European Christian Political Youth Network

Nordic Conference in Estonia - Register before 7 September!

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 10:57:14 +0200

The European Christian Political Movement invites you to participate in our upcoming Nordic conference in Tallinn (Estonia), September 9-11, 2010. The theme of this conference will be "the Perspective of Christian Democracy in the Nordic Countries".

This year, the ECPM will have it’s 3rd conference about Christian politics in the Nordic countries. The September conference in Estonia will tackle issues like the increasing secularism in the Nordic countries but also the numeral crises in Europe today. Furthermore, the role of the European Union in all these processes will be discussed.

In the coming weeks, more details about the programme will be announced. If you already want to register for the conference, you can do so here.

Please register as soon as possible,r egistration will close Monday 6 September!

We hope to meet you in Tallinn in September!

For more information, click here.

ECPYN summer school broadcasted on Macedonian television

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 10:27:10 +0200

The 7th ECPYN International Summer School, which was organized together with the Boris Trajkovski International Foundation and the SGP-Jongeren and held in Ohrid (Macedonia) from July 12 till 16, was covered by two Macedonian TV channels.

The interviews can be found here and are in Macedonian:

http://www.facebook.com/?sk=messages&tid=1529942096284#!/video/video.php?v=445919818783&ref=nf

http://www.youtube.com/user/ORBIStv#p/p/3AE4C058C17DB9C0/31/mbrChRH5XLc

Full member status for Christian-democratic youth of Ukraine

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 11:55:01 +0200

During last week's International Summer School it was decided to give full member status to the Christian-Democratic Union of Youth of Ukraine. The CDUY had been an observer member organisations since last year's summer school in Montenegro.

"We welcome the CDUY of Ukraine as a full member organisation and hope for a very good cooperation in the years to come" newly elected Secretary General Auke Minnema said, alluding to some ECPYN activities in Ukraine in the near future.

More information about ECPYN member organisations can be found here: http://www.ecpyn.org/page/12648

New members added to ECPYN board

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 10:18:41 +0200

During last week's International Summer School, ECPYN held its general assembly. Jonathan van Tongeren stepped down as Secretary General after having fulfilled two consecutive terms of two years. Two new board members were elected, Denys Dhiver and Auke Minnema.

Auke Minnema from the Netherlands, who had been working as vice-secretary and secretary of regional meetings of ECPYN and thus knows the workings of the organisation quite well already, will take on the post of secretary general. Denys Dhiver from France brings the total number of board members to five. Other board members are: Razvan Burleanu (Romania), Nutsa Shavladze (Georgia) and Vladimir Plamadeala (Moldova).

More information about the board members can be found at http://www.ecpyn.org/page/10976

Follow the progress of the summer school on our blogspot!

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 18:00:09 +0200

From Monday July 12 till Friday July 16, 2010, the 7th International Summer School will take place in Ohrid, Macedonia. The summer school is the core event of ECPYN. This year's theme will be 'Reconciliation'.

Besides the ECPYN member congress, the conference will include lectures and workshops from senior politicians and other professionals from several countries and an excursion.

You can follow the progress of the summer school semi-live on http://ecpyn.blogspot.com , because I will regularly publish short reports after sessions.

Big changes after Belgian elections

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 10:52:57 +0200

On sunday June 13, elections were held in Belgium after the fall of the government of prime minister Leterme on April 26. In Flandres the Christan-democrat party CD&V lost 12,3% and has now 17,3% of the votes. In Wallonie the Socialists are the big winners with 35,7% of the votes.

Flandres
Kris Vleugels, Chairman of C'Axent: “The Belgian elections resulted in a giga-score for the Flemish confederalist/separatist party N-VA (New Flemish Alliance), which didn’t even exist a few years ago. The French speaking part of the government will now have to cooperate with the N-VA, which is now the biggest party in Belgium.

