Conference of European Churches - Office of Communications

Press release No. 09-21/e

30 April 2009

European churches urge EU to give priority to people in the economic crisis

On 29 April representatives of the European churches met in the European Parliament with representatives of the European institutions to discuss EU’s economic and social policies in the ongoing economic crisis.

With regard to the forthcoming employment summit of the EU institutions, the churches urged the EU and its member states to come to a more strategic approach, looking into the root causes of the crisis. Rüdiger Noll, Director of the Church and Society Commission of the Conference of European Churches (CEC) explained: “It seems us that the current crisis calls into question a number of the assumptions which have underpinned the EU’s economic policies over the last decade, such as deregulation, the primacy of economic criteria in all areas of life and an overemphasis on profit and growth at all costs”.

In his address to the conference, EU Commissioner Vladimír Špidla, responsible for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, shared the analysis of the churches: “We are going through an unprecedented economic recession since World War II, and the consequences for our societies and economies are hard to predict.” Špidla stressed that the EU must use the crisis to promote its values like justice and solidarity in its relations with the wider world.

Evelyne Gebhardt, Member of the European Parliament (MEP), who hosted the Conference, emphasised the need to pay more attention to the social dimension of the economic crisis: “We badly need a social Europe where solidarity and freedom are priorities for the coming time. We need to have policies which bring citizens into the centre of our preoccupations, in the line with the philosophy that the economy is there for the citizens and not citizens for the economy”.

She was supported by Pervenche Beres, Chair of the Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary affairs. “This crisis is much more severe than the European governments are ready to accept. In this crisis we should stick to the European social model - this is our challenge. The main concern of the economic crisis is people. There is a need for more jobs, education, social and ecological investment if we want to change the world. We have to develop the model of a European social economy which is closer to people than the current share-holders democracy.”

Mr Michal Zabokrtsky, representative of the EU Czech Presidency, said concerning the social dimension of the Lisbon strategy that “only a strong European economy will be able to take care of the social needs of European citizens.” He also stressed the commitment of his government to come to a significant result in the employment summit which will take place in Prague on 7 May.

For the churches, Father Heikki Huttunen Secretary General of the Finnish Ecumenical Council, Ms. Elena Timofticiuc from the Ecumenical Association of Churches in Romania and Prof. Raoul Kneucker from the Lutheran Church in Austria raised questions about the guiding values of economic policies; they stressed that the Lisbon Treaty has respect for human dignity, justice and solidarity as key elements of EU’s value base. “The economic crisis clearly shows that an economy without values is very dangerous one. The European institutions have to translate their values into their policies.”

The representatives of the European institutions recognized the importance of a regular dialogue with the churches. The close connection of the Christian communities with the people across Europe makes them an important partner for sharing the experiences and aspirations of millions of people.

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The Conference of European Churches (CEC) is a fellowship of some 120 Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican and Old Catholic Churches from all countries of Europe, plus 40 associated organisations. CEC was founded in 1959. It has offices in Geneva, Brussels and Strasbourg.

The Church and Society Commission of CEC links member churches and associated organisations of CEC with the European Union’s institutions, the Council of Europe, the OSCE, NATO and the UN (on European matters). Its task is to help the churches study church and society questions from a theological and social-ethical perspective, especially those with a European dimension, and to represent common positions of the member churches in their relations with political institutions working in Europe.

For more information:
Ms Elizabeta Kitanovic
Church and Society Commission of CEC
Rue Joseph II, 174
B-1000 Bruxelles
Tel. +32 2 230 17 32
Fax +32 2 231 14 13
E-Mail: eki@cec-kek.be