Redazione

European trades-unions are on the warpath. A demonstration is being promoted by the Trades Unions European Confederation (TUEC) in Brussels on 19 March to voice opposition to plans for the reform of the Lisbon Agenda. The President of the Commission José Manuel Barroso had announced a watering down of the strategy of the Union to […]

Negotiations for the reform of the Stability and Growth Pact have been resumed in recent days. The Pact was signed by the governments of member states to give stability to the single currency, control inflation and national public accounts. The issue is being examined by the economic and financial ministers (ECOFIN) and by the Commission’s […]

european union" "

The areas of commitment of the Union that emerge from the 2005 budget are many and wide-ranging. An examination of them is useful for understanding in what sectors the Twenty-Five are investing. Meanwhile the debate, already begun by the Commission to define the EU financial prospects for the period 2007-2013, continues. THE TWO “BUDGETARY AUTHORITIES”. […]

secularism " "

Establishing relations of mutual trust between Church and State cannot but have “positive effects” for the life of a country. The task is therefore that of putting in place a “legitimate and healthy form of secularism”. “Instead of adopting an antagonistic role, the social forces should always be at the service of the population living […]

bioethics " "

Reports coming out of Holland on the euthanasia practised on newborn infants with grave pathologies are giving rise to debate. On this question, the Italian National Council for Bioethics signed a motion, in its plenary session on 28 January, to “re-affirm some fundamental bioethical principles”. HOLLAND: HOPE AND SUFFERING. 22 cases of active euthanasia practised […]

lent (2)" "

Ash Wednesday marked the beginning of Lent, during which all the churches are engaged in various activities, a large part of which are aimed at helping modern man to rediscover the value of prayer, renunciation and sharing (see our previous feature in SirEurope 10/2005 on old.agensir.it). We continue our review of the various proposals. SpaIN: […]

The difficulty of relations between State and Church is one of the issues tackled by Bishop Josef Homeyer, president of the Commission of the Episcopates of the European Community (COMECE), in an interview granted to the new Hungarian Catholic portal “Magyar Kurir” (“Hungarian Courier” ), on the website www.kereszteny.hu/kurir. The portal provides news and analyses […]

“Aid for Eastern Europe” is the name of a fund-raising campaign being run by Caritas Austria to alleviate the dramatic situation of poverty in some former Communist countries of Eastern Europe, including Bulgaria and Moldavia. The campaign, which will continue through February, was presented in Vienna on 9 February with a press conference with the […]

In view of the forthcoming referendum on the European Constitution due to be held in Spain on 20 February, the Spanish bishops have expressed their position in a statement, issued on the conclusion of the meeting of the permanent Council held in Madrid in recent days. The bishops believe that is “morally necessary to work […]

front page" "

When the present European Union took its first steps, it was the first President of the Commission, the Christian Democrat Hallstein, who said that the construction of Europe could be compared to a three-stage space missile. The first stage was the customs union and the realization of the single market, which were then launched but […]