The Christian voice is less strong in Belgian politics since last Sunday. Most of the Parliamentarians with a clear Christian view were not re-elected. With Mia De Schamphelaere, who had been in Parliament since 1995, the last member of C’axent in Federal Parliament leaves this political assembly. Parties made populist instead of ideological choices when the candidates were listed. C’axent might have to rethink its strategy.”

Wallonie & Brussels
Christine Dupuis (Christian-democrats Fédéraux (CDF)): "The 'big winners of the legislatives, for Wallonie & Brussels, are the Socialists (PS) of Elio Di Rupo - with 35,7% in 2010, against 26,3% - while the 3 other mainstream parties (MR, Ecolo (greens), CDH (Christian-Democrats)) are loosing substantial votes. The big loser is probably the central-right party, the MR . A new emerging party, popular & right-wing, named the 'Parti Populaire' (PP), gets one deputee. The other small parties stay rather stable in their scores, apart maybe in Wallonie for the CDF - and especially in the Luxembourg Province - The CDF did run in cartel this year, with the 'BUB', under the name 'Belg.Unie', with a score staying however inferior to 1,5%".

"The 2 major figures of the Poll are Elio Di Rupo and Bart De Wever" says Christine Dupuis. "De Wever of the Flemish NVA has been choosen as informator by the King. The one to be talked about as possible Prime-Minister candidate is Di Rupo, which would be historical too, as he would be the 1st French PM since the 1970s. Trying to form a coalition between NVA & PS, is a quite challenging perspective, in view of the major differences between both parties'political programme."

ChristenUnie stable factor in extremely volatile political landscape

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 19:37:39 +0200

The ChristenUnie, one of the ECPM memberparties, lost one of its 6 seats in the last parliamentary elections. Although it is a slightly disappointing result, the ChristenUnie did clearly better than the other two governing parties in an extremely volatile political landscape. 66 of the 150 seats in parliament changed hands and there were big changes on the left and on the right, a clear showing that many voters in the Netherlands now very easily change their party preference from the one to the other side of the political spectrum. In these circumstances the ChristenUnie kept the vast majority of its voters and proved to be a stable factor in the Dutch parliament.

Georgian Christian Democrats Pleased with Results of Local Elections

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 19:42:42 +0200

The leader of the Christian-Democratic Movement Giorgi Targamadze considers local elections held last Sunday successful for his party. The Christian Democrats, according to preliminary results of local self-government elections, achieved the electoral threshold in Tbilisi and throughout the country taking the second or third places after the ruling party leading in the elections.

"Christian-Democratic Movement have redoubled its results in this election. I want to especially thank our activists who fought in the unequal struggle" - said Targamadze at the press briefing on Monday, the agency Novosti-Georgia reports."In the future, we will fight to defeat the ruling party", - added the leader of the CDM.

The first number in the CDM party list, a former TV anchor Inga Grigolia promised that in the sakrebulo - the organ of local self-government in Tbilisi - the faction of the Christian Democrats' opposition will be that particular force which will not let Georgian authorities live undisturbed."

"The regime in Georgia is today celebrating its victory, but I want to tell them that soon they will not have time for it. Because Tbilisi sakrebulo will soon open a new front on it," - said Grigolia.

In Georgian elections to the local government bodies on Sunday, May 30, the first direct election of mayor in Tbilisi and mid-term elections to vacant seats in Parliament have been held.

As at 15.30, on Monday, the Central Electoral Commision has processed data from more than half of the electoral caucases in Tbilisi and about a third – from entire country. In Tbilisi the CDM has received about 12% and it is on the third place, after the ruling party and the oppositional "Alliance for Georgia" (18%). More interesting situation arises with the outcome of the regional sakrebulo elections - here the constellation is not completely clear, the Christian Democrats can claim second place, ahead of the Alliance. The gap is very small – Alliance has 12.11%, while CDM - 11.08%.

