To gain the trust of European citizens, the process of integration “must be open and transparent” and must focus attention on the “issues that really concern” them. That is why it is important that the European Union should enter into “a structural dialogue with the organizations of civil society and with the Churches and religious communities”. The point is made by Keith Clements, secretary general of the Conference of European Churches (KEK) in a letter sent to the Belgian President of the EU who at the end of his term of office will preside over the European Council summit in Laeken (Brussels) on the 14 and 15 December. With regard to the institutional reforms, Clements asks that they be judged on the basis of the contribution they make to “the achievement of justice, peace and reconciliation”. KEK believes it important too that Europe should safeguard “diversity” and hold firm to “the principles of solidarity and community that form the basis of the European social model”.
