14 June 2013
The European Parliament adopted on Thursday 13 June 2013 a Recommendation on the draft EU Guidelines on the Promotion and Protection of Freedom of Religion or Belief prepared by the European External Action Service. The European Humanist Federation welcomes the explicit mention of need to protect the rights of non-believers and the recommendation to oppose any attempt to criminalise freedom of expression on religious grounds. EHF further welcomes the amendments adopted during the plenary which… read more »
19 March 2013
European institutions keep astonishingly silent to the worsening of the political situation in Hungary. Sonja Eggerickx, President of the International Humanist and Ethical Union and Pierre Galand, President of the European Humanist Federation addressed EU Presidents (Mr Barroso, Mr Schulz and Mr Van Rompuy) in an open letter. “Dear Presidents, As humanists, we want to express our deep concerns on Hungary’s new breach on democracy and to call for a… read more »
22 November 2012
On 14 November 2012, the European Parliament President met several representatives of churches and non-confessional organizations, including the European Humanist Federation (EHF) and the Belgian Centre d’Action Laïque (CAL) for a dialogue meeting on “intergenerational solidarity”. This meeting took place within the framework of Article 17 of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which provides an open, regular and transparent dialogue between the EU institutions, churches, religious communities and non-confessional organizations…. read more »
12 November 2012
“Tonio Borg is not suitable to be the next EU Health Commissioner” Civil society organisations are calling on the European Parliament to reject the nomination of Tonio Borg as the next EU Health Commissioner and on EU Commission President Barroso to withdraw the nomination of Tonio Borg. On 13 November 2012, the European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety will be questioning Tonio Borg, Malta’s new nominee for the post of… read more »
5 October 2012
On September 25, EHF past President David Pollock addressed the European Parliament Platform for Secularism in Politics (EPPSP) chaired by Sophie In’t Veld (MEP) on the influence of religious and secular lobbies in the EU. Read David Pollock’s talk
19 September 2012
On 18 September, the European Parliament’s Committee on legal affairs adopted its opinion on Horizon 2020 and called the European Union to stop funding research involving the destruction of human embryos and research using human embryonic stem cells for 2014-2020. These MEPs justify their position by relying extensively on the 2011 “Oliver Brüstle v. Greenpeace” decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) which ruled that patent protection for inventions based on… read more »
1 December 2011
On 30 November 2011, President Buzek invited the non-confessional organisations to a meeting in the European Parliament to discuss its implementation of the Article 17 dialogue. This took place after the Article 17 “summit” with the three EU Presidents, reported here. Unfortunately the President was unable to attend until the last minute or two (he had to preside at a plenary session of the Parliament which also drew away for much of the time the three… read more »
The third annual “summit” meeting of “philosophical and non-confessional” organisations with the three EU Presidents under Article 17 was held on November 30. The press conference: Presidents Buzek, Barroso and van Rompuy. David Pollock is between the first two; Pierre Galand at the extreme right. David Pollock took advantage of it to expose the dissatisfaction of the humanist and secularist movement with the way the Commission is implementing the dialogue under Article 17. The EHF… read more »
[Français] [Deutsch] [Italiano] On the occasion of the World Aids Day, 1 December 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution about the EU’s work to fight against AIDS in the European Union and its neighbouring countries. This resolution defines the position of all political groups in the EP. The text underlines the necessity of strengthening EU and member states’ action to fight against HIV, by increasing access to exhaustive information, testing and efficient protection and… read more »
15 August 2011
At the IHEU Congress in Oslo in August 2011 two people with EHF connections were honoured with awards. Sophie in’t Veld MEP, the founder and chair of the European Parliament Platform for Secularism in Politics, was given the 2011 International Humanist Award. IHEU president Sonja Eggerickx said: The award goes to a Parliamentarian who works tirelessly for the cause of secularism in Europe. A medievalist by training, a linguist with six languages to call on,… read more »