New neighbours ” “

The special December 2003 number of “Europe infos”, the monthly of the Commission of the episcopates of the European Union (COMECE) and of the Catholic Office of information and initiative for Europe (OCIPE), is entirely dedicated to the enlargement of the European Union and its relation with “the neighbouring countries”. On 1st May this year Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia will make their own entry into the Union and the EU “will take a further step towards a common identity with the adoption of its constitutional Treaty”, says the editorial, signed by Noël Treanor , COMECE general secretary and editor in chief of the monthly, and Jan Kerkhofs , senior editor. So 2004 will be a year of transition” in which “the type of relationship to be established with the ‘new’ neighbours in Eastern and Southern Europe” will need to be defined, to create the “‘circle of friends’ characterised by close and peaceful relations” called for by the European Commission, the editorial continues. What’s needed to this end, apart from “considerable financial resources and an enormous political will”, is the recognition of “the importance of Christian values as a solid foundation for the ongoing dialogue and long-term commitment required for the success of this policy”. In this perspective “the religious and political spheres are both challenged: that of religion to assume its own responsibilities in what seemed an essentially economic and political project; and that of politics to respect and foster the specific role of religion in this project”. We present some reflections contained in the special number. Peace, freedom and human rights. According to Joseph Raber what’s needed above all is to “define a coherent proposal to be addressed to a complex geopolitical area that stretches from Russia to Morocco and that may be defined as ‘a pan-European and pan-Mediterranean region'”. The countries that Europe needs to consider as its neighbours in fact include Turkey, the western Balkans and the countries of the southern Caucasus, as well as western nations like Switzerland, Norway and Iceland. What are the common values in so heterogeneous an area? First, points out Raber, “a political project founded on human rights, fundamental liberties and the constitutional state. The four freedoms (circulation of goods, capital, services and persons) form their hinge”, but the strategy “must also take into consideration the development of civil society, research, culture and the media, judicial cooperation, the fight against terrorism and criminality, clandestine immigration and the prevention of conflicts”. To the East and South of Europe. According to Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, head of the Greek-Catholic Church of the Ukraine, his country, “free for twelve years but still devoid of genuine democracy and the free market”, especially expects “understanding” from Europe for the sufferings it has undergone, but also “aid” to help “a people that no longer wants to be considered a victim without a future rediscover its personal dignity”. The need to “revive euromediterranean cooperation, inaugurated with the Barcelona process”, to promote, above all, “peace and stability, as well as democracy and human rights”, was reaffirmed in turn by Bichara Khader, director of the Studies and Research Centre on the contemporary Arab world of the Catholic University of Louvain. “We are witnessing timid political reforms in some Arab countries, but elsewhere – says Khader – authoritarian regimes continue to fetter the political systems”. “The Union – he concludes – must help civil societies, without paternalism or arrogance, to fill their rightful place in the Mediterranean area” and to “promote democracy and human rights”. Church and society. Following enlargement to a 25-member Europe, the Orthodox presence will become more significant within the EU, but this, according to Thomas Bremer, professor of ecumenical theology at the Faculty of Catholic Theology of the University of Munster, will not pose a problem. On the contrary: “The relations between the Churches may have a positive influence on the evolution of societies in the new countries”, he declares, citing the example of the good relations established in recent years between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches of Serbia. “Ecumenical relations may help to facilitate the political and social processes by fostering, among other things, a greater understanding of other Churches”. To this end, however, we must first overcome mistrust in public opinion by “promoting mutual understanding between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches” through “exchanges and twinning between parishes, and through inter-university, humanitarian and social cooperation”.