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World Council of Churches
Press Release 03-29-13e
For Immediate Use
01 September 2003

CENTRAL COMMITTEE							   13

WCC hopes to "clarify not glorify" EU 

In a statement on Europe, the Central Committee of the World Council of
Churches (WCC) has called for "the central role of Christianity and the
contribution of other religions to European history and civilization" to be
reflected in the preamble to the European constitution.

The statement welcomes the recognition given to the role of churches in the
draft constitution, particularly the specific commitment to ensure that
European institutions engage in dialogue with churches and religious
communities. It also emphasizes the need to monitor issues of religious
freedom, and the need to respect the rights of religious believers. 

Welcoming the accession of ten new members to the European Union, the
statement acknowledges both the opportunities and the challenges posed by
this expansion. Trond Bakkevig, moderator of the Council's public issues
committee, said: "We hope that this statement will clarify, not glorify the
EU." 

In particular, the Committee calls for the eradication of racism and poverty,
respect for human rights and respect for God's creation to be the goals of
the EU's development policies. It also urges the EU to work for the
recognition and functioning of the International Criminal Court. 

The statement further stresses the importance of human rights, ethics and
morality in the development of a common security policy, and challenges the
rights of individual countries to undertake military interventions without
the mandate of the UN Security Council and outside the framework of
international law. 

It recognizes the danger of "transatlantic divides" in global security
issues, and urges member churches in Europe and the USA to work together to
influence their governments towards a multi-lateral approach to global peace
and justice. 

In a separate minute, the Central Committee also committed itself to keeping
the issue of Cyprus high on its international affairs agenda. While welcoming
steps towards reconciliation between the two Cypriot communities, the
Committee reiterated its call for a viable and permanent settlement under a
binding UN resolution, and called on the Turkish Cypriot leader to resume
negotiations under the auspices of the UN as soon as possible. 

The full texts of this statement and the minute will be available at: 
http://www2.wcc-coe.org/ccdocuments2003.nsf 

For further information, please contact the Media Relations Office,  tel: +41
(0)22 791 64 21 /61 53

**********

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a fellowship of churches, now 342, in
more than 100 countries in all continents from virtually all Christian
traditions. The Roman Catholic Church is not a member church but works
cooperatively with the WCC. The highest governing body is the assembly, which
meets approximately every seven years. The WCC was formally inaugurated in
1948 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Its staff is headed by general secretary
Konrad Raiser from the Evangelical Church in Germany.

World Council of Churches
Media Relations Office
Tel: (41 22) 791 6153 / 791 6421
Fax: (41 22) 798 1346
E-mail: media@wcc-coe.org 
Web: www.wcc-coe.org 

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