EU Review & Call to Prayer
(EURCP) - February, 2003
(By Praise &
Prayer Ministries International http://www.EUPrayer.com)
NEW
DRAFT EU CONSTITUTION SPECIAL
THE WORD [1 Timothy 2: 1 "Therefore I exhort
first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks
be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead
a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence."]
[The EURCP is a free report service, researched and prepared by Hugh and Norma
Jenson Davis, and sent to those interested in prayer for the relationship of
Christians with the European Union. The EURCP does not endorse these articles
but only provides them as important information for your prayer and motivation]
[Please note that although the reports in the EUReview & Call to Prayer are
selected with care, EURCP cannot be held responsible for any incorrectness in
these reports. Visions, opinions and prophetic insights are entirely the
authors' own views. The source of these articles are fully identified and
credited and web page location noted]
Below is an index to EURCP articles for
PRAYER with suggestions included.
(At the end of this report there are guidelines on how to pray effectively)
VALÉRY GISCARD D'ESTAING SPEECH ON
2/11/2003 AT THE USA LIBRARY OF CONGRESS FOR THE KISSENGER SPEAKER SERIES – “The Preparation of the European Constitution" [THE
FIRST DRAFT TO BE COMPLETED IN FERUARY 2003]
[Read and ask God
how to pray and to uplift Believers at the convention]
POPE RENEWS
APPEAL FOR EU CONSTITUTION CHRISTIAN HERITAGE RECOGNITION
[Pray that this
EU constitution gives God the respect that He wants in the new Europe]
3 THINGS
THE CHURCH (VATICAN) HOPES TO SEE IN A EUROPEAN CONSTITUTION
[Pray these proposals and talk to your pastor and MEP]
ANGER OVER FIRST
PARTIAL DRAFT OF FUTURE EU CONSTITUTION - A detailed report
[Pray that the
delegates that know God will pray for guidance, you pray for them and the rest]
CONVENTION NEEDS TO HURRY UP, SAYS
MEP HÄNSCH [FINALISING RELIGION ARTICLE OF CONSTITUTION SELECTED PORTIONS
INCLUDED]
[Pray that God will be sure that what He wants said will be said.
Declare it in faith]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How does the European Union affect you?
The EU is made up of three main bodies, the European Parlament, The Council of
the EU and The European Commission. The parliament is elected by the 15
nations' voters, the Council is selected by the 15 national governments, and
the commission is the Administration, implementing the legislation and policies
of the Parlament and the Council. The EU Convention is a special body created
in 2001 to have national representation to look at the future of the EU and
perhaps write a constitution for a more permanent government of Europe. Your
prayers and participation will shape that constitution. Will you Pray?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing speech on 2/11/2003 at the USA
library of congress for the Kissenger speaker series
EURCP's Hugh Davis attended this meeting and reports below what he thinks
are the highlights of the speech.
The speaker tells of his challenge to finish the first draft European Union
Constitution by the end of February 2003.
President d'Estaing, president of the
Convention on the future of Europe said (based upon rough notes which were
taken):
”Europe must rise to the crossroads to the new opportunity for
Europe":
”We are at the place you were in Philadelphia in the USA in 1787. The US was
then weak and bankrupt. The population was 3 million, plus 500,000 slaves, and
there were 100 English war ships in bay that were ready to hang the delegates
if they failed their effort. The delegates had to determine what role they
played in the world.
The EU has made tremendous strides in 20
years. We have had prosperity, Franco/German resolution and reconciliation, and
we have established single money in the EURO, at a rate above parity with the
dollar.
Philadelphia was a challenge to ten new states, and this is our kind of
challenge.
Europe has experienced an implosion of the Soviet Union and the explosion of
democracy. In Europe empires were built by force over part of Europe; now all
of Europe is coming together by consent.
The Convention for the Future of Europe
is to define our role in the world; how are we going to be a responsible global
player?
