Three major questions

The December issue of “Europe Infos” is online, with an op-ed by Frank Turner SJ (OCIPE) on the recent G20 meeting in Cannes. In addition to the articles summarized below, the issue reports on the introduction of the Financial Transaction Tax proposed by the Commission at the end of September; on the difficulties affecting the food distribution program for those in need, ongoing since 1987; on the Commission’s negative evaluation of current enlargement processes; on the situation in Egypt. Research and Bioethics. According to José Ramos-Ascensão (Legal Adviser of COMECE) , the final decision on the Brüstle case, issued on October 18 by the European Court of Justice, is “a milestone in the legal protection of the human embryo as well as a sign of hope for all European patients”. “The interpretation that inventions related to human embryonic stem cells (HESC) are not patentable challenges, however, powerful economic interests”. The European Court set out the broadest definition possible of a human embryo, and the one that better fits the current scientific data. No stage of development of the human being is put aside, starting from the very beginning: “any human ovum after fertilization” is already a human embryo, and also the product of cloning, thus avoiding discrimination “against certain unborn human beings to whom recognition of human dignity and, thus, legal protection, is refused. Ascensão said that the ECJ ruled that research itself is not thereby prohibited, only its commercial exploitation. This means that research on alternative sources of stem cells – adult, umbilical cord blood or induced pluripotent -that do not entail ethical problems but offer equally positive clinical results will likely be fostered with new resources being channelled to it.Schengen: a success that needs to be promoted. “The Schengen zone is for European citizens one of the strongest visible symbols of the EU common project, entailing more than a billon journeys within the EU every year, writes José Luis Bazán (Legal Adviser of COMECE). While the absence of border controls is the most significant element, Schengen entails also a common visa policy, police and judicial cooperation, common rules on the return of irregular migrants and the establishment of common data-bases such as the Schengen Information System (SIS). Article 23 of the Schengen Borders Code provides for internal border controls, but such provision triggered a crisis between France and Italy past spring, after the decision of the Italian authorities to issue Schengen travel permits to thousands of Tunisians (and Libyans) going to France. Moreover, Bazán explained, “the Commission’s proposal of September 16 don’t help solve the crisis”, since it transfers the power of Member States to the European Commission, which does not comply with European legislation, which stipulates that “the rules in force allow national authorities to reintroduce border controls in case of a serious threat to public policy or internal security. Member States should not use Schengen unduly as an instrument for solving certain particular domestic problems, or as a response to bilateral tensions”.The tragedy of refugees in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Syria is planning to host over one million Iraqi and Jordanian refugees, in addition to the three million Palestinians living in camps in the region for decades, and 8,000 refugees of other nationalities (Somalis, Afghans, etc.). And since neither Jordan, nor Syria, nor Lebanon are signatories to the Convention of 28 July 1951 relating to the status of refugees, the refugees are denied all rights and are therefore very vulnerable, explains Anne Ziegler, project coordinator at the St Vartan Centre (Jesuit Refugee Service) at Aleppo in Syria. Only a very small part are registered with the High Commission for Refugees (HCR), and only when their conditions are desperate. “At the St Vartan centre of the Jesuit Refugee Service in Aleppo, in Syria, we find that refugees are becoming increasingly desperate and their situation is deteriorating. They were teachers, computer engineers, pilots and traders. Here they come to the Centre to find clothing or some form of heating. Some of them stop the training or schooling offered to children because they simply cannot afford to pay for urban transport. Many children do not go to school as in many instances they are more likely to find work than adults. Prostitution and domestic violence are on the increase”. Since the beginning of the recent events in Syria, Iraqis now live in fear of seeing history repeat itself, and having to flee again. “But where can they go?”. Protecting victims of crime. Alessandro Calcagno (COMECE Office) presents an analysis of the EU’s legislative proposal for the protection of the rights of the victims of crime, which are estimated to amount to up to 15% of the European Union’s population. The proposal “is a strong and positive signal of acknowledgment of the need to protect the human dignity of victims of crime without any hesitation”, in the context of European societies and judiciary systems that quite often seem to show an excessive degree of protectiveness towards the position of law offenders, neglecting those who fall victim to their actions”.