European Board of National Archivists (EBNA) conference

The National Archives is working closely with colleagues in Europe to promote the need for good information governance and archival management.This section highlights key initiatives relating to archives and records management in Europe that supports this work.

To assist our colleagues we have translated our most recent standards and best practice guidelines into French, German and Spanish.

In recent years it has been customary for the National Archivists of each Member State in the European Union to meet every six months to discuss matters of common interest. These meetings are convened by the National Archives service of the country holding the EU Presidency at the time and usually take place in the national capital. In addition to the 25 Member States, national archivists from selected European countries outside the EU are invited to attend, together with officials from the European Commission and the International Council on Archives.

The members of the European Board of National Archivists (EBNA) played a central role in the experts´ group responsible for the Report on Archives in the Enlarged European Union. They have carried out considerable preparatory work to take forward the Report´s main recommendations, prior to its full approval by the Council of Ministers.

The National Archives had the pleasure of hosting the EBNA conference in November 2005. At the Conference members unanimously passed the following recommendation in favour of the proposed European Digital Library.