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Brussels is to hold an EU summit with atheists and freemasons in the autumn, inviting them to a political dialogue parallel to the annual summit the bloc holds with Europe's religious leaders. While the EU is a secular body, the three European presidents of the commission, parliament and EU Council, alongside two commissioners, on Monday met with 24 bishops, chief rabbis, and muftis as well as leaders from the Hindu and Sikh communities. The annual dialogue, which has taken place since 2005, is for the first time this year made legally obligatory under Article 17 of the Lisbon Treaty. Under pressure from Belgium, which constitutionally protects and financially supports humanist organisations as well as churches, the EU has been forced to hold a mirror-image summit, but of atheists, scheduled for 15 October. However, in a move that perplexed and annoyed humanist groups, the EU atheist summit will also welcome under the rubric of ‘non-religious groups', the Freemasons, the secretive fraternal organisation, according to commission spokeswoman Katharina von Schnurbein. Pray: that this recognition will not lead to a further breakdown in Europe’s Christian roots. (Lk.3:6)
The European Union has announced the creation of a working group to assist Christian minorities in countries around the world where they are persecuted. The initiative launched by Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini is to help EU member countries' embassy staffs know how to intervene on behalf of persecuted Christian minorities. Frattini says that before action the first step will be to write a manual that will be given to the embassy staff of all EU member nations. It is the first European government organisation devoted to addressing the persecution of Christians, he said in an interview in the Italian newspaper Avvenir. EU analyst Jonathan Racho says ‘This panel will be an official EU governmental agency designed to intervene on behalf of a nation's Christian minority,’ Racho said. ‘They will advocate on behalf of persecuted Christians even though the report we have from our sources doesn't go into a lot of detail.’
Pray: for this initiative to bring God’s help to those persecuted for their faith in Jesus. (Ps.9:13)
More: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=132577
The European Union said on Tuesday it would offer Kyrgyzstan's interim government political and economic support if satisfied it was committed to a quick return to democracy. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said she was encouraged by early signs, including pledges of a new constitution and elections, but underlined the need for the involvement of all parties and ethnic groups. ‘If we are satisfied that the provisional government is committed to a quick return to legitimacy and genuinely wants to join the democratic family, the European Union will be ready to provide the necessary political, financial and technical support.’ Russia and the United States have pledged aid to Kyrgyzstan, where President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was ousted on April 7, but Washington and the EU have not yet recognised the new government. (See Prayer Alert 1610 & 1510)
Pray: against any breakdown and disunity amongst the leaders. (Job.22:21)
The economic crisis in Greece is forcing families to seek help from children's homes.In many cases parents are asking if their children can be taken into care, because they can't afford to look after them. See: The Brussels EU summit didn’t come up with ground breaking decisions to balance fiscal discipline with growth, issuance of Eurobonds or recapitalisation of banks. However they tried to produce something to relax Greek, Irish and Portuguese austerity programmes and start firewalls to soothe market anxiety. The Irish are holding a referendum on 31 May over the fiscal pact; Greece votes on 17th June to decide in or out of Eurozone. America says, ‘What happens in Greece has a direct impact in the US.’ The economy was the main issue not only in the G8 council in Camp David but also occupied a central position in the military alliance's meeting in Chicago. The past week has been pivotal for the continent of Europe.
Pray: for those who preside over these and future events to be aligned with God’s purposes.(Ps.119:169)
More: http://www.neurope.eu/article/eu-summit-towards-compromise
The European Parliament is preparing to vote on a proposal to ban all forms of pornography. Embedded under Article 17 of the report is a clause that, if eventually made into law, would effectively ban pornography across all types of media, including the Internet, in Europe. They also described the inclusion of the article as an 'unacceptable political invasion of people’s bedrooms'. Dutch MEP Kartika Liotard, introduced the report which recommended a 'ban on all forms of pornography in the media,' including what it refers to as 'the digital field.' But the report does not distinguish between different types of pornography, or indeed what media the bill refers to. However, it is expected that MEPs will amend the bill to clarify that the clause refers to pornography in the context of advertising.