The Christian Democrats belong to the parliamentary opposition. Their faction in the highest legislative body of the country includes seven MPs.

The growing relevance of Christian-democracy in Europe

Mon, 31 May 2010 16:19:56 +0200

From May 27 till May 29 the ECPM (European Christian Political Movement) celebrated it's 6th annual congress and it's first year as an European Party. These members, ranging from Ireland in the west till Armenia in the east, met each other these three days in Brussels to discuss 'the relevance of Christian Politics in the 21st century'.

Lecturers like Gert-Jan Segers (director of Scientific Institute of ChristenUnie), Senator Rónán Mullen (Ireland), David Fieldsend (Care for Europe), and Benjamin Harnwell (Chairman of the Dignitatis Humanae Institute) addressed the participants about the urgent need for Christian-democracy in Europe and the need to unite as Christians to really be the salt and light in Europe and the whole world.

Besides these lectures, several ECPM members from post-Soviet countries discussed the need for more Christian values in there countries and how the ECPM could make a difference in countries like Belarus, Estonia, Moldova and Ukraine.

During the General Assembly on May 29, the ECPM members decided to launch a new project that would research and elaborate on the impact of Christianity on Europe and its institutions. Furthermore the members accepted the European Christian Political Youth Network as the official youth movement of the ECPM.

All participants also received the official yearbook that documents more than 20 projects in over 15 countries that the ECPM carried out in 2009!

More information and pictures can be found here.

Founding Congress of Youth BCD

Tue, 25 May 2010 16:03:01 +0200

On May 22, the youth of the Belarussian Christian Democrats have hold her founding congress in order to get registered as official political youth organisation.

This congress took place in a good admosphere. Several delegates from all over Belarus participated in order to choose the name, the statutes, working committees and the board.

The co-chairmans of the BCD addressed their greetings and wishes to the Young BCD. Some representatives of other Belarussian youth organizations did that as well.

On behalf of ECPYN, vice secretary Auke Minnema was present. He gave a small presentation about the impact of Christian Youth in Politics. He told the participants to act in a Christian, democratic and original way. At the end of his speech gave the Young BCD a box with cookies as a small present. On this box there was an image of a typical Dutch windmill. Auke wished the Young BCD to be the same as this windmill: using the power from above to be good for people.

Some pictures can be found here.

Concerns about the Gross report for the Council of Europe

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 19:04:40 +0200

On 28 April the report of Andreas Gross on discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity will be discussed in the Council of Europe.

ECPM is concerned about this report and agrees with what our associate Care for Europe wrote:

We fully support the principle of non-discrimination against persons on the basis of their sexual orientation alone. However, we are concerned that the provisions of the Gross Report go far beyond to what is necessary to prevent discrimination and protect concerned individuals from incitement to violent acts against them.

ECPM agrees with the following concerns that Care for Europe and other organizations have about the report::

It would undermine the sovereign right of States to make their own provisions for recognition of marital and family status. ECHR jurisprudence only requires that where States recognise unmarried couples for certain legal purposes (eg. inheritance or next of kin) this recognition should embrace both same sex and mixed sex couples.
It would undermine the right to freedom of expression, opinion and conscience, particularly for religious organisations and individuals. References to so-called ‘hate speech’ and ‘negative attitudes’ are too open-ended and make no distinction between criticism of persons and criticism of particular forms of conduct. There is also no clear link to intention to incite violence. National jurisdictions where such provisions have already been enacted have seen the prosecution of church ministers, speaking on church premises, for explaining doctrine in the area of sexual morality.
The references to the ‘transgender’ issue contain factual inaccuracies and seek to divorce any State response from the use of objective criteria. As with sexual orientation, gender identity can cover a broad spectrum of conditions and experiences. States have rightly to date limited any provisions for alteration of individual gender records to the use of objective criteria (eg. gender reassignment surgery). The Report seems to advocate the change of objective legal records on the basis of temporary subjective experience alone.

