Liapis and has provoked criticism from state archaeologists.

“The new museum will operate under the strict supervision of the ministry but its legal status will maintain the necessary distance from both the private and traditional state sector that its role demands,” Liapis told reporters.
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The Greek Prime Minister has been overheard pleading with Tony Blair while at a conference, asking him to try & sort out the Parthenon Marbles situation, as it would boost his ratings in the polls.

From:
Macedonian Press Agency

FRIDAY, 17 OCTOBER 2003
ELECTORAL BATTLE FOR THE RETURN OF THE MARBLES
Athens, 17 October 2003 (12:44 UTC+2)

The issue of the return of the Parthenon Marbles prior to the 2004 elections was raised by Prime Minister Costas Simitis in a meeting with UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, in the margin of the informal EU Summit in Brussels. “Mr. Simitis confessed he is losing the elections”, commented ND Spokesperson Thodoros Roussopoulos, who accused Mr. Simitis of “using a national issue for party and electoral interests”. “The event that the return of the Marbles is being discussed by the Greek and UK Prime Ministers should be greeted by all Greeks, without a party reflex”, stated Minister of Culture Evaggelos Venizelos. However there is information that there had been prior discussion between the two PMs on the return of the Marbles in correspondence between them, while Mr. Blair’s last letter “left room for hope”, according to “Flash” radio.

“The Prime Minister’s first and foremost goal is that the Marbles be back before the 2004 Olympics”, stated Government Spokesperson and Minister of the Press Christos Protopapas, in response to ND’s criticism.
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Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis has sparked a media furore after his comments to Tony Blair about the Parthenon Marbles were overheard.

From:
BBC News

Last Updated: Saturday, 18 October, 2003, 05:35 GMT 06:35 UK
Greek PM in Elgin marbles upset

Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis has sparked outrage among opposition parties after telling his British counterpart, Tony Blair, that returning the Elgin Marbles, could help his re-election bid.

The row broke out after Greek television stations aired a clip of Mr Simitis – apparently unaware of nearby cameras – talking to Mr Blair about the marbles at the sidelines of the European Union summit in Brussels on Thursday.
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News reports have suggested that there has been a deal on the table, for Britain to return the Parthenon Sculptures to Greece, in return for Greece supporting London’s Olympic bid. However, it appears that there are no hard facts to back up this story.

From:
Kathimerini (English Edition)

Tuesday October 7, 2003
London denies Marbles deal

LONDON (AFP) – Britain denied yesterday a tabloid report that it was to send the Elgin Marbles back to Greece in time for the 2004 Athens Olympics in return for Greek support of London’s own Olympic bid.

“The article isn’t true at all,” a culture department spokeswoman told AFP, referring to a report that Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell was ready to reopen talks with Athens over the fifth-century BC sculptures removed from the Parthenon by Lord Elgin between 1801-1811.
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In what could be seen as a big step forward, Greece has agreed that the ownership of the Parthenon Marbles is an area that is still up for discussion in any negotiations about their return.

This point has traditionally been a major sticking point, with the British Museum claiming ownership & Greece refusing to accept this, so that the discussions do not move on beyond this one issue.

From:
Kathimerini (English Edition)

Tuesday August 12, 2003
Ownership of Marbles still open, Greece says

In a new sign of how wide the gap is between Athens and London regarding the ownership of the British Museum’s Elgin Collection of sculptures from the Parthenon, Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos denied yesterday that it had renounced ownership of the fifth-century BC sculptures.

«As nuances are very important, I must repeat that the Greek government has never stated it recognizes the British Museum’s legal title to the Parthenon Marbles,» Venizelos said. «What we have said is that we do not raise the legal issue of ownership, as we wish to find a friendly and consensual solution that will allow a joint exhibition of the Marbles in the new Acropolis Museum.»
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Despite reports that there are secret talks between Britain & Greece about the reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures, the British Museum has strongly denied that this is the case.

From:
Art Daily

Monday, August 4, 2003
Marbles will not be returned

The British Museum yesterday categorically rejected a claim that it was to give back the Parthenon marbles for next year´s Olympic Games in Athens. Nor were secret talks going on about their long-term loan to a £30m museum being built on the Acropolis, its trustees insisted.

Last year the Greek government dropped its claim to own the 2,500-year-old sculptures – taken from the Parthenon frieze by Lord Elgin in 1801 – in the hope that the British Museum might one day be persuaded to give them back.
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After pressure by various organisations trying to stop the building of the New Acropolis Museum, Greece’s Central Archaeological Council has ruled that the Makriyianni site is the best location for the new building.

