” “"The wealth of Europe is the diversity of its cultures": Giorgio Salina, president of the newly-founded Association for the Fondazione Europa, takes his cue from the cultural and value-related issues to illustrate the aims "of this group, which brings together peoples and energies from different countries of the continent". The Christian-inspired association "will work adds the deputy president of the EU Parliament, Mario Mauro as a Christian lobby group, fighting for a democracy that defends and enhances human beings". The executive group of Fondazione Europa includes the French jurist Elizabeth Montfort and the French journalist Philippe de Saint Germain. The founding members include the Convenciòn de cristianos por Europa (Spain), its Polish counterpart "Christians for Europe", Cespas (Italy) and Association pour la fondation de service politique (France). Salina specifies: "All cultures must be respected, defended and promoted. But there’s no doubt the Christian culture must be respected, defended and promoted, as along with the Greek-Latin culture and partly the Islamic culture, the Enlightenment and the Marxist ones it is the one that has most contributed to make Europe what it is now". The association aims at urging the EU to "rediscover its basic values, relating to the Christian heritage" and to "stake them in the integration process".” ” ” “
