This is not as bad as it sounds, because the pictures will only be permanently loaned; we won't be surrendering full title. And in return institutions like the Louvre have said they'll give us some of their best British pictures. So this is very much 'British pictures for British museums', and that in turn fits in with the government's 'Empire 2.0' strategy. If we end up with too many Constables, we'll send them to Africa.

After years of indecision, the European Commission decided today that all works of art within the European Union, irrespective of their value, are part of the common European heritage, and therefore inalienable, in other words, that they cannot be exported outside the European Union. In a complete reversal of previous policy, which delegated the definition of 'national heritage' and how to deal with it, to national governments, the Commission has promised to pledge 'as much as is necessary' to acquire any work of art that has been bought by a non-EU citizen or institution, to prevent its export beyond E.U. boundaries. Many protestors, mostly dealers, have complained that this move would effectively kill the art market in the E.U.; but the Commission is implacable, and refuses to countenance any change of policy.