It is encouraging to see that many partners and friends from our network are involved in trying to reach the PACE members to explain them the dangers for this report. Besides Care for Europe, we also thank the European Evangelical Alliance for keeping us informed about the latest developments regarding this report. A day prior to the vote, a lunch will be organized by Care for Europe, World Youth Alliance – Europe and the Federation of Catholic Family Associations in Europe with as theme: "Equal Rights and The Family: A Clash of Rights?” We hope and pray for wisdom and Gods guidance for the meeting of the Council of Europe.

President Kaczynski's plane crash

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 11:12:11 +0200

The ECPYN board is shocked and saddened by the tragic death of the Polish president and his wife and many officials and dignitaries in a plane crash this morning as they were on their way to a commemoration of the Katyn massacre.

The board will convey its written condolences to the office of the President of Poland and to the leadership of the Youth Forum of the Law and Justice party, which has been a founding member of ECPYN.

“Our thoughts and prayers go to the families of those who lost their lives in this plane crash. We offer our sincere condolences to the Polish people. With them we mourn over the loss of these people who have meant a great deal not only to their relatives and friends but also for Polish society and politics, such as president Kaczynski.

As we mourn we also celebrate his achievements. He has led a great life in service of his nation. From his involvement in the Solidarność movement under communist oppression until the days of his presidency he has been at the forefront in the fight for freedom and justice. Although he is no longer with us, his memory and his heritage live on.”

Says secretary general Jonathan van Tongeren in a letter to the Youth Forum of the Law and Justice party on behalf of the board of the European Christian Political Youth Network.

Registration 7th ECPYN International Summer School now open!

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 15:48:00 +0200

The registration for the 7th ECPYN international Summer School about 'Reconcilliation', in cooperation with the Boris Trajkovski foundation (Macedonia) and the SGP Jongeren (Dutch Reformed Party) is now open. This Summer School will be held in Ohrid, Macedonia from July 12th untill July 16th 2010.

Applications can be made here: http://www.ecpyn.org/page/26563

Statement regarding the situation of Christians in the Islamic World

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 16:58:20 +0200

The European Christian Political Movement is deeply concerned about the recent months' wave of killings and reprisals against Christians in the Islamic world.

• About 500 Christians were murdered in March in Nigeria's state of Plateau.
• In Iraq, the on-going killings and intimidations have provoked the exodus of tens of families from Mosul in February. According to UN estimates, since 2003, up to 500,000 Christians (half the total Christian population of Iraq) had to flee the country.
• In January, six Christians of the Coptic rite from Egypt were murdered near their church during Coptic Christmas celebration (January 7.)
• The Iranian police continues arbitrary raids on Christian communities, detaining and mistreating worshippers and clergy.
• In March, the Moroccan authorities cracked down on a Christian-run orphanage, arrested and expelled from the country a number of Christian missionaries under the pretext of "proselytizing Muslims."

Whereas some of these incidents can be attributed to inter-sectarian violence, in other instances local and central authorities acquiesced or even contributed to attacks against Christians.

In ECPM's view, these regrettable actions should be regarded in the light of a state-encouraged climate of intolerance and structural flaws in Islamic countries' legislation and policies towards religious minorities. Although in many cases Christians represent the aboriginal population in nowadays Muslim countries, their rights are drastically limited. In many countries ruled according to Islamic precepts, leaving Islam is punishable by death. Christian missionaries or relief workers contacting with Muslims face imprisonment, expulsion, torture or execution. Worship services, public display of faith or introduction of religious literature is restricted or prohibited, even for Christians from abroad.

Bearing in mind that many regimes involved in persecutions of Christians and other minorities are considered "partners" of the European Union and European governments, ECPM believes that avoiding open discussion and promoting the silent policy of appeasement can no longer be regarded as appropriate strategies. ECPM recalls that European tax-payers money is offered in blank to assist the regimes, which openly disregard the very basic values for the European civilization: the right to life, freedom of thought and religion, freedom of assembly, respect to minorities, equality and tolerance.

