EU-Churches annual meeting on the future of the Church “Putting citizens at the heart of Europe in times of change'” is the theme of the annual meeting between community institutions and religious leaders in EU Countries, scheduled to take place May 30. In the framework of the European year for Citizenship 2013, organizers decided to focus on the role of citizens and civil society, encompassing religious confessions. The meeting will address also the upcoming elections for the renewal of the European Parliament, due to be held next year (May 22-25 2014). The encounter is enshrined into primary law by the Lisbon Treaty art. 17, which envisages “open, transparent and regular dialogue” between the European Commission and the Churches in Europe. The President of the Executive José Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, and the vice-President of the Parliament in Strasburg, László Surján will attend the event held in the Berlaymont building, seat of the EU Commission in Brussels along with over twenty Christian, Jewish, Islamic and Hindu religious leaders.Threats and stalking: protection for citizens A European law “covering threats to people’s physical and psychological integrity”, including threats to personal liberty, security and sexual integrity”: in the plenary of May 20-23 the European Parliament approved with a large majority vote an EU Regulation to protect citizens from harassment, personal psychological and physical violence, and stalking, ensuring cross-border protection to victims. The regulation complements the European Protection Order (EPO) Directive on criminal matters. “We must make applying for protection more straightforward for victims, so that they are protected whenever they travel or move to another member state” said Antonyia Parvanova (ALDE, BG), Parliament’s co-rapporteur on the civil law protection regulation (that will apply as of 11 January 2015 after formal approval by the Council of Ministers. Co-rapporteur Antonio López- Istúriz (EPP, ES) said: “We want to make sure that any victim of crime can get protection and still move freely throughout the EU. This will allow us to strengthen the area of freedom, security and justice in the union. I am proud that we can offer better and safer future, especially to women and children”. The regulation, to apply directly in all member states, “will ensure that protection granted in one is maintained when the victim moves or travels to another. It will also simplify the application procedure for protection” by removing all today’s intermediate formalities. During the same session, the Parliament took other measures and expressed itself politically on tax evasion, banking supervision, the situation in Syria and the Middle East, media freedom, sustainability of pension systems, trade negotiations with the United States.Ombudsman: “Step up transparency” “In the past ten years, the EU administration has become a lot more transparent, citizen-friendly, and service-minded. There is always room for improvement, especially when it comes to enhancing the capacity of the EU institutions and bodies to be proactive in promoting a culture of service” towards European citizens. Nikoforos Diamandouros, European Ombudsman, drew a balance of his ten years of office. The Greek jurist will retire next October, thus the European Parliament, tasked with the appointment of his successor, has started the procedures to this regard (the voting session is scheduled for next July). Diamandouros shared the figures of his investigations into complaints about maladministration in the EU filed by citizens. “In 2012 alone, we received 2 442 complaints (2510 in 2011) and opened a record number of 465 inquiries (396 in 2011). Most of the 2012 inquiries were about lack of transparency (21.5%)” including refusal to release documents or information. Many complaints did not fall within his exclusive competence but in that of national mediators, to whom they were submitted. Other cases concerned problems with the execution of EU contracts or calls for tender, conflicts of interest, unfairness, delays, and discrimination. The Ombudsman received the greatest number of complaints from Spain (over 300), followed by Germany, Poland, and Belgium. In 80 cases the institutions concerned agreed to a friendly solution proposal or settled the matter.
