Substantiating an idea

“With the present statement of the Bishops of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community (COMECE), offers a commentary on the concept of “a highly competitive social market economy. This concept has become one of the treaty objectives of the European Union since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty”, writes COMECE president bishop Adrianus van Luyn in the foreword of the document titled “A European community of solidarity and responsibility”, presented in Brussels past January 12. “As a formulation, the concept of the social market economy is used most often in German-speaking countries, but it has also entered the constitutional traditions of other EU States, such as Poland. Now it has become a legal concept that is firmly anchored in the European treaties. However, it still needs to be fleshed out and made concrete”.The genesis of the document. Adopted by the plenary Assembly of the end of October 2011, the document stems from the work and the reflection of COMECE’s Social Affairs Commission chaired by Cardinal Reinhard Marx in conjunction with the Social Sciences centre of the German Bishops’ Conference in Mönchengladbach. “The roots of the term “social market economy” are found in Europe’s philosophical, religious, and, in particular, Christian heritage. It therefore seemed to us appropriate and legitimate to speak out on this matter from our perspective, even if we ought to acknowledge openly that we are not experts on many of the questions raised”, continues the bishop emeritus of Rotterdam. A contribution to the debate. “The Catholic Bishops are monitoring the European unification process, feel closely bound to the work of European unification. The significance of this work needs, however, to be communicated afresh to Europe’s citizens today. We are firmly convinced that the concept of a social market economy can be of great help in this respect. This concept calls for equal balancing of the principles of freedom and solidarity. It stands for respecting the value of all human beings and affording particular protection to those who are weakest”. Bishop Van Luyn thus hopes to provide his contribution “Within the framework and boundaries of our specific mandate”, “to work alongside the European Union as it develops into a genuine community of solidarity and responsibility, which also lives up to its global obligations”. The introduction to the document also states that “The current crisis in the Eurozone, and the structural weaknesses and imbalances in the European Union as a whole, underline the urgent need for debate on how the goal of a European social market economy can be achieved and what institutional form it should assume”. And although “We are perfectly aware that the Church has no technical solutions or any political or economic model to put forward, given the fact that the Church really does live amongst ordinary people, it also shares in their day-to-day worries and hardships”, “considering the question of the probable impact of the future economic and social set-up in Europe on the lives of people both inside and outside the EU, we see it as our duty to comment on this important matter in our capacity as European bishops”.