We have the same gross national product as the USA, the same values of human
rights - of obeying international law and becoming better partners to the US.
The job of rebuilding the EU is complex.
The European people do not trust the system we have now.
We were six countries with an economic union; we are now twenty-five nations
with greater unity in many areas.
Our government needs to be able make rapid decisions.
We must respect old national cultures but add simplicity and better democratic
processes.
Many factors apply in European nation
integration.
Franco/German size in population is 74% and 83% respectively of Europe GNP
8-16 nations have 19% of population; 11 nations have 17% of population
There is a wide dispersion of languages and cultures, but we must have one
person and one vote.
We must have equality between nations.
What will be the nature of union? Will
it be a federation or confederation?
The issue was not settled in the USA from 1785 to 1856 when it was settled by a
civil war.
That issue will not be settled by the EU soon.
Our big issues include type of federation, foreign affairs, defense policy,
justice process, and tax policy.
In the USA you have sovereign states who handle their internal affairs; your
federal union handles external affairs.
In Europe it is much the opposite. The
nations handle their external affairs and the European commission many of the
internal common affairs. Our system will be a mixed system for some time to
come.
We must keep a balanced system.
We must prepare a simple explanation of our constitution so that all Europeans
will understand their government and we must make it easily available for them
to read and learn.
The Convention has been listening to the European people from 2001 and now we
need to act.
We are defining who are our citizens and what their fundamental rights are, and
we have prepared the first 16 articles of our draft constitution.
We must finish this first work by the
end of February (2003)
The constitution will be submitted to each nation. We are confident we will
succeed.
George Washington is reported to have said, "I don't know if we will
succeed, but we will deserve it".
In answer to a question, The President said "New nations of Eastern
Europe will need guidance" and in answer to another question, he said,
"for all of us their must be a sense of loyalty, with all member nations
doing what is best for the whole not for their part." (End
of notes from speech.)
Pope Renews Appeal for EU Constitution
.c The Associated Press
VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope John Paul II
renewed his appeal Sunday for the future European constitution to cite the
continent's Christian heritage, saying such recognition would in no way
diminish the secular nature of the European Union.
``On the contrary, it will help guard the continent against the double risk of
ideological secularism, on the one hand, and sectarian integralism on the
other,'' the pope said in his weekly appearance in St. Peter's Square. His
appeal came a week after a panel drafting the constitution issued its first
drafts of articles on the EU's values, objectives and powers and on the
fundamental rights of EU nationals.
Absent from the drafts is any mention of
God - an issue that has already led to a contentious debate whether the EU's
first constitution should mention God by name and define European values as
including ``those who believe in God as the source of truth, justice, good and
beauty.'' The question of God and religion is highly contentious in Europe,
where nations have very different historical church-state relations. In his
comments Sunday, the pope cited two ninth-century saints, Cyril and Methodius,
who he said infused European culture with Christian and Byzantine influence.
``Precisely for this it has been asked that the future European Union
constitutional treaty not leave out this common patrimony of the East and the
West,'' he said. ``Such a reference would not take away from the just
secularness of the political structures.'' The European Convention is expected
to begin adding amendments and other changes to the drafts presented last week.
02/16/03
19:46 EST
Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news
report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed
without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active
hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
3 Things the Church Hopes to See in a European Constitution
According to Cardinal Sodano, Vatican Secretary of State
3 Things
the Church Hopes to See in a European Constitution
According to Cardinal Sodano, Vatican Secretary of State
http://www.zenit.org/english/ ZE03021803
VATICAN CITY, FEB. 18, 2003 (Zenit.org).- To ensure Europe's recognition
of religious groups, the Catholic Church would like to see three fundamental
points addressed in the continent's future Constitution, says the Vatican's
secretary of state. Above all, the Church requests "the
juridical recognition of churches and religious communities, entailing,
specifically, the right of each one to freely organize itself, in keeping with
its own statutes and objectives," said Cardinal Angelo Sodano,
secretary of state.