ECPM therefore urges the European bodies and governments in charge of channeling funds and assistance to Islamic governments to firmly condition their further support by receiving tangible and measurable guarantees of a minimum level of freedom and protection offered to religious minorities.

ECPM appeals to those regimes of Islamic countries that are using discriminatory and aggressive policies towards Christians to cease such practices and allow for freedom and tolerance. ECPM reminds that citizens and originates from the Islamic world living and visiting Europe enjoy the full range of civil, political and social rights. We hereby call on Islamic countries' political and religious authorities to manifest reciprocity, good will and humanity by guaranteeing at least the very basic human rights to Christians and missionaries living and visiting Islamic countries.

In our vision, an efficient cooperation between Europe and the Islamic world can only be attained if the existing problems are brought to an open discussion and understanding and tolerance are manifested not only by one side.

A 'medieval' presidential candidate

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 15:22:46 +0200

To the surprise of many, Dr. Rudolf Gehring has found enough support to be a candidate for the Austrian presidency. To make his candidacy possible he needed 6000 signatures. This is no easy task for a candidate without a big existing party structure behind him. Nevertheless Gehring was supported by 8.000 Austrians, making the elections a whole lot more interesting!

There are two other candidates, one from the social-democratic SPÖ (incumbent federal president Heinz Fischer) and one from the right wing populist FPÖ, Barbara Rosenkranz. The Liberals, Greens and communists have not fielded a candidate, but neither has the liberal-conservative Austrian People's Party (ÖVP). The ÖVP chose not to field a candidate since the incumbent was likely to win.

Gehring is a former ÖVP member and until before his candidacy he was the president of the Christian Party of Austria (CPÖ). That party was founded in 2006 out of disappointment over the weak stance of the ÖVP regarding issues such as abortion, marriage and the family. Hence it is hardly surprising that the Greens resorted to a Pavlovian reaction, saying that Austria would 'return to the Dark Ages' with Gehring as president.

The surprising fact that Gehring has been sufficiently supported, makes him the only civil candidate, which means he could even end up in second place. He is moreover the only Christian candidate, since Fischer and Rosenkranz are both atheists. It can be expected that - in light of the alternatives - some ÖVP and other center and right wing voters will support Gehring and this could have interesting consequences.

Dennis Riehle from Germany writes more about this and about what people involved in Christian politics elsewhere in Europe can learn from Gehring in the Insight section: A candidate such as Gehring would do Germany good!

Politicians should keep their hands off the Church

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 12:53:30 +0200

Religious freedom is endangered when politicians think they can force political correctness on the church because it receives money from the state, says the political vice chairman of the Danish Christian Democrats (Kristendemokraterne), Stig Grenov.

"It has become fashionable for politicians to interfere in internal Church matters (..) Christian Democrats believe that politicians should keep their fingers from the state church for several reasons.

Firstly, because it is an institution responsible for compassionate care and should speak to the individual conscience. The church is an individual voice in the political system. It places the mercy before justice and the law. The national church is not a state power, but it is a pillar of the whole democratic structure as long as it is made toothless. Therefore, it is misunderstood, when politicians expect to have bought the right to determine their attitudes, opinions and theology, simply because it receives state aid.

Secondly, religion is a part of people's right to define their world and way of life without the interference of politically correct attitudes. If you disagree, only dialogue can be challenging - not political correctness. When politicians start legislating on religious aspects, they have crossed the border for the right to personal opinion. Next stop will be a regulation of all religious movements, customs and thinking. It is scary that a party that calls itself liberal, reveals itself as a defender of control of the spiritual Denmark.

If politicians continue to determine the content of theology, it might become forbidden to preach that Jesus is the only path to God, because it might offend people." Grenov says.

