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

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

Support 14 prayer walls in Europe Emmanuel Duvieusart, Pasteur fondateur, “Sentinelles De Priere”   

email info@sentinelles.info  web http://ccea.sentinelles.free.fr/US/– [Monthly in five other languages]

These are prayer category numbers. Read the article with*, and pray as God leads you.

1 PRAY for the prayer movements and nations of Europe*

2 PRAY for all governments and European Union*

3 PRAY for the enlargement policies of the EU*

4 PRAY for family and Human Rights policies of the EU

5 PRAY for the Mideast policies of the EU*

6 PRAY for the immigration policies of the EU*

7 PRAY for effective EU policies on terrorism*

 

[1] GOOD REPORT Saturday June 2, 2007 8th "Walk for Jesus" in Strasbourg

http://www.marchepourjesus.org/

[This] Saturday June 2, 850 Christians of the various evangelic Protestant parishes of all Eastern France and nearby countries, but also of other Christian confessions (Lutherans, reformed, catholic) walked through the streets of Strasbourg. There were 6 flatbed trucks, each one carrying a musical group (including 1 German-speaking) the walkers (and singers) following behind. Many young people were present eager to also express on this occasion their joy of knowing Jesus-Christ. 3 times of prayer for the European Institutions took place: - In front of the Council of Europe in the 2 languages of the Council - near the Palace of Human rights, where divided into groups, the participants prayed by name for the 48 judges in office. - And the European Parliament where people from each of the 23 Convention countries prayed, in turn, in their native language for the Members of the European Parliament and all those who work in this institution.

 

A message from Malcolm Harbour, Member of the European Parliament was read:  “As Chairman of the Ecumenical Prayer Breakfast in the European Parliament, I am sending you our prayers and our best wishes for the success of your 'March for Jesus' on June 2nd...

We are very pleased that you will finish your 2007 march at the European institutions.  We ask for your prayers and support in the decisions that we take in our work here and across the European Union. May God bless your gathering.”  [Contact: Tel.. 06.14.04.00.54 for more]

 

[2] NEWS FROM THE CONCLUSION OF THE EU SUMMIT

23 June 2007

EU leaders strike deal on ‘reform treaty‘ [EURCP note: no Constitution]

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/016b11d6-20c6-11dc-8d50-000b5df10621.html

By George Parker in Brussels, FT Financial Times

Published: June 22 2007 14:50 | Last updated: June 23 2007 09:44

Nicolas Sarkozy, French president, claimed to have dealt a blow to the "dogma" of competition after European Union leaders struck a deal on a new "reform treaty" in marathon talks that ended in the early hours of Saturday. Mr Sarkozy said the new treaty opened the door for the creation of "European champions", after he secured the deletion of the words "undistorted competition" from the EU's objectives. "The word "protection" is no longer taboo," he said. "Competition as an ideology, as a dogma, what has it done for Europe?" There was an air of relief among the EU's prime ministers and presidents when they emerged from the summit chamber around dawn on Saturday: for a few hours the talks seemed on the brink of failure.

 

The Brussels summit agreed the outline of a treaty to replace the Union's failed constitution, rejected by voters in France and the Netherlands in referendums in 2005. Although stripped of its grand title and symbols of statehood like a flag and anthem, the new treaty contains many of the constitution's main ideas for making the enlarged EU more efficient and coherent on the world stage.

 

They include a full-time EU president, foreign minister and diplomatic service, a streamlined European Commission and more qualified majority voting. Angela Merkel, German chancellor and host of the summit, hopes the treaty will come into force by 2009. A deal became possible after Poland finally agreed to a new "double majority" voting system, where a decision is taken in the council of ministers if 55 per cent of member states representing at least 65 per cent of the Union's population approve it.

