The Comprehension of the Role of Archives in the European Union (According to EU Legislation)

The purpose of the study is to analyse primary and secondary legislative acts of the European Union to determine the goals and values underlying the archival policy of the EU, as well as the role attributed to archives in the economic, political, and cultural integration of EU member states. The normative acts of the EU defi ne its archival practice. The archival practice of the European Union is a separate area of European archival practice, which has its own specifi c goals, cooperation programs and specifi c activities, and requires a separate study. The study of the archival legislation of the EU will contribute to identifying the ways of its implementation in the archival legislation of Ukraine and the ways of European integration of Ukraine in the archival sector. The research methodology is based on the comprehensive application of general scientifi c methods such as analysis, synthesis, comparison, and generalization, as well as specialized scientifi c methods like historical-source analysis and historical-comparative method. The study analyses mainly secondary EU legislation. It covers EU documents that are directly related to the archival sector (including the normative acts that determine the policy regarding EU archives and fi lm archives) and the preservation of cultural heritage in the context of digitalization of the economy. Scientifi c novelty. The article shows how the EU legislation identifi es the role of archives in the context of rapid technological progress and political changes in Europe. It analyses the main directions and specifi c projects of archival cooperation for the achievement of the common goals of the EU. The conclusions summarize and briefl y outline the various functions that archives should play in the EU according to its legislation: administrative (to support the democratic functioning of society); scientifi c, educational, and historical memory (for the formation of the European identity and emphasizing of national diversity); recreational, creative, educational (including for the purposes of economic growth, in particular, increasing the competitiveness of the fi lm and creative industries).