Pray: for those responsible for making laws that they will be guided by the good things in their consciences. (Mt.15:19)
As MEPs approve plans to help tackle the illegal trafficking of human organs, Miroslav Mikolášik has criticised Europol's "passive approach" to the issue. European parliament deputies voted by 643 votes to 16 in support of the draft directive on quality and safety standards for human organs used for transplants in Strasbourg on Wednesday. The plans aim to reduce waiting times for the 60,000 people in need of a transplant across the EU, introduce common safety standards and combat the commercialisation of organ donation and trafficking. Slovakian EPP deputy Mikolášik, parliament's rapporteur on the directive, told the Parliament Magazine that figures from Europol, the European law enforcement organisation, suggested the problem of organ trafficking does not exist. ‘Everyone knows that this is a massive problem. But Europol does not actively search for cases, they only wait for announcements to be made and this is not good enough.’
Pray: that these new regulations will see a significant reduction in illegal organ trafficking. (Hos.14:9)
uesday heralded a human rights victory when the European Parliament decided by 351 to 319 votes with 18 abstentions to refer the controversial ‘Estrela-Report’ (named after its author, the extreme left-wing MEP Edite Estrela from Portugal), back to the parliamentary committee that originated it. A resounding victory for the pro-life cause, given that there is a structural majority in the European Parliament of members belonging to socialist, communist, green, and liberal parties, who usually vote in favour of anything that presents to promote ‘women’s rights’. The vote still needs to be carefully analysed; however, many socialist and liberal members refused to go along with their official party line. Formally speaking, the result of today’s vote is not that the Estrela draft is dead - it has been referred back to the Committee and could resurface at a later stage. The task is now for the Committee to come back with something less controversial, and more worthy of consideration than Mrs Estrela’s draft.
Pray: for the proposed report to be permanently adjourned and receive a silent burial.
EU Parliament's President Martin Schulz has welcomed the outcome of presidential elections in Cyprus. Nicos Anastasiades captured 57.5 per cent of the vote in a run-off against communist rival Stavros Malas on Sunday. Anastasiades, the leader of Cyprus centre-right party, immediately vowed to resume talks quickly with international bailout lenders and finalise a €17bn rescue by the end of March. Anastasiades' victory is likely to come as a relief to most EU leaders, including Germany's Angela Merkel, who had wearied with outgoing president Demetris Christofias, who failed to secure a deal for more than a year to an EU and International Monetary Fund bailout. Anastasiades will also now aim to exploit massive natural gas finds off Cyprus' coast, bringing in badly needed income and energy, but risking escalating tensions with Turkey.
Pray: for the new government of Cyprus that it will bring stability to the country. (Pr.29:4)
The European Commission has indicated it is going to delve further into the employment, social and education policies of member states as it seeks to tackle the job crisis in the EU. The continued eurozone crisis, now in its third year, has seen the Commission make recommendations in policy areas that, pre-crisis, were considered an absolute taboo. OECD secretary general Angel Gurria at the same conference pointed out that for the EU to reach its 2020 goal of having 75 percent employment in the Union, then 17 million jobs will have to be created. Gurria referred to a ‘potentially lost generation’ of 7.8 million young people who neither have a job nor are in education or training. He added that policy-makers are facing a new phenomenon of ‘structural long-term unemployment’ where people are unemployed for over two years, and the longer they are unemployed, the harder it is to get a job when one is available. Employment Commissioner Laszlo Andor called it a ‘jobs crisis.’
Pray: that ways would be found to meet the needs of the many unemployed, especially the young. (Tit.3:14)
More: http://euobserver.com/economic/117458
The European Commission has asked the EU's 27 member states to submit national strategies by the end of this year aimed at raising the living standards of Roma (Gypsies). Roma are especially disadvantaged in education, healthcare, housing and access to jobs, the commission says. French deportations of Roma to Romania and Bulgaria last year triggered sharp criticism in the EU. One EU survey found that only 42% of Roma children completed primary school. The survey, in six EU countries, also estimated Roma attendance in secondary education to be only 10%. The EU's Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs, Laszlo Andor, said ‘the persistent exclusion of Roma people is unacceptable in 21st Century Europe’. ‘The living conditions of the majority of Roma and their relations with mainstream society have just worsened in recent years.’ The Commission, which drafts EU laws, presented a blueprint on Tuesday to tackle social exclusion affecting Europe's 10-12 million Roma. (See Prayer Alert 4910) Pray: that this initiative to help the Roma across Europe would be successful in tackling their needs. (Pr.19:15)