Human Dignity Stressed as Europe's Political and Religious
Leaders Meet
| Culture - 15-05-2007 |
 President Pöttering meets German Rabbi Chaim Soussan as Angela Merkel looks on |
Tuesday saw a meeting between leading representatives of
Europe's Christian, Jewish and Islamic faiths and leaders of the EU's
Institutions. The theme was "a Europe built of human dignity" and both sides
found common ground in European values like democracy, the rule of law,
tolerance, justice, solidarity and human dignity. The issue of the dignity of
migrants who often die trying to reach Europe was also raised with Parliament's
President Hans-Gert Pöttering calling for a summit on the issue.
Part of the discussions focused on
questions such as what role can religions and religious communities play in
Europe, how can we promote common values beyond our borders and how can we
improve dialogue between differing cultures?
Speaking after the meeting President Pöttering said that it had been a "wonderful experience to listen to Christian, Jewish and Muslim voices". He added that "in spite of all our differences, there is a common point - human dignity, and we agree it needs to be defended and it should be the basis for our political work".
President Pöttering also said that the different religious traditions in Europe can all make a positive contribution to the public debate and the shaping of a European Union of values".
Referring to the issues of migrants and the responsibility that the Institutions faced, Mr Pöttering said "we hear about people dying trying to come to Europe: to prevent this and maintain human life, we need to make efforts to help them whilst crossing the sea, but also to help the countries those people come from. It is good and right to have a summit, but we also need to develop procedures which will make us able to react quickly".
Catching the mood José Manuel Barroso, the President of the European Commission, said the Commission will propose a directive for the rights of migrants in the EU. President Pöttering pledged that "the EP will ensure that these principles of human dignity are included".
Mr Barroso also stressed the theme of human dignity "as a core of the values of the three religions but also of the EU institutions: freedom, peace, justice and solidarity".
Later he added that "we discussed the need to respect freedom of religion, in the EU and in all countries who wants to be part of the EU. It is important also to promote our values abroad: there is a need for a mid-term review for Millennium development goals".
For the Council, Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor said that "dialogue between politicians and religions is essential”. She said they discussed the Berlin declaration and the 50th anniversary of Rome treaty.
Answering a question from a journalist about the inclusion of a reference to “God” in the new constitutional treaty, she said: "in my personal view, I would like to have a reference, but as the president of the Council, I can say there is little chance for it to be included. There is already a reference to churches in the draft Constitutional Treaty, which is important. But unfortunately I can’t guarantee anything else". Mrs Merkel said "we all agree that human dignity is inviolable but there are different views about the practical implications of that".
Before breaking up those who attended pledged to hold a similar meeting during the Slovene Presidency of the EU in January next year and to hold regular meetings after that.
Speaking after the meeting President Pöttering said that it had been a "wonderful experience to listen to Christian, Jewish and Muslim voices". He added that "in spite of all our differences, there is a common point - human dignity, and we agree it needs to be defended and it should be the basis for our political work".
President Pöttering also said that the different religious traditions in Europe can all make a positive contribution to the public debate and the shaping of a European Union of values".
Referring to the issues of migrants and the responsibility that the Institutions faced, Mr Pöttering said "we hear about people dying trying to come to Europe: to prevent this and maintain human life, we need to make efforts to help them whilst crossing the sea, but also to help the countries those people come from. It is good and right to have a summit, but we also need to develop procedures which will make us able to react quickly".
Catching the mood José Manuel Barroso, the President of the European Commission, said the Commission will propose a directive for the rights of migrants in the EU. President Pöttering pledged that "the EP will ensure that these principles of human dignity are included".
Mr Barroso also stressed the theme of human dignity "as a core of the values of the three religions but also of the EU institutions: freedom, peace, justice and solidarity".
Later he added that "we discussed the need to respect freedom of religion, in the EU and in all countries who wants to be part of the EU. It is important also to promote our values abroad: there is a need for a mid-term review for Millennium development goals".
For the Council, Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor said that "dialogue between politicians and religions is essential”. She said they discussed the Berlin declaration and the 50th anniversary of Rome treaty.
Answering a question from a journalist about the inclusion of a reference to “God” in the new constitutional treaty, she said: "in my personal view, I would like to have a reference, but as the president of the Council, I can say there is little chance for it to be included. There is already a reference to churches in the draft Constitutional Treaty, which is important. But unfortunately I can’t guarantee anything else". Mrs Merkel said "we all agree that human dignity is inviolable but there are different views about the practical implications of that".
Before breaking up those who attended pledged to hold a similar meeting during the Slovene Presidency of the EU in January next year and to hold regular meetings after that.