From:
Kathimerini (English Edition)

Date: 7-2-2003
Agreement on the new Acropolis Museum
The Central Archaeological Council reconfirmed in unison that the Makriyiannis Estate below the rock is the ideal location
Antiquities will suffer no damage, although some will have to be transfered for the installation of supporting pillars.
By Iota Sykka – Kathimerini

Shortly before the publication of the Council of State’s decision on the legality of the study for the new Acropolis Museum, the Ministry of Culture confirmed that the procedures were in the final stages before assigning the project to a contractor. At a meeting last week of the Central Archaeological Council (KAS), held to examine two studies about the location of supporting pillars and a reduction of their number, the entire council agreed that the Makriyiannis Estate was the ideal location for the new museum. Even the toughest-to-convince members of the council, like Professor Haralambos Bouras, agreed that the antiquities would suffer no damage. Vassilios Labrinoudakis claimed that this solution was by far the best and Dimitrios Constantios added that the Makriyiannis Estate is the most appropriate place.

Although there has been disagreement in the past about the museum being located so close to the Acropolis rock, no objection was raised at this most recent meeting. “If we built an industrial shelter, it would look ugly,” claimed Bouras, while another member of the council added that even more supporting pillars would be needed were that to happen.
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Greece’s courts have ruled against the legality of the planning permission for the New Acropolis Museum. The government has however vowed to ensure that the project can continue & is attempting to rectify the issues that led to this decision.

From:
Kathimerini (English Edition)

Monday May 19, 2003
New blow to Acropolis Museum?
Court reportedly rejects plan

The much-delayed project to build a new Acropolis Museum under the ancient citadel before the 2004 Olympics appears to have suffered a new blow, according to weekend reports that Greece’s highest administrative court has rejected initial plans for the 94-million-euro building.

Sources quoted by the Athens News Agency on Saturday and the Sunday Ethnos said the plenary session of the Council of State unanimously decided that the initial study for construction of the building, on the basis of which the construction permit was issued, illegally allowed the destruction of antiquities on the site that had been set aside for preservation. The ruling, which will not be officially made public for several weeks, also reportedly mentions that the Culture Ministry’s Supreme Archaeological Council has not sanctioned the destruction, as it is legally bound to do.
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More coverage of Neil MacGregor’s statement that the Parthenon Marbles will never return to Athens.

From:
Kathimerini (English Edition)

Monday February 24, 2003
Museum severs Marbles talks

LONDON (AP) – The British Museum’s Elgin Collection of sculptures from the Parthenon should never be returned to their original home in Greece, the museum’s director was quoted as saying yesterday.

“I do not believe there is a case for returning the marbles,” Museum Director Neil MacGregor said, according to the Sunday Telegraph newspaper. “They have a purpose here because this is where they can do most good… The British Museum can situate the achievements of these Greek sculptures in the context of the wider ancient world.”
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Italy has made the brave move, of being the first country to commit to returning a fragment from the Parthenon Sculptures. It might be a small fragment, but it is a start, and will increase the pressure on other institutions to follow suit.

From:
Guardian

Italian loan puts marbles pressure on British Museum
Fiachra Gibbons, arts correspondent
Friday December 13, 2002
The Guardian

Italy yesterday put further pressure on the British Museum to hand back the Elgin Marbles to Greece by returning a fragment of the contested 4th century BC frieze they themselves looted.

The choice of a piece of a statue of Peitho, the goddess of persuasion and seduction, on a long-term loan back to Athens could not have been more diplomatically powerful. A similar deal offered to Britain last month in an attempt to get the marbles back in time for the 2004 Olympics was rebuffed.
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The British Museum has responded to the recent calls from Greece for the return of the Elgin Marbles, suggesting that they have no intention on altering their position on the issue.

From:
Reuters

British Museum Resists Greece on Elgin Marbles
November 13, 2002 12:07 PM ET
By Christian Oliver

LONDON (Reuters) – Returning the Elgin marbles to Greece would rip the heart out of a collection that tells the story of human civilization, the British Museum said on Wednesday.

In a riposte to the latest efforts by Greece to repatriate the classical sculptures, the museum rejected proposals to send them back on a long-term loan basis.
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The British Museum has long suggested that the return of the Elgin Marbles is not possible, because setting aside all other arguments, their governing charter, the British Museum Act, prohibits the deaccessioning of artefacts from their collections.

New proposals from Greece, of a long term loan of the sculptures, would be one possible way around this sticking point.

If this loan was reciprocated by temporary loans from Athens, this cold do a lot to help the British Museum’s finances, as the temporary exhibitions are a major source of additional income to the museum over & above the grant in aid funding that it receives from the government.

From:
Kathimerini (English Edition)

Monday November 11, 2002
Ray of light for Marbles?

After years of refusing to consider returning the Parthenon Marbles to Athens, the British Museum may be considering a radical plan to exchange them for a series of rotating exhibitions of ancient Greek artifacts that could help increase its revenues, Britain’s Independent newspaper reported yesterday.

The news came on the eve of Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos’s visit to London. Today he is to meet with his British counterpart, Tessa Jowell, and the British Museum’s new director, Neil MacGregor. The sculptures, also known as the Elgin Marbles, will be at the top of Venizelos’s agenda. He will also be presenting plans of the new Acropolis Museum, which is to be ready by the 2004 Olympics and has been designed to house the marbles now in London.
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