Growing in cohesion

The summer issue (July-August) of the review Europe Infos, the monthly by COMECE (Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community) in conjunction with the Jesuit European Office (OCIPE) presents an op-ed by Piotr Mazurkiewicz on the theme of religious freedom (which opens SIR Europe n.53), with briefings on the mid-term passing of the baton from the Spanish to the Belgian EU Presidency and reports on June’s European Council. Follow the reports on the achievements of the “Europe 2030” working group, the action plan on the Stockholm Programme and the EU-Latin America summit held past May. The COMECE report for combating discrimination closes the issue. Europe 2030. The Reflection Group set up in 2007 by the EU Council, chaired by Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalès, was tasked with addressing the theme of the EU borders. Past May 9 the group presented “Project Europe 2030, challenges and opportunities” (www.reflectiongroup.eu/2010/06/16/project-europe-2030-translations). “The report – syntheses Marion-Valérie Grasset, from the COMECE secretariat, is voicing an important appeal: Europe needs solid economic growth and internal cohesion in order to continue being a political and economic actor in the international scenario”. Climate change is a major challenge identified in the report, which requires further research. As relates to internal security, given that the EU needs immigration, it is essential to enhance control measures. External security is another major challenge, which envisages the creation of a European army and cross-border police cooperation. Moreover, owing to population ageing, pension systems should be adapted to the employment of older workers. Although the June European Council welcomed the report, according to Grasset “the group was lacking clear procedural structure and the reunions were held behind closed doors”, while it is necessary to bring Europe closer to its citizens “by democratizing the debate on Europe”. There remains the merit of having clearly denounced the risk of Europe’s political and economic marginalization on the international scene within 2030 and the defect of not having delved into a series of “seducing intuitions” contained in the report. The attention of the Churches. In December 2009 the European Council adopted the Stockholm programme which identifies key-areas in the definition of “a European space of freedom, security and justice for the coming five years”, said legal expert Joanna Lopatowska. Past April the Commission published the “Action plan” which concretizes the political guidelines and legislative proposals pertaining to various fields envisaged by the Programme. The EU’s target is also “‘Advancing people’s Europe’, ensuring that citizens can exercise their rights and fully benefit from European integration. The needs of those in vulnerable situations are of particular concern (women and children, including domestic violence and to fight all forms of discrimination, including racism and xenophobia), states the Commission, which wishes to facilitate citizens’ mobility and step up cooperation in the area of criminal justice (like increasing protection to victims of crime and terrorism) and strengthening trust in European judiciary through the principle of mutual recognition to judgements and non-judicial rulings. Other areas of intervention include increasing personal data protection, helping businesses in cross-border transactions, and enforcing consumers’ rights. These blueprints put the human person at the centre and refer to fundamental values. “This should encourage the Churches to positively acknowledge the proposed policies and follow them closely and actively”, regardless of the complex technicalities of the proposals, said Lopatowska.Immigration. The Stockholm programme addresses, among other things, the themes of migration and asylum. Alessandro Calcagno, expert in questions linked to immigration, explained that there are no surprises as relates to legal migration, while according to the action plan the target is a sort of “immigration code”, namely, the “re-organization of existing legislation”. The directive on family reunification is also due to undergo debate with the Churches’ contribution. It will be equally necessary to closely follow the legislative proposal on an arrival/departure system, in view of its possible repercussions on the respect of fundamental rights. The Churches are also called to closely follow the debates on asylum policies (with due attention to refugees from persecuted religious minority groups). “Only in 2014 – Calcagno points out – will it be possible to jointly address asylum requests in the EU and mutually recognize the decisions taken in this field”. “Migration and asylum are only some of the themes of the action plan which implements the Stockholm programme”, Calcagno explains. The Commission document, due to impact policies and legislation over the next five years, could have been marked by “greater audacity”. It will be necessary also to clarify the relationship between the action plan and the related programme. In short, writes Calcagno, “a more constructive interaction among EU institutions is strongly advocated”.