 

For a while the country's ruling Kaczynski twins threatened to veto a deal, but they finally relented after gaining a delay in the full introduction of the new system until 2017. They had infuriated Ms Merkel by claiming a population-based voting formula was unfair because of Poland's losses in the second world war. Tony Blair, British prime minister, also secured a number of concessions to protect his "red lines": guarantees of national   control over foreign policy, criminal law, social security and labour law .But Mr Blair's failure to stop Mr Sarkozy watering down the competition references in the treaty infuriated Gordon Brown, the chancellor who becomes prime minister on Wednesday. Copyright [See link for full article] The Financial Times Limited 2007

 

[2] AT-A-GLANCE: EU TREATY PROPOSALS

http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6232834.stm

Published: 2007/06/23 10:43:08 GMT

European Union leaders have reached agreement on proposals for a new treaty to govern the 27-member bloc. Here are some of the main points: [See link for full article]

 

[2] EU CHRISTIAN HERITAGE

An alternative for recognition of European Judeo-Christian Heritage

The strongest supporters of the recognition of Christian heritage in the EU documentation for government, including Chancellor Merkel and the President of the European Parliament, have found the opposition to this position to be beyond their capability to continue.

 

 A “Reform Treaty” has apparently been agreed upon by all the member nations of the EU at their just completed summit meeting of June 22 and 23, 2007.

What is our best course of action for the recognition of the European Christian heritage?

The summit of 23 June 2007 document contains [Page EN 24];

Title I - Common provisions

The purpose of this Annex is to clarify the exact drafting where necessary Insertion in the Preamble of the EU Treaty of the following second whereas clause*15:

 

"DRAWING INSPIRATION from the cultural, religious and humanist inheritance of Europe, from which have developed the universal values of the inviolable and inalienable rights of the human person, freedom, democracy, equality and the rule of law,"

 

.

[2] EU rushes to get new treaty set in stone

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/66808b96-244a-11dc-8ee2-000b5df10621.html

By George Parkerin Brussels

Published: June 27 2007 03:00 | Last updated: June 27 2007 03:00

The European Union is planning to rush its rewritten constitutional treaty on to the statute book at breakneck speed, with only Ireland certain to put the controversial text to a referendum.

Portugal, which takes over the EU presidency from Germany on July 1, aims to begin final legal work on the "reform" treaty at an intergovernmental conference starting on July 23 [See full article in link]

 

 [2] EU leaders agree on treaty mandate

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/06/23/eu.treaty.ap/index.html

POSTED: 0411 GMT (1211 HKT), June 23, 2007

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- European Union leaders agreed early Saturday -- after two long days of tough negotiations -- on guidelines for drafting a new EU treaty to replace the bloc's aborted constitution. All 27 leaders -- including Poland, which had staged fierce opposition to the proposed treaty -- agreed on a "very precise mandate" to draft a streamlined treaty that will guide and govern the expanded EU, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who chaired the marathon talks, said the deal "represents a significant step forward for the European Union." Sarkozy joined Merkel in calling the agreement "very good news for Europe." And Polish President Lech Kaczynski said he, too, was pleased with the outcome. "I am very happy ... we did not have to swallow any bitter pills," he said. "The position of Poland is definitely stronger under this system." [See full article in link]

 

[2] EU helm [President - Prime Minister Jose Socrates]

http://www.eubusiness.com/Portugal/1182996002.93

28 June 2007, 08:13 CET

(LISBON) - Portugal's pro-market Socialist Prime Minister Jose Socrates takes the reins of the European Union presidency this weekend, bringing his reputation as a reformer and image-conscious politician not used to compromise. The handover of the six-month rotating EU presidency from Germany to Portugal will take place on Sunday, a week after an EU summit reached a hard-fought deal on the outline of a new treaty, aimed at streamlining the expanded bloc's operations. [See full article in link]

 

[3] EU-Western Balkans relations[fr][de] 

http://www.euractiv.com/en/enlargement/eu-western-balkans-relations/article-129607

[EXCELLENT REVIEW] Published: Tuesday 21 September 2004 | Updated: Thursday 31 May 2007

The EU's fundamental aim for the Western Balkans region (South East Europe) is to create a situation where military conflict is unthinkable – expanding to the region the area of peace, stability, prosperity and freedom established over the last 50 years by the EU and its member states.

