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European Integration and European InstitutionsEuropean Integration and European Institutions

In the Charta Oecumenica of 2001, European churches committed themselves to support the integration of the European continent: “On the basis of our Christian faith, we work towards a humane, socially conscious Europe, in which human rights and the basic values of peace, justice, freedom, tolerance, participation and solidarity prevail”. 


CSC fosters reflection on the process of European integration and the enlargement of the European Union. Very concretely, it has, inter alia, issued a statement concerning the EU membership of Turkey and taken an active part in the Treaty Reform process which led to the adoption of a new legal basis for the Union, the Treaty of Lisbon. 

Besides maintaining a dialogue on the future of Europe among the CEC member churches, CSC supports the involvement of individual member churches in European affairs. It, for instance, encourages and enables churches to engage in the EU Presidencies of their respective countries. 

For more information on this issue please contact Rev. Dr Peter Pavlovic.

 

European Integration - Work in Progress

European Integration - Work in Progress
English -  Hungarian


Institutional Development of the European Union

CSC took an active part in the Treaty Reform debate from its inception. CSC advocated for the strengthening of human rights, the social dimension of the European Union and for improved participatory democracy. In addition, the churches attached great importance in the definition of EU's values and objectives. 

CSC-COMECE proposal for the implementation of Article 17 on the "open, transparent and regular dialogue" between churches and religious communities and the EU institutions - April 2010


Institutional Development of the European Union

CSC Report on the Treaty of Lisbon - December 2009
The entry into force on 1 December 2009 concluded an eight-year long process towards a new legal foundation for the European Union (EU). According to CSC, the Lisbon Treaty will enhance possibilities to strengthen human rights and the social dimension of the European Union and will foster participatory democracy. For the churches, this culminates in the legal basis for an open, transparent and regular dialogue between the EU institutions and churches and religious communities.

CSC issued numerous reports on the development of the Treaty Reform process. Here below are just two of the interim reports. More can be read in the Europe Updates and in their attachments.

Report on the Treaty Reform - July 2007
The European Council held on 21-22 June 2007 managed to reach an agreement on the main questions which have divided the EU Member States throughout the debate on the treaty reform (constitutional debate). The hard work of the German EU Presidency paid off and it was able to hand over the Presidency to Portugal with a very detailed and precise mandate for the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC)...

Report on the Constitutional Debate - March 2007
Background: In October 2004, the EU countries signed a Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE)1. The text, which was to replace the existing treaties, was an outcome of a three-year development. Its draft had been elaborated by the European Convention and amended during the Intergovernmental Conference....

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Churches and the EU Presidencies (this section is still under construction)

Statement of the Swedish Churches at the end of the Swedish EU Presidency - February 2010


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Europe of Regions

CSC-CPCE-COMECE proposal for the first EU Strategy on Danube Region - April 2010


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European Year of Volunteering 2011

CSC Briefing on the European Year of Volunteering 2011


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Value dimension of the European Integration

Values - Religion - Identity: A project organised by the Church & Society Commission of the Conference of European Churches with partners. Brussels, December 2006; London, March 2007

Recent developments in the European Union have drawn increasing attention to the role of values in determining the Union’s policies and their link to people’s identities. On a number of occasions, the EU has been repeatedly introduced as a value project. Values linked to the EU construction and their connection with a broader understanding of the whole continent and its history are the subject of concerns and in-depth studies. Themes of values and identity are increasingly on the agenda of debates related to the future of Europe. Churches and religions are expected to play a prominent role in this discourse. The project Values – Religion – Identity is a contribution to this discussion...

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