In the second place, Catholics
call for "the safeguarding of the specific identity of churches and
religious communities and, in virtue of the contribution that the latter make
to public life, to provide for structured dialogue between the Union and these
confessions," the cardinal continued. Lastly, the Church requests "respect,
on the part of the Union's legislation, of the
juridical status that religious confessions enjoy in virtue of the national
legislations of the member states," he added.
Cardinal Sodano outlined these requests in an interview today with the
Italian newspaper Avvenire. He added, though, that the possibility of including
the Christian heritage of Europe in the future constitutional treaty is not
"the most weighty aspect of our requests." "Yet, we consider it
important because it corresponds to an undeniable historical fact: The cultural
roots of European values are multiple, but Christianity has contributed to
forge the latter in a particular way," the cardinal clarified.
The Vatican
secretary of state quoted the results of research that reveal that 81% of the
citizens of the 15 EU member states and 10 applicant countries identify with a
Christian confession. "To exclude this factor would be like constructing
Europe without taking Europeans in due consideration," Cardinal Sodano
said. "It would contradict the principles of genuine pluralism and,
therefore, of a healthy democracy."
ZE03021803
Anger over first partial draft of future EU Constitution
Date: 07/02/2003 08:30 http://www.euractiv.com
In short:
The Praesidium of the Convention on the Future EU published the first sixteen
articles for a future EU Constitution on 6 February 2003. The proposed draft
met with angry reactions, as some Convention Members did not find back what
they had been discussing in the Convention's Working Groups.
Background:
The draft proposals presented on 6 February were written by the Convention's
13-member Praesidium as the basis for future discussions. The authors claim to
reflect the reports of the Working Groups on Legal Personality, the Charter,
Economic Governance, Complementary Competences, Subsidiarity and External
Action (for an overview of the results of the work in these Working Groups, see
our special Links Dossier).
Issues:
The 16 articles presented deal with three chapters (Titles I, II and III) of a
future Constitution: the definition, values and objectives of the Union,
fundamental rights and citizenship, and the Union's competences.
Key articles:
Article 1 deals with the definition of
the Union and expresses the dual dimension of a Union of States and peoples of
Europe: "Reflecting the will of the peoples and the States of Europe
to build a common future, this Constitution establishes a Union [entitled ...],
within which the policies of the Member States shall be coordinated, and which
shall administer certain common competences on a federal basis". The
Praesidium has carefully omitted to express a preference for a new name of the
Union (United Europe? United States of Europe?). Remarkable is the use of the
word "federal basis".
Article 2 expresses the Unions' values:
"The Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, liberty,
democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights, values which are
common to the Member States. Its aim is a society at peace, through the
practice of tolerance, justice and solidarity". This article could become
the basis for sanctioning a Member State when it breaches these values (see the
Haider government case in Austria). There is no reference to religion or God,
as some Member States and the Vatican had asked (although this could resurface
in the Preamble which still has to be written).
Article 3 defines the Union's objectives:
sustainable development based on a balance between economic growth, and competitiveness
on the one hand, and social objectives (cohesion, equality, eradication of
poverty and protection of children's rights) are central in the five paragraphs
of this article.
Article 4 gives the Union legal
personality. As such, it can claim a seat in the United Nations.
Article 5 states that the Charter of
Fundamental Rights shall become an integral part of the Constitution. This
could make the Charter legally enforceable in all Member States.
Article 7 opens the door to double
citizenship: that of the Union and of Member States, although the article
states that Union citizenship will be additional to national citizenship:
"it shall not replace it".
Articles 8 to 16 define the Union's
competences. They list four principles on which the Union's competences are
based: conferral, subsidiarity, proportionality and loyal cooperation. In the
application of these principles, the text grants specific importance to the
principle of subsidiarity. One paragraph of Article 10 reads: "In exercising
the Union's non-exclusive competences, the Institutions shall apply the
principle of subsidiarity as laid down in the Protocol on the application of
the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality annexed to the Constitution.
