For active citizenship

An editorial on religious freedom as “a condition for peace” opens the latest issue of Europe Infos, the monthly newsletter of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conference of the European Union (COMECE) and of the Jesuit European Office (OCIPE). “It is not possible to compare the level of guarantee of religious freedom in the Near and Middle East with the situation in Europe”, writes father Piotr Mazurkiewicz, COMECE Secretary General, in the article. “Christians in Iraq can only hanker after the degree of religious freedom that exists in EU countries. But even here in the EU the situation is not ideal.” “Each limitation of religious freedom imposed on Christians is not necessarily a sign of bad faith”, remarks the Secretary General. “Sometimes, as in the case of the elimination of the Christmas holy days (now termed ‘end year holiday’) from the European Diary published by the European Commission, this appears to be the outcome of thoughtlessness or insufficient grounding in European culture on the part of the people directly responsible for this decision. Sometimes such an attitude is a side effect of a non-discrimination policy which has not been properly thought through and which, while attempting to protect some people, actually discriminates against others.” This month Europe Infos broaches several issues. We chose three. Divorces and legal separations. In December the Council of the European Union adopted Regulation n°. 1259/2010 implementing enhanced cooperation in the area of the law applicable to divorce and legal separation, the first piece of EU legislation ever to be adopted on the basis of an ‘enhanced cooperation’ in the field of civil law. The Regulation identifies uniform regulations in legislation on divorce or legal separation, ascribing ample space to the will of the stakeholders. It is the result of an ongoing effort commenced in 2006. Its field of action covers only the States that explicitly requested compliance to the regulation, 14 out of 27, namely Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, Austria, Portugal, Romania, and Slovenia. The Regulation – explains Alessandro Calcagno – establishes conflict-of-law rules allowing determination of which legislation applies to an international divorce or legal separation in cases where the provisions of more than one legal order could be applied. One of the main elements of the text is the fact of allowing spouses to designate the law applicable to their divorce or legal separation. According to the expert referred to by COMECE, “Despite good intentions and the efforts made to promote the positive impact of the new rules, the Regulation presents some debatable aspects that would have benefited from deeper reflection.” According to Calcagno, the priority given to the spouses’ autonomy in choosing the applicable law could create contradictions with the need for legal certainty and predictability and have a negative impact on the position of the weaker or less informed spouse. 2011, European Year of Voluntary Activities. According to the “Study on Volunteering in the European Union”, there are around 92 to 94 million adults involved in volunteering in the EU (near 23% of Europeans aged over 15 years). The Study highlights a positive correlation between education levels and the tendency to volunteer. Many voluntary activities and services involve the promotion of social cohesion, as well as social inclusion and integration. Even economically, volunteering represents the 1% to 2% of GDP in Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg and Spain, more than 2% of GDP in the UK, Finland and Denmark. “The strong social impact of volunteering and its benefits for active citizenship”, writes José Luis Bazan, “motivated the adoption by the Council of its Decision of 27 November 2009 on the European Year of Voluntary Activities Promoting Active Citizenship whose objectives funded with 8 millions of euros – will be: to enable environment for volunteering in the EU; to empower organizations of voluntary activities to improve their quality and to raise awareness of its value and importance”. OSCE Commitments to Freedom of Religion or Belief. “Religion seems to have an even more public dimension”, writes Joe Vella Gaucci. In addition, fast dissemination of information and the world’s increasing religious diversity have the potential to amplify discussions and debates and have repercussions throughout the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) area. “Although 35 years have passed since the Helsinki Final Act, freedom of religion or belief still remains a solid pillar of OSCE. Indeed, the OSCE participating States have consistently reaffirmed Principle VII of the 1975 Helsinki Final Act, which commits them to “recognizes and respect the right of the individual to profess and practice, alone and in community with others, religion or belief in accordance with the dictates of his own conscience”.