"This message is intended only to ask for protection of the freedom of religion - not to argue for or against certain theological positions. This is the church's own problem area. Conversely, the Liberal Party Youth national chairman Jacob Engel Schmidt and Liberal culture man Troels Christensen have advocated political management of the theological content of the national church because of their short-sighted belief that one can legislate on individual religious view of life. In such a scenario the national church of Denmark would become a parody of the Soviet Russian state church, with the slight difference that politicians in Denmark do not make any effort to hide their management."

Grenov thinks that an issue that may be used to encroach upon religious freedom is that of so called equal rights for homosexuals: "In keeping with the parliament's current majority Troels Christensen and Jakob Engel Schmidt continued in the delusion that equality is synonymous with equal rights for all. If we understand that people are created in God's image - as a man and woman - marriage reflects God, notwithstanding the fact that no parents are perfect. It is this relationship that is blessed. If the church refuses to marry same sex couples, it has nothing to do with discrimination. Such policy requirements [requiring the church to marry same sex couples] are an assault on religious freedom, freedom of thought and not least state church as an independent part of the foundation of Danish democracy."

www.kd.dk

6th Annual ECPM Congress: Application now possible

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 14:31:18 +0200

The European Christian Political Movement (ECPM) will hold its 6th annual congress in Brussels (Belgium), May 27-29. All members, associates, friends and people who are interested are invited to join and talk about "the relevance of Christian Politics in the 21st century".

Several lecturers, such as Gert-Jan Segers (director of Scientific Institute of ChristenUnie), Daniel Barbu (University of Bucarest), Senator Ronan Mullen (Ireland), David Fieldsend (Care for Europe) and Steven Van Hecke (University of Antwerp) have already confirmed.

The congress will start in the evening of May 27. On May 29, ECPM will have its annual member congress. More information can be found here: http://www.ecpm.info/en/page/27359. Registration can be done here: http://www.ecpm.info/en/page/27371.

Participants are expected to take care of their own hotel room. There will be a small participation fee, participants can apply for a partial reimbursement which will depend on distance and economic background.

Belarusian Christian Democracy nr 1 in terms of local candidates

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:09:17 +0100

Of all democratic parties the Belarusian Christian Democracy (BCD) has put forward the most candidates for the local elections. Local elections are to be held on April 25, 2010.

According to the BCD's press service the party proposed 173 candidate deputies in 226 constituencies - 48 'voblast' (regional) councils, 102 city councils, 55 'raion' (district) councils, 3 township councils and 18 village councils. Since the BCD didn’t receive official registration with the Belarusian Ministry of Justice, all candidates had to be nominated through collection of signatures.

More than 20 potential candidates from the BCD have been forced to withdraw from participation in the campaign because of the repressions by the state authorities.

The chairperson of the Central Election Committee announced at a press conference in Minsk, March 17, 2010, that 591 party candidates were proposed for the current local elections.

Other opposition parties put forward the following numbers of candidates:

The Belarusian United Left Party "Fair World" - 126

The United Civic Party - 94

The Belarusian People’s Front - 35

The Belarusian Social Democratic Party (Assembly) - 32

The Belarusian Party "The Greens" - 5

The Belarusian Social Democratic Assembly - 2

Only the pro-government Communist Party of Belarus nominated a larger number of candidates than the BCD – 207.

“Belarusian Christian Democracy Party exists only a year as a party, but the result of the nominations speaks for itself,” said the leader of the BCD, Paval Sieviarynets. “The idea of Christian democracy now unites the majority of democratically minded Belarusians. Despite the repressions, 173 Christian Democrats continue their political campaign."

Support the petition for a free Sunday!

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 12:24:13 +0100

December 1, 2009, the new EU Treaty of Lisbon came into force. In this treaty is included that citizens of the EU can start a so called citizens' initiative, which obligates the European Commission to place the issue concerned in the initiative on the agenda.