The procedure set out in the Protocol shall enable national parliaments to
ensure compliance with the principle of subsidiarity".
Article 11 defines the Union's
"exclusive competences": customs union, common commercial policy,
monetary policy for the Member States that have adopted the euro, conservation
of marine biological resources under the common fisheries policy; and, under
certain conditions, conclusion of international agreements.
Article 12 deals with the Union's "shared competences". It shares
responsibilities with Member States in the following areas: internal market,
area of freedom, security and justice, agriculture and fisheries, transport,
trans-European networks, energy, social policy, economic and social cohesion,
environment, public health and consumer protection. The scope of these
competences will be defined in Part Two of the draft Constitution.
Articles 13 and 14 will be controversial
as they deal with more coordination of economic policies and the common foreign
and security policy (CFSP).
Article 15 defines the areas where the
Union can take "coordinating, complementary or supporting action":
employment, industry, education, vocational training and youth, culture, sport
and protection against disasters.
Article 16 introduces a "flexibility clause" allowing the Union
to take action where no provisions are foreseen in the Treaty. The Article has
been carefully worded and action needs approval of the European Parliament and
needs to be in line with subsidiarity rules. Paragraph three of this article
also clearly states: "Provisions adopted on the basis of this Article may
not entail harmonisation of Member States' laws or regulations in cases where
the Constitution excludes such harmonisation".
Positions:
First reactions on the proposed sixteen articles were not too positive. UK
Convention representative, Peter Hain, stated that the outcome of several
Working Groups' discussions had not been reflected in the proposed text. The UK
will have clear objections against the use of the word "federal basis"
in Article 1. It also feels uncomfortable with the wordings of Article 13 and
14 on economic policy coordination and the CFSP.
Some delegates were upset about the
omission of any reference to God in the text on the Union's values. The
euro-sceptical Democracy Forum went much further. In a first reaction, MEP
Jens-Peter Bonde called the proposed draft a "one-way street to an
EU-state". Mr Bonde said "This track will lead us to a deeper level
of integration than in the United States".
Next Steps:
The members of the Convention have until Monday 17 February to present
amendments to the 16 articles.
The Convention will hold a full debate on the proposal in its next plenary
meeting on 27-28 February 2003.
The Convention should get the full text of all 50 main articles by April.
Links:
Official documents:
European Convention Praesidium: Draft of Articles 1 to 16 of the Constitutional
Treaty (6 February 2003)
http://european-convention.eu.int/docs/Treaty/cv00528.en03.pdf
European Convention Praesidium: Preliminary draft Constitutional Treaty (28
October 2002)
http://www.euractiv.com/cgi-bin/cgint.exe/3295575-484?714&1015=8&1014=EUROPEANCONVENTIONEUINTDOCSSESSPLEN00369EN2PDF
Press articles: (with web page reference)
The Independent,
http://www.euractiv.com/cgi-bin/cgint.exe/3295575-484?714&1015=8&1014=NEWSINDEPENDENTCOUKEUROPESTORYJSPSTORY376150
The Guardian,
http://www.euractiv.com/cgi-bin/cgint.exe/3295575-484?714&1015=8&1014=POLITICSGUARDIANCOUKEUSTORY0906189068300HTML
CONVENTION NEEDS TO
HURRY UP, SAYS HÄNSCH [RELIGION ARTICLE INCLUDED. SELECTED PORTIONS BELOW]
http://www.euobserver.com/index.phtml?aid=9202
30.01.2003 - 17:40 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - "The work of the Convention has to be accelerated and intensified," said presidium member Klaus Hänsch in an interview with the EUobserver. According to the German MEP (PSE), "additional meetings in both the plenary and the presidium" are needed. The competencies of the Union will not be changed says Mr Hänsch except in justice and home affairs where they will be extended to "reflect the Convention debate." Common foreign and security policy - not a Union competence - will be dealt with in a separate part.
[next selected portion of article]
On Religion
"As with all
good books, the introduction is written last," says Mr Hänsch deflecting
the question as to whether a reference to religion will be included in the
preamble. But he admitted there had been a debate in the presidium on the
matter adding that "as we have to find a consensus ... the end can only be
a compromise."
The main reference to
religion will be "on the same lines as the Fundamental Charter of Human
Rights."
The article in the
Charter states that "everyone has the right of freedom on thought,
conscience and religion. The right includes freedom to change religion or
belief, and freedom to ... manifest religion or belief in worship, teaching,
practice and observance."
Presentation of articles at next Convention session
Articles seven to 15 will be presented at the next plenary
session. These include articles on subsidiarity, economic co-ordination, shared
and exclusive competencies and the flexibility clause. If the presidium manage
to agree on the controversial values articles (numbers 1-6) - including
religion - these will also be presented at the session on 6-7 February. [this
report received 20 February]
Written by Honor Mahony, Edited by Andrew Beatty
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOW TO PRAY FOR THE EU
1. Know God is expecting you to ask so He can answer. Pray daily.
2. Know as much as you can about people and situations; tell God you know He
understands, but you are asking as He told you to do. Ask Him to enlighten you
as necessary.
3. Thank God that he will give the right answer to the issue at the right time.
4. Ask God to reveal Himself to as many in the EU as possible through witness
or revelation.
5. For those in rebellion against His Word, ask God to confuse these minds.
Don't name names because you may not know what you think you know. God does
know.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THE EU
1. Talk to your member of the European parliament or his staff person. Contact
by mail, email, and phone or in person. Ask him about the issues you care
about. If he agrees with you ask him how you can help organize support in your
community.
2. If he does not know the issues, find out who does agree with you and begin
to plan for a meeting to talk about it. Get a person in politics to come and
advise you how to approach the problem. You could ask the EEA office for
recommendations.
3. Pray and know the issues. What are the best arguments on both sides? Be
ready to explain your position to others. If God wants you to do something,
expect Him to help you. Do not lose your temper; love the people even if you
hate the wrong side of the issue. Satan is the problem. Try to persuade people
with your friendship and understanding when possible.
ASK EURCP: Do you have a question
about the EU and Christian concerns? Ask it. Email us - we'll find a good
response from a responsible person.
WEBSITES - EU
POLITICAL PARTY ALLIANCES
EPP-ED http://www.epp-ed.org/home/en/default.asp
EDD http://www.europarl.eu.int/edd/gbframeset.html
GUE/NGL http://www.europarl.eu.int/gue/tree/welcome/en/Default.htm
PSE http://www.socialistgroup.org/index.html
UEN http://www.europarl.eu.int/uen/fr/STRU/M_mani_fr.htm
Verts http://www.gis.net/~pldr/EUPP.html
ELDR http://eld.europarl.eu.int/Content/Default.asp?
EU Abbreviations
http://www.europarl.eu.int/uen/fr/STRU/M_mani_fr.htm
NEWS SOURCE WEB PAGES ON EU ISSUES (Get
knowledge directly)
http://www.euractiv.com/ (EurActiv)
http://www.euobserver.com/ (EU observer)
http://europa.eu.int/
(Europa EU official web pages)
http://www.theepc.be/
(European Policy Centre)
http://www2.echo.lu/
(I*M Europe Portal Page)
http://www.europe2020.org/ (Europe 2020)
PPmi
(Praise & Prayer Ministries International - Hugh & Norma Jenson Davis)
is conducting this multi-denominational ministry under the mission program of
the Assemblies of God Western Europe office outside of Brussels, Belgium. The
mailing address there is: EMC/EURCP (Gerald Branum.) 45 Chaussee de Waterloo,
1640 Rhode Saint Genese, BELGIUM
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