What changed

D. whereas the term ‘Romanian national treasure’ comprises 91.591,5 tonnes of fine gold belonging to the gold reserves of the National Bank of Romania, royal collections of jewels and rare coins with a numismatic and cultural value that is distinct from the value of the gold itself, as well as cultural, religious and archival goods belonging to the country’s national heritage;

5. Notes that the First World War forced the Romanian Government of the time to entrust Romania’s national treasure to an allied state for protection against destruction; recalls that, during the wartime hardships, dozens of train carriages transported the majority of Romania’s national treasure to Tsarist Russia for safekeeping until times of peace, with a detailed inventory documenting the gold reserves of the National Bank of Romania, under Russia’s guarantee of protection and return, as witnessed by other states at the time; underlines that the national treasure legally given into Russian custody comprised 91.591,5 tonnes of fine gold belonging to the reserves of the National Bank of Romania, royal collections of jewels and rare coins, together with priceless cultural and historical assets, such as state archives, documents, precious historical manuscripts, heritage paintings, rare books and collections from many public and private institutions, spanning over five centuries of Romanian history;

7. Notes that some of the cultural, religious and archival goods belonging to the national treasure illegally appropriated by Russia were returned to Romania in 1935 and 1956; highlights that, to date, however, none of the outstanding 91.591,5 tonnes of fine gold, which are part of the reserves of the National Bank of Romania, have been returned, despite the protocols signed upon the transfer of the treasure to Russia;