Latest & next steps:

On 8 November 2006, the Commission presented a Strategy Paper on Enlargement, as well as Progress Reports on Croatia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo.

On 2 February 2007 UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari presented a plan outlining the resolution of the final status of Kosovo to leaders in Serbia and Kosovo. The EU is urging both parties to find a compromise. In March 2007 Ahtisaari intends to submit the plan to the UN Security Council, which will take the decision on the future status of Kosovo. [See full article in link]

 

[4] A city court in Erlangen, Bavaria, Germany has given Lutheran Pastor Johannes Lerle a one-year jail sentence for comparing the annual killing of 150,000 babies by abortion in Germany to the murder of innocent Jews in the Auschwitz concentration camp. The court, which consisted of no jury and a single judge, ruled that this statement made Lerle a holocaust denier. Pastor Lerle said his statement was in no way taking away from the gravity of the sufferings of the Jews during the Nazi holocaust. [Life Site News 26 June] Subject: news summary, 27 June  Date: 6/27/2007 11:11:07 AM Eastern Daylight Time

From: information@spuc.org.uk

 

[5] Blair becomes Middle East envoy

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6244358.stm

Tony Blair is to become a Middle East envoy working on behalf of the US, Russia, the UN and the EU.

The announcement comes just hours after he stood down as UK prime minister and shortly before it was announced he was to quit as a member of parliament. . [See full article in link]

 

[6] Charlemagne In search of an immigration policy

http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9254520

May 31st 2007

From The Economist print edition

The European Union needs to hold a proper debate on immigration

Peter Schrank

AS A rule, when a plan in Brussels makes little or no sense, there are two possible explanations. The first is that the whole idea is nonsense. The second is that the muddle is really a proxy for something more interesting: an ideological fight within the European Union that has not yet been resolved. With luck, proxy fighting explains the incoherence of the European Commission's latest ideas on immigration. These call for better management of flows into the EU, with the help of two ugly bits of jargon: “circular migration” and “mobility partnerships” between the EU and third countries. Leave aside the issue of whether governments can “manage” this phenomenon at all.[See full article in link]

 

[7]  EU to rubber-stamp ‘undemocratic’ terror blacklist

http://www.europeanvoice.com/current/article.asp?id=28334

By Judith Crosbie

Member states are expected to sign off on a controversial terrorist blacklist next week amid criticism that the procedure is undemocratic. EU ambassadors from the member states are currently discussing which organisations and individuals should be on the list. Environment ministers are expected to approve the list as an ‘A-point’, without any discussion, on 28 June.. [See full article in link]

 

[COMMENT] YWAM weekly word 25june2007 'Post-Modern Chatter' [Selected last portion]

Subject: ww25june2007 - 'Post-modern chatter' Date: 6/26/2007 4:38:40 PM Eastern Daylight Time

From: jeff@ywam.eu [SUBSCRIBE TO BIMONTHLY NEWSLETTER]

In the year preceding the constitution referendum, a dialogue was arranged between two intellectuals who personified opposing perspectives on Europe's foundations. Philosopher and sociologist Jürgen Habermas has described himself as 'tone deaf in the religious sphere'. A neo-Marxist social critic, Habermas has been regarded as one of the leading spokespersons of liberal, individual and secular thinking. His dialogue partner was Joseph Ratzinger, who the following year became Pope Benedict XVI, and who has been described as the 'quintessence of Catholic orthodoxy'. 

 

What surprised many observers was Habermas' demand that secularized citizens must not 'refuse their believing fellow citizens the right to make contributions in a religious language to public debates'.  But even more surprising has been his more recent declaration as follows:

 

'Christianity, and nothing else, is the ultimate foundation of liberty, conscience, human rights, and democracy, the benchmarks of Western civilization.  'To this day, we have no other options [than Christianity]. We continue to nourish ourselves from this source. 'Everything else is postmodern chatter.'

The pope couldn't have said it any better himself!

Till next week, Jeff Fountain [Contact Jeff for a subscription] jeff@ywam.eu

 

 

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