The EURCP -European Union Review & Call to Prayer- February 2007

The EURCP -European Union Review & Call to Prayer- February 2007

Calling Christians in Europe to pray...before it’s too late"... that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made... for kings and all who are in authority... “ (1 Tim. 2:1-2)

Newsletter publishers: Hugh & Norma Davis [Not directed by any other ministry] http://www.euprayer.com/

Support 14 prayer walls in Europe  Emmanuel Duvieusart, Pasteur fondateur, “Sentinelles De Priere”   email info@sentinelles.info 

http://ccea.sentinelles.free.fr/US/[Monthly in five other languages]

 

European Union 50th anniversary, in Berlin & in Rome –

March 24-25. 2007 http://europa.eu/50/index_en.htm

 

CONSTITUTION SPECIAL

PRAY for Chancellor Angela Merkel and her role as European Union President for the next months until 1 July 2007, and for Hans-Gert Pöttering, the new President of the European Parliament, as they consider the following, along with other leaders of Europe.:

-          should Europe proceed on the constitutional treaty concept?

-          should the Judeo-Christian heritage be recognized in the preamble, along with any other heritage items?

-          what changes are needed to increase member state support?

-          Is it in the best interest of Europe, its member states and its citizens?

-          what changes may be needed to assure religious freedom and other human rights?

-          should the MEPs'  in European Parliament get more of a say on the EU constitution?

-          what should be the policies and constraints on enlargement?

-          what should be done in the European Commission to preserve voting rights for all member states. and to achieve effective leadership without laying the ground work for a future abuse of power?

-          what compromises can still be made in order to get the required votes or unanimous approval for the Constitution by the EU members?

 

The following news items and their web page linkage have been selected below to help you in your prayer life for the EU. Read them and ask the Lord to guide you as you read and the pray. You will allow God to make this His preferred Constitution

 

Madrid talks reveal splits on EU treaty

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/fe44f6c2-adaa-11db-8709-0000779e2340.html

By George Parker in Madrid

Published: January 27 2007 02:00 | Last updated: January 27 2007 02:00

Twenty European Union countries gathered in Madrid yesterday to pay homage to the bloc's "magnificent" constitutional treaty, amid warnings that those blocking the revival of the stalled text could be relegated to the slow lane of a two-speed Europe. The so-called "friends of the constitution" argued that far from slashing the original treaty to make it more palatable to voters, it should be made more ambitious, giving the EU a bigger role in social policy, fighting climate change and immigration.

 

That stance puts the 20 countries at odds with countries such as Britain, the Netherlands, Poland and the Czech Republic, which want the constitution scaled back and stripped of its pretensions to be the foundation of a "superstate". A public wrangle over the fate of the constitution - rejected by French and Dutch voters in referendums in 2005 - is precisely what the German presidency of the EU wanted to avoid as it begins the task of trying to salvage parts of the text. [SEE LINK FOR MORE]

 

Fresh battle lines drawn over revised constitution for Europe [Madrid 2]

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/70d0cd8e-b0cf-11db-8a62-0000779e2340.html

By Quentin Peel

Published: January 31 2007 02:00 | Last updated: January 31 2007 08:49

The battle lines are being drawn again in the struggle for a European constitution. Twenty member states of the European Union met in Madrid last week to pledge loyalty to the constitutional treaty derailed in 2005 by. No votes in the French and Dutch referendums. Seven stayed away, or sent junior diplomats to observe the enemy manoeuvres, including Britain, France and the Netherlands. It would be nice to see this as a simple clash between idealistic federalists who want ever more integration in the EU, and sceptical realists who think the EU has gone far enough down that road. Nice, but misleading. Indeed, for a subject that is regarded as arcane by most of the media, the constitutional debate seems to create more passion than any other EU question on the agenda. [SEE LINK FOR MORE]

 

Merkel warns on EU constitution

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/01/17/eu.merkel.reut/index.html

STRASBOURG, France (Reuters) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country wants to revive the European Union's stalled constitution, warned on Wednesday of the risk of a "historic failure" to end the stalemate on the charter.

Merkel said Germany would aim by the end of its six-month presidency of the 27-nation bloc in June to offer a plan to resolve a deadlock over a constitution which supporters say is vital to the functioning of an enlarged EU. "It is in the interest of Europe, its member states and its citizens, to bring this process to a successful conclusion by the next European Parliament elections in early 2009," Merkel told the assembly in Strasbourg. [SEE LINK FOR MORE]

 

Speech of the Bundeskanzlerin before the European parliament Mi, 17.01.2007 pressure opinion Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel gave their first speech before the European parliament as an European Union advice president. It dealt with the European idea and the emphasis of the German presidency. (Auto-translation speech; DE to EN draft in the wording – not clear English)

http://diplomacymonitor.com/stu/dma1.nsf/tr/ttA7A86368BA4FC33D85257266003D1BE0

It applies the spoken word. of "Europe soul is the tolerance"

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen!

