European elections 2024. An address to European institutions, MEP candidates and political parties

European elections 2024. An address to European institutions, MEP candidates and political parties

Entities highlighting Christian values in the European field enter the pre-election political dialogue for the European elections issuing an intervention.

Political – parliamentary personalities, representatives of Christian Churches in Brussels, as well as social entities are expressing opinions, voicing criticisms, and envisioning a dynamic dialogue for the European future based on European principles, which certainly include Christian values. The Conference of European Churches (CEC) 1, the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) 2, the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (IAO) 3, and the organisation Together for Europe 4, address an Appeal text to all European citizens faithful to the democratic principles and institutions of the European Union, criticizing the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the EU bureaucratic mechanism. The undersigned bodies consider that the European institutions initially exclude from any kind of dialogue on European affairs, numerous European citizens who discuss, plan, and envision a future, based on Christian values as cultural and social conquests of the world and Europe and not on their religious identity.

Realizing the difficulties of EU mechanisms in responding to the current challenges for the European future, it is noted that the prevailing fearful syndromes in large parts of citizens lead them to instrumentalized interpretations of the concepts of “tradition, homeland, and religion”. At the same time, “sanctifying” dubious historical figures, contributes to an atmosphere of uncertainty in which “political parties are called upon to reshape their own narratives based on the long-term trends that characterize the European integration process.” Invoking Article 17 of the Treaty of Lisbon on the Functioning of the European Union, they call on European parties to recognize Christian values as the foundation of the European project and to oppose those who use religious faith for nationalistic narratives.


pdf30    European elections 2024. An address to European institutions, MEP candidates and political parties

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1 The Conference of the European Churches (CEC) is a regional ecumenical organization, established in 1959, as an effort to bridge East-West relations. It is currently made up of 114 churches from all regions of Europe, coming from Orthodox, Protestant, and Anglican traditions. Its work is focused on building a humane, social and sustainable Europe at peace with itself and its neighbours. Its headquarters are in Brussels. For further information:   https://ceceurope.org/who-we-are/introduction

2 The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) is composed of the Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of all Member States of the European Union. It was established in 1980 with the approval of the Holy See to represent the EU Bishops’ Conferences before the EU institutions. COMECE carries out a dialogue with the EU institutions, providing contributions that promote common good and a human-centered approach in EU policies. Its headquarters are in Brussels. For further information:   https://www.comece.eu/comece/

3 The Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (IAO) is a political organization, founded in 1993 on the initiative of the Hellenic Parliament. It consists of representatives of parliaments, groups of parliamentarians and parliamentary personalities from around 25 countries that experience in their history the Orthodox Christian Tradition and that span Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas. Its seat is in Athens.

4 Together for Europe is an ecumenical civil society network in form of a federation of around 300 grassroot organizations, focused on the promotion of the Cristian values and the support of European perspective. Its headquarters are in Rome. For further information:   https://together4europe.org/en/about-us/

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