For such a citizens' initiative at least 1.000.000 (1 million) signatures are needed, that on top of that have to come from at least half of all member states.

My colleague in the European Parliament Martin Kastler from Germany has started to organise the first citizens' initiative in Europe with the motto "Mum and dad belong to us on Sunday!". I have spoken extensively with my colleague and we have agreed to cooperate on this initiative. I want to collect as many votes as I can in the Netherlands and in the rest of Europe.

The goal of this action is to get the free Sunday on the agenda in all of Europe. The Sunday as a day to slow down in Europe! A day for the family, going to church and to relax and recreate. For that we need your support!

This is why I call on you to support this action with your signature at http://www.free-sunday.eu/

Join and pass on this message!

Kind regards,

Peter van Dalen

Member of European Parliament, ChristenUnie (Christian Union party of the Netherlands)

Statement on the leader of the Moldovan Christian-Democrats, Iurie Rosca.

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 20:55:08 +0100

The European Christian Political Movement (ECPM) is concerned about the latest proceedings against the leader of the Moldovan Christian-Democrats, Iurie Rosca.

Moldovan prosecutors have reopened two criminal cases that date from 2002 when the Opposition leader Iurie Rosca was active during peaceful antigovernment demonstrations. These protests were aimed against the antidemocratic practices of the former ruling communist Party in Moldova.

Due to the intervention of the Council of Europe and the European Parliament, the persecutions were renounced and the criminal cases against leaders of the opposition in Moldova were dropped. Now again cases against the leader of the PPCD were reopened.

The ECPM hopes that this case is not brought up based on political motives and that the Moldovan government will work towards a more democratic and prosperous society based on the values which the ECPM and the European Union stand for: justice, freedom, democracy, peace and reconciliation.

We regard the present situation as a good test to see if we can count on the good faith and willingness of the new government of Moldova that these cases are dealt by the responsible institutions with discernment, care, objectiveness and accuracy and not guided by political motives. Independency of justice in Moldova is of utmost importance, not only regarding to these cases, but also in the long road that is ahead in regaining the trust both in the governmental institutes as well as in an independent juridical system.

ECPM regards Moldovan Christian-Democrats as an important factor in developing and promoting Christian-Democratic values in Moldova and Eastern Europe and because of this, we will follow and monitor this situation closely to assure that the main principles of righteousness and justice will prevail.

ECPYN present at Youth Leadership Forum Boris Trajkovski Foundation

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:43:39 +0100

ECPYN vice-secretary Auke Minnema was present at the Youth Leadership Forum of the Boris Trajkovski International Foundation in Skopje, Macedonia, February 27. At this forum with the Theme "Facing the challenges - The values of communication" he gave a workshop and led a discussion.

The workshop was about communication in politics. Young people can change society, when they communicate in a clear and creative way. The discussion was about how to do that in the Macedonian society.

The Boris Trajkovski International Foundation was founded by the wife of the former president of Macedonia, Boris Trajkovski. The mission of the Foundation is to carry on the legacy of the late President Boris Trajkovski by promoting, within Macedonia and beyond, four key tenets: peace, reconciliation and understanding; education; the principles of the free market economy; civil society and good governance. Every year they organize a forum in remembrance of the death of Baris Trajkovski.

Pictures of the Youth Leadership Forum can be finde here.

ECPM receives official status from the European Parliament

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 18:23:20 +0100

The European Christian Political Movement (ECPM) has been granted an official status at the European level by the European Parliament. This official recognition means that the ECPM will receive funding from the European Parliament. With this funding the ECPM can develop into an even larger forum for Christian-democratic parties and politicians.

The organisation was officially registered in 2005 and already counts more than 20 members from more than 15 European countries. Now it has taken another step to ensure it’s further impact and growth. Chairman Peeter Võsu (Estonia) is very positive about the official status: “The ECPM meets all the requirements for this status and this clearly shows the growing relevance of our movement.”

With