21 October 2011
Eytan Reif of Initiative Religion ist Privatsache in Austria has informed us of a new case about crucifixes and other religious practices in kindergartens that it is hoped will partially counter the effect of Lautsi v Italy. He writes: A new complaint to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) was filed a short while ago in a new attempt not only to free Austrian public kindergartens of crosses or crucifixes but also to put… read more »
2 October 2011
Remus Cernea of the Asociaţia Umanistă Română informs us of a new case from Romania to the European Court of Human Rights regarding religious symbols in schools (case number 54529/09, Moise (3) c/Romania). He writes that it is quite different from the Lautsi case for at least three reasons: – the Lautsi case was lost in the Italian courts, whereas the Moise case was successful in the Romanian National Council for Combating Discrimination. The… read more »
15 September 2011
The OSCE held a meeting on combating hate crimes against Christians in Rome on 12 September 2011. Vera Pegna represented the EHF and reports: There were a couple of hundred delegates, mostly Catholic bishops, archbishops, but also representatives of other Christian religions, and Jews and Moslems and a number of ambassadors to the Holy See and government representatives. Plus a number of NGOs, mostly Catholic. The first half of the morning went by with… read more »
3 August 2011
The churches’ determination to exert influence over the European Union and its member states dates from long before the debate of the last few years over a constitution for Europe. Stage One In March 1996, during the preparation of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) in Turin, a note was given to the ambassadors of EU countries accredited to the State of the Holy See. It said: The Holy See declares that the following objectives should be… read more »
17 April 2011
Below is a diary of our dealings with the Commission in reverse chronological order. Other relevant links are with: the Bureau of European Policy Advisors the EU Group of Advisers on the Ethical Implications of Biotechnology (GAEIB) ‘A Soul for Europe’ November 2011: Non-Confessional “Summit Meeting” The third annual “summit” meeting of “philosophical and non-confessional” organisations with the three EU Presidents under Article 17 is reported here. November 2011: Response on Research Policy EHF responded to… read more »
17 January 2011
1997 The EHF’s campaign against Article 17* of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (as prospectivly amended by the 2007 Lisbon Treaty) goes back to the preparation of the Amsterdam Intergovernmental Conference in 1997 which first adopted the discriminatory arrangements in favour of the churches that are now enshrined by the Lisbon Treaty. When the EU proposed its Charter of Fundamental Rights we stressed the right to have, change or reject religious… read more »
The Story of “Article 17″ This is the story of the origins of the special treatment of religion and the churches in EU treaties, culminating in the obligation for the EU to engage in a regular dialogue with religious and non-confessional organisations. It is the story of the churches’ campaign for these privileges and of the EHF’s long but unsuccessful campaign of opposition. A detailed critique of Article 17 and the way it works was… read more »
EHF and the European Union Most countries in Europe are members of the European Union and its decisions are increasingly important in our lives. The EHF is uniquely placed to represent humanists and secularists in its institutions and we give this work a high priority. Opposing Special Rights for Churches in the EU Under the controversial Article 17* of the Treaty on the Functoning of the European Union as amended by the Lisbon Treaty of… read more »
7 May 2010
EHF President David Pollock took part in an international conference on Religious Freedom in Democratic Societies in Cordoba on 3-4 May 2010. The conference was run by the EU Council’s current Spanish Presidency and the UN Alliance of Civilisations. About 200 people from across Europe took part – academics, religious figures, politicians, diplomats and people from a variety of NGOs. David Pollock reports: This was a rich occasion, impossible to summarise save to say that… read more »
30 September 2009
Pierre-Arnaud Perrouty, David Pollock, Vera Pegna and Staffan Gunnarson outside the conference hotel The EHF held a side meeting at which David Pollock explored the limits that need to be placed on legal recognition of conscientious objections to legal obligations and duties – see his paper and a brief intervention he made in the plenary session on religion or belief. Vera Pegna spoke in the session on rule of law about the relevant principles and… read more »