I am pleased to speak today for the first time in this role here in this European Parliament to you as a parliament with delegates from now 27 countries. A cordial welcome to the delegates from Romania and Bulgaria.

 

Ladies and Gentlemen I spent my whole life in Europe. In the European Union however I am still a new citizen. Because I grew up in the former GDR, and was 17 years after the German reunification, after the overcoming of socialism, I - together with in the meantime many millions other humans - was accepted into the European Union. I have known the European Union up to 35.years and thus only from the outside of the EU and only since 1990 from the inside. . [SEE LINK FOR FULL TRANSLATED TEXT]

 

Constitution 'worth fighting for' 

http://www.euractiv.com/en/constitution/constitution-worth-fighting/article-160772

Published: Wednesday 10 January 2007

Klaus Klipp and Pascal Goergen, in an article for the Assembly of European Regions, argue that the Constitution must be salvaged and that the Parliament and German EU Presidency have central roles to play. The authors believe that only the Constitution offers the Union "the possibility to react effectively, to realize its objectives and to finally be able to tackle the important questions, such as the problems relating to energy, environment and foreign policy".[SEE LINK FOR MORE]

 

Merkel Wants EU Charter to Make Reference to Christianity

http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evuaq3Ifch45nI1

DW staff / AFP (sp) | www.dw-world.de | © Deutsche Welle. Merkel stressed in the interview that Europe wasn't a "Christian club". Germany's chancellor and current EU president Angela Merkel has renewed criticism that the bloc's constitution does not explicitly refer to Europe's Christian roots, in an interview to be published Monday.

Merkel told German news weekly Focus, in talks with German cardinal Karl Lehmann, that she regretted that the current draft constitution for the 27-member European Union did not include a mention of God or Christianity. "I would have liked to have seen a clearer declaration on the Christian roots (of Europe)," she said. [SEE LINK FOR MORE]

 

Full text: Interview with Angela Merkel

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16442373/

Published: January 2 2007 22:07 | Last updated: January 2 2007 22:07

The FT’s Quentin Peel and Bertrand Benoit interviewed Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, in Berlin. This is an edited transcript of the interview. [Covering] Transatlantic economic partnership, Middle-east, Relationship with Russia, Energy policy, EU-constitution

EU-enlargement, Balkans, Domestic politics in 2007 [SEE LINK FOR MORE]

 

Q&A: EU constitution

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/109d3594-9b15-11db-aa70-0000779e2340.html

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007  By George Parker

Published: January 5 2007 14:36 | Last updated: January 5 2007 14:36 [SEE LINK FOR CONTENT]

 

RECOMMENDED READING – Email Jeff Fountain of YWAM and ask for 

Subject: ww 15 jan 2007 - Views on Europe

Date: 1/15/2007 7:11:05 A.M. Eastern Standard Time   From: jeff@ywameurope.org

 Views on Europe

“A tradition we have developed is to start the year with a “Weekly Word” on books we are reading. So here are a number of titles on Europe I read over the past year. I invite you to tell me this week about books you have found worth recommending to other readers. All these books address Europe as a continent apparently in crisis. As Grace Davie puts it in Europe: The Exceptional Case, (Darton, Longman and Todd, 2002): Europe is in the process of removing the ‘keystone’ in the arch of its value-system, without being altogether clear about what should be put in its place.’ p46.” [Jeff]

 

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

New parliament chair drops call for God in EU constitution

http://euobserver.com/9/23276/?rk=1

New parliament chair drops call for God in EU constitution

16.01.2007 - 17:38 CET | By Lucia Kubosova

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The new president of the European Parliament Hans-Gert Poettering has promised to act as a "fair and objective" president of the whole assembly, indicating that despite his personal convictions, he would no longer press for a reference to God in any revised EU constitution.

Mr Poettering was elected to chair the bloc's legislature by a majority of 450 votes out of 715 MEPs voting in the first round of Tuesday's (16 January) election. [SEE LINK FOR MORE]

 

MEPs to seek influence over EU constitution talks

http://euobserver.com/9/23257/?rk=1

15.01.2007 - 17:35 CET | By Honor Mahony

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS

MEPs' resolve will be tested during the coming weeks as they fight to get more of a say on the EU constitution and a planned European declaration in March. Current EU presidency Germany has so far indicated it will sideline the European Parliament focussing instead only on canvassing government opinion on the two key issues over the coming months. [SEE LINK FOR MORE]

 

Pöttering succeeds Borrell in Parliament chair[fr][de] 

http://www.euractiv.com/en/agenda2004/pottering-succeeds-borrell-parliament-chair/article-160938

Published: Tuesday 16 January 2007 | Updated: Wednesday 17 January 2007

German Conservative Hans-Gert Pöttering has been elected as the European Parliament's president for the next two-and-a-half years, in a mid-term swap arranged in 2004 with the Socialists.

Background:

Pöttering, born in 1945, hails from the small town of Bad Iburg in the Osnabrück region in Northern Germany. He has been a member of the European Parliament since 1979 and the president of the mid-right EPP-ED group since 1999. He is a member of the Präsidium  (the national board) of Germany's conservative CDU party, the party of Chancellor Angela Merkel. His main interest is in foreign and security policy [SEE LINK FOR MORE]

 

"Without Values, This EU Has no Future"

http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evu79lIfch45nI4

European Union | 06.01.2007

" Pöttering has been a European parliamentarian since 1979

DW-TV talked to Hans-Gert Pöttering, the likely new president of the European Parliament, about the German EU presidency, the chances for an EU constitution and his plans as leader of the bloc's legislative.

DW-TV: Germany has taken on the EU's rotating presidency and with it the running of the bloc's business for the next six months. What can we expect?

Hans-Gert Pöttering: I would like the German presidency to come up with a way of moving forward. And I would like a decision on what mandate any conference on the European constitution would have -- if such a conference takes place -- in an attempt to realize the main goal of the constitution [SEE LINK FOR MORE]

 

Parliament's growing role in the institutional set-up

Institutions - 07-12-2006 - 06:12

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/thematic_note_page/008-875-345-12-50-901-20061201TMN00874-11-12-2006-2006/default_en.htm

The European Parliament's sixth term of office, which began in June 2004, was also its first term under the newly-expanded EU of 25 Member States. [SEE LINK FOR MORE]

 

PRAY this petition method might be available for other concerns

Petitions: Parliament at the service of citizens

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/thematic_note_page/016-905-345-12-50-902-20061201TMN00904-11-12-2006-2006/default_en.htm

Citizens’ rights - 05-12-2006 - 01:12

European citizens were concerned about issues such as the Lyon - Turin high-speed rail link, an urban planning law in Valencia, the confiscation of vehicles in Greece or the M30 motorway in Madrid.  Petitions to the European Parliament drew the attention of EU institutions to these issues and in several instances, the support of MEPs helped to find a solution to the problems raised. [SEE LINK FOR MORE]

 

Defending citizens' rights: Parliament's input

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/thematic_note_page/008-875-345-12-50-901-20061201TMN00874-11-12-2006-2006/default_p001c004_en.htm

Parliament has also been active in areas where, paradoxically, it has less power.  Initiatives such as the creation of two temporary committees, one to inquire into illegal CIA activities in Europe and the other into the financial crisis at the Equitable Life Assurance Society, show that MEPs will eagerly use whatever tools they have to protect the interests of the EU's citizens  [SEE LINK FOR MORE]

 

Far-right group formed in European Parliament

http://euobserver.com/9/23223/?rk=1

09.01.2007 - 17:35 CET | By Honor Mahony

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Far-right MEPs have managed to club together in the European Parliament, getting enough members to form a political group entitling them to EU funds. The group was created on Tuesday (9 January) and managed to get just the threshold number of deputies needed under EU rules - 20 MEPs from six different member states.  The diverse group which houses politicians from Romania's anti-Roma xenophobic Greater Romania Party, through to France's and Belgium's anti-immigrant National Front and Vlaams Belang. [SEE LINK FOR MORE]

 

 

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

PRAY that the European Commission have good oversight and operates in a democratic manner

Democratic scrutiny of the Commission

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/thematic_note_page/008-875-345-12-50-901-20061201TMN00874-11-12-2006-2006/default_p001c002_en.htm

At the very start of its term, Parliament signalled its wish to play an active role in the institutional set-up by making full use of its scrutiny powers over the European Commission.  In autumn 2004, at the hearings of the 25 candidates put forward by the Member States to make up José Manuel Barroso's team, it quickly emerged that MEPs would not approve this particular Commission. The competence or integrity of certain candidates was formally questioned and Mr Barroso had to reshuffle his team to get it finally approved by MEPs in November 2004. [SEE LINK FOR MORE]

 

Verheugen comments spark EU controversy

 http://www.eupolitix.com/EN/News/200701/4440a867-116f-4d58-a59b-e36efa32a80d.htm

 Published: Mon, 8 Jan 2007 14:22:48 GMT+01

Author: Anne-France White

Günter Verheugen has triggered a row within the European commission after suggesting that smaller countries give up their right to have an EU commissioner.

The EU industry commissioner argued that the commission – which now has 27 members with new arrivals Romania and Bulgaria – has become too unwieldy. He said some of the member states should make do with more junior jobs on the executive. “It is better for a small member state to have a deputy commissioner in an important field than a commissioner who deals only with marginal topics,” Verheugen told German television last week. [SEE LINK FOR MORE]

 

AN INTRODUCTION TO “CONNECT EUROPE

http://www.connecteurope.org/vision.htm

Connect Europe is an international community of friends who love Jesus Christ, and try to follow Him in costly obedience. We are a generation that seeks to be empowered and guided by God’s Spirit. We are committed to passionately disciple all nations, bring justice to the poor and oppressed, and start life-giving, reformational movements of prayer, justice, community and missions throughout the continent.

 

We are innovative and forward-thinking, and cheer each other on with inspiring stories of what God is doing across Europe. We dream and conspire together. We explore how we might resource one another and develop healthy teamwork. We pray and laugh together. We long to see prophetically (from God’s point of view) and act apostolically (with a passion to see our nations discipled).

 

VALUES of Connect Europe (how do we do what we do?)

[SEE LINK FOR MORE]

 

PRAY for our intercessory prayer time during this event!

Fifty years to be proud of  - The European Union celebrates what is essentially its 50th birthday this year.

http://www.wbj.pl/?command=article&id=35579&type=wbj

From Warsaw Business Journal  15th January 2007

The European Union celebrates what is essentially its 50th birthday this year. In March 1957, six countries (France, Italy, West Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands) signed the Treaty of Rome, signaling their determination to "lay the foundations of an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe," and taking the first step towards what we now recognize as the European Union. [SEE LINK FOR MORE]

 

PRAY that the right person is elected President of France.

Sarkozy launches French presidential bid

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=K4HO0JCIX15HZQFIQMGSFFOAVCBQWIV0?xml=/news/2007/01/14/nsark114.xml

By Bonnie Malkin and agencies

Last Updated: 1:32pm GMT 14/01/2007

Sarkozy told how to handle a woman

Nicolas Sarkozy, French interior minister and rightwing favourite, has launched his campaign for the presidency. The first round of France's presidential election takes place on Sunday April 22 [SEE LINK FOR MORE]

 

ENLARGEMENT

Tougher entry rules stall EU enlargement

http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,329663225-106710,00.html

• Changes will lengthen negotiations with Turkey

• Justice and corruption tests for aspiring members

Nicholas Watt, Will Woodward and David Gow in Brussels

Friday December 15, 2006 Guardian

European leaders last night placed the brakes on further enlargement of the EU when they toughened the conditions that aspiring members would have to meet. In response to growing "enlargement fatigue", they agreed measures to lengthen Turkey's membership negotiations and complicate the process for other hopefuls. The EU will soon increase from 25 to 27 nations with the inclusion of Romania and Bulgaria on January 1. [SEE LINK FOR MORE]

 

the ultimate prayer guide to every nation on earth - EUROPE

http://www.24-7prayer.com/ow/index.php?region_id=5

the EU foundation as Prayer   [SEE LINK FOR CONTENT]

 

NIGHTWATCH FOR EUROPE:

http://www.passion.org.uk/newsite/nightwatch/latest.html

 

PRAY over Germany’s coming presidency of the European Union.

The December prayer email for Europe sent out by office@touchthenations.org includes the following:

“At the beginning of the year Germany assumes the Presidency of the Council of the EU. Since Germany is in a time of grace and upturn, the Lord will try to use this to increase the EU. Chancellor Merkel has to make use of the divine initiatives and give everything to achieve them and resist any temptation to try and buy the approval of her own country by causing political reactions in the EU. She has the spiritual potential to bring forth surprising things if she listens to God. Let us pray fervently for this grace. At the same time there are many pitfalls that have to be avoided. Please try and understand the plan of God along these lines over the coming few months and pray it into existence.”

 

PRAY for more creative and courageous intercessors to be raised up across Europe:

One example of this is Stephen Deeming who having walked the East Coast of Britain to pray for its healing and its relationship with the rest of Europe is currently embarking on a prayer walk down the East coast of Africa, praying, among other things for healing and forgiveness for Europe’s colonial and imperial enterprise. Pray for him as he begins his walk in Egypt this weekend! Pray for safety, revelation and intercessory power. You can find out more at www.wanderingclay.blogspot.com

 

 

****************************************

EURCP readers – Keep the European Union of Prayer – in your prayers - along with Chairman Ortwin Schweitzer – We are planning to be active during the 50th EU/Rome Treaty anniversary – we will keep you informed on how to pray

EURCP subscription is assumed at this point. Let us know by reply if you wish to UNSUBSCRIBE.

EUReview & Call to Prayer Ministries, Hugh and Norma Davis EURCP@aol.com , http://www.euprayer.com

Also contact http://ccea.sentinelles.free.fr/US/  Emmanuel Duvieusart, for Prayer Wall, email info@sentinelles.info 

 

WITH A LONGER NEWSLETTER THIS MONTH WE HAVE NOT ATTACHED A POSTER

 

KEEP PRAYING, IT’S WORKING