Human rights, ” “pillar of “foreign affairs”

After the European elections of May 22-25 followed by several European summits held during the summer, decisions on the key roles in European institutions have been finally taken. Martin Schulz was elected president of the European Parliament for another two and a half years mandate. Despite some discussions, European Council and Parliament confirmed Jean-Claude Juncker at the helm of the EU Commission. He will take office on November 1st for a five-year mandate. At the special European summit of August 30 Italian Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini was proposed as the new representative of the EU and Vice-President of the Commission, awaiting Parliament approval, while Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk will succeed Herman Van Rompuy in his capacities as European Council president. It was important to proceed rapidly with the appointments as a sign of Europeans’ determination and capacity-response before the ongoing crisis. Isis advance in northern Iraq, the war in Ukraine, the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, the bloody conflicts in Libya, the Ebola epidemics in Western Africa signal increasing global stress. The world is in bad conditions, and Europe is seen as a pole of stability. However, European responsibility should not be exerted by Foreign ministers and by the heads of government of large EU Member countries alone. The world needs the common, choral contribution of the EU. That’s why further delays in candidacies for key positions would have been a negative signal thereby fuelling the suspicion that Europeans are incapable of grasping the gravity of the situation. Moreover, the European Union can no longer afford the luxury of a quasi-static introspection for the next institutional cycle. The second mandate of José Manuel Barroso was basically devoted to the commitment of handling the difficulties of euro zone countries that broke out in 2009, caused by the debt crisis of a number of Member countries and by the consequences of the international financial crisis on European economies. This is bound to remain a yet untangled knot for the Juncker Commission: recent surveys show that the economic crisis is not behind us. However, Donald Tusks’ external action and the commitment of Federica Mogherini are bound to gain greater public and media attention compared to their predecessors. As EU Foreign Policy makes a fresh start the Church has a special interest in policies on human rights, which should be a pillar of EU external action, today more than ever before. The “Community Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy” published in 2012 features hundreds of initiatives aimed at stepping up the promotion of human rights in the world and handling European politics to this regard with greater coherence. This action plan will expire at the end of 2014. It’s a strategic challenge for the new High Representative and thus for the development of a new action plan. It should place greater emphasis on the promotion of freedom of conscience and religion. The involvement of the Churches and their representatives in Brussels is envisaged in accordance with article 17 of the Treaty on the functioning of the Union, with art. 70 of the EU Directive on Freedom of Religion and Worship. Finally, the successor of the special representative of the EU for human rights Stavros Lambrinidis, whose mandate expired June 30, should be particularly sensitive about this theme.