ONE OF US" "
MEP Peterle, Slovenian, motivates his support to the initiative ” “
His decade-long political experience led him – after the dissolution of Yugoslavia – to be elected MP, Minister and Prime Minister in his country, Slovenia. Alojz Peterle MEP since 2004, member of the group of the European People’s Party, is personally committed in the defense of human dignity and the protection of the embryo. To Sarah Numico for SIR Europe, he explains his adhesion to the initiative on a continental scale, aimed at protecting life since its inception.How did your adhesion to the citizens’ initiative “One of Us” come about? “In October 2011, during the plenary session of the European Assembly in Strasbourg, I publicly presented, together with the Slovak MEP Anna Zaborska, the pronouncement of the European Court of Justice on the case Oliver Brüstle vs Greenpeace. The message was clear: life begins at the moment of conception. On that occasion we also illustrated the ‘Articles of San Jose’, a 2011 document which elaborates the rights of the unborn person, illuminating the concept of human dignity”.Why was it necessary to resort to this tool to protect life, in your opinion? “With all my fellow Members of Parliament who supported the initiative ‘One of us’, we share a deep understanding of human dignity along with the importance of respecting human life. At a time when we discuss new Europe-wide research programs, which include discussion on the use of embryonic stem cells, the initiative has been a further step to increase the value, too often forgotten, of the respect of human dignity in relation to these matters. It is necessary to involve citizens in such an important debate. It is equally necessary to show other colleagues that joy for life is something that Europeans widely share. ‘One of us’ is an initiative that seeks to give top priority to the respect for human dignity in European programs. It should serve as a benchmark and guide for future action. It appears that often hindrance is caused by the debate for or against abortion. In fact, we should talk about life, the absolute importance of life, and the importance of respecting the human person from the moment of conception, since it respects the dignity of the individual”.What do you envisage will be the outcomes of the initiative “One of Us”? “During the Seventh Framework Programme we were able to obtain that at the very least new embryos shall not be created for research purposes. A mere act of lobbying by the Commission would not be enough, whereas the initiative should provide legitimate motivations in the debates in the European Council and subsequently in Parliament, prior to the launching of Horizon 2020 (the new EU program for the funding to research and ‘innovation programs, ed.’s note.) I hope that policy makers will value the message contained in this initiative, namely that Europe must follow the line of sustainable development, using a person-centered approach”.How is your country reacting to these themes?”In Slovenia, the discussions are still too polarized and deadlocked. Everything revolves around abortion. I witness a defensive approach on every front. There is very little dialogue and I may be repetitive, but ultimately, neither the person nor life, nor dignity seem to play a core role , critical to fruitful dialogue, so as to reach the point where we can truly understand each other and then discuss the essential issues. About the initiative ‘One of us’, many organizations and NGOs in Slovenia were committed in the promotion and collection of signatures. The goal is to reach 10 thousand signatures and I’m sure it will be done by November. I’m also planning an event in Slovenia for promoting life and the joy for life”. What is your message to European citizens?”It should be clear to citizens that with this initiative what we are asking for is that human embryos are banned from use in scientific experiments and research, to demand the respect of human life since the moment of conception and the respect of human dignity, according to the criteria that guided the European Court’s decision in the case of Oliver Brüstle vs. Greenpeace. We call upon our fellow citizens to support this initiative”.
