Leo van Doesburg

  The debate on abortion was stirred up again after the recent leak of the draft proposal of the US Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade. Mainly negative reactions to this news circulated in the media. The debate on abortion has become increasingly subjective where, particularly, the pro-life arguments are marginalized and negatively framed. Last February, we saw this in the European Parliament as well where the FEMM committee (Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality of the European Parliament) held a public hearing on the ‘Countering the anti-gender movement today to secure a gender equal Europe tomorrow’ , a side event of the Future of Europe Conference. As the title of the hearing suggests, this event was a one-sided story on the topic, seeking to invalidate other opinions and attacking several Christian organizations on their pro-life advocacy and promotion of Christian values. The hearing displayed the immaturity of the debate on abortion and gender issues. There is n...

  On the 9 th of March, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on ‘foreign interference in all democratic processes in the European Union, including disinformation’ . Although the issue of foreign interference in EU politics is an important topic, the resolution contains some problematic passages which might have serious consequences for Christians and organizations advocating pro-life and family values. These passages pertain to the depiction of opposing opinions on controversial issues as disinformation and hate speech. Furthermore, the resolution calls for measures against religious institutions when instrumentalized to promote foreign states’ interest. Without proper and irrefutable evidence, this risks to harm religious freedoms. Necessary awareness on these matters is advised.

ECPM MEPs  expressed their concerns about the new law on religious communities that was adopted in Montenegro in the beginning of this year. In a statement , they call on the government of Montenegro to abide by and implement the recommendations of the Venice Commission     and to refrain from using violence against its citizens. It also asked the European Commission to closely monitor the performance of the government of Montenegro regarding freedom of religion, as it constitutes an essential element of the EU accession.  But what has happened in Montenegro? Why does this new law raise concerns on the Freedom of Religion in Montenegro? Read  here an analysis of my colleague Lefteris Kaloterakis. 

The 18 th of October is the 10 th EU Anti Trafficking day. This  day is an opportunity to reflect on our anti-trafficking policies and a call for more targeted action. Last Tuesday, as General Secretary of the European Parliament Working Group on Human Dignity, I was involved in organizing an event on Human Dignity with the title "Combating Human Trafficking”. It was a very fruitful meeting that showed that there is substantial interest across political groups in the European Parliament on this issue. The event was hosted by MEPs Bastiaan Belder (ECR,  Chair of the Steering Committe of the Working Group ) and Diane Dodds (NA). Keynote speakers were: Lord Maurice Morrow  (Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly)  who tabled the latest law on prostitution in Northern Ireland based on criminalizing the client, Maria Vassiliadou, (EU anti-trafficking coordinator) and Frits Rouvoet (Director of Brightfame Foundation) who helps prostitutes in Amsterdam to leave prosti...

Europe is still seen as having a Christian heritage that weights heavy on its citizen’s way of thinking and acting. In politics, some decades ago, we could hear great politicians speaking out from their Christian beliefs without fear of being politically incorrect. Their actions were inspired by their faith. They believed that the Christian values were beneficial in the public life not only in private.  However, in the 21st century the deafening voice is that the Christian values are to be followed in the private life. This ubiquitous view destroys the foundation that created the European Union in the first place and on the 3rd of December ECPM organized a conference in which this issue was approached, entitled “The impact of Christian thinking on European project: Past, Present and Future”. Main aim is to reflect to the origins of the European project and how Christian faith and values played a role at the European founding fathers. In the afternoon session we build furthe...

There is no doubt that Christianity had a great impact on the start of European cooperation in the 20th centrury. The European project was initiated by founding fathers who, inspired by the Christian faith, had a vision to promote peace and reconciliation in Europe. To what extent is the European Union, more than half a century later, still driven by this vision? And what are the contemporary currents for a new Christian paradigm in an age of social and economic confusion?   The European Christian Political Movement warmly invites you to "The Impact of Christian Thinking on the European Project: Past, Present & Future" European Parliament, Brussels, Belgium, 3 December 13:30-17:00  hrs For more information click here   |   To Register click here . ============================================================== Agenda: 13:30-15:00  Founding Fathers: How Christian inspiration led to peace and...

Update 26 July, 2012 - The European Christian Political Movement (ECPM) expresses its concern regarding the current political situation in Romania. The present crisis shows, in the view of ECPM, that there are some fundamental problems in the Romanian political landscape. Although the road towards EU integration brought Romania many positive changes, different governments have still not succeeded to achieve the necessary reforms in order to protect the separation of powers, to guarantee the Rule of Law and to create a democratic culture representing the Romanian people in its entirety. We understand all calls for deeper reform and as well as those who expressed their worries regarding the rapid institutional changes of the last few weeks. These institutional changes reveal, in our opinion, the existence of an underlying need for stronger institutions that must become independent from political party influences. Recent developments are worrying and show the need for deeper refor...

It was of course never to be expected that the European Commission, as a reply to critical questions from the European Parliament with regard to the generous funding it is handing out to ILGA-Europe (a homosexual lobby group), would openly acknowledge to have committed a misuse of budgetary funds. But if replies to parliamentary questions are evasive and not to the point, this can be viewed as a clear indication that the Commission finds it very difficult to explain to the public what it is doing. Click here for an interesting article with the official asked questions of MEP Godfrey Bloom to the European Commission, the answers of different European Commissioners. Unfortunately it shows a lack of transparency in spending money, a strange relations with the Civil Society and a low level of democracy. This all in times of economic crisis where lots of money seemed to be wasted.......  (Source: turtlebay and beyond)

After the trainings in Croatia we drove further to Slovenia. There we were going to meet representatives of the civic initiation committee to look if there is a possible way to collaborate together to promote basic Christian family values in Slovenia.

The European Christian Political Foundation ( www.ecpf.info ) wants to draw your attention to a report done by European Dignity Watch ( www.europeandignitywatch.org ) on a new proposal from the European Commission regarding the automatic recognition of civil status documents that could lead to a situation in which the EU member states will no longer define marriage. Instead, member states could be forced to recognize forms of “marriage”, civil partnerships, same-sex adoption and other practices, even if these contradict their national laws and public order. European Dignity Watch issued an analysis of the Greenpaper, which you find below. The analysis is meant to facilitate answers that can be sent to the European Commission as reaction to the public consultation (Green Paper). The ECPM asks all decision makers on national and European level to take note of this report and take action in their own political body. If the ideas in this green paper would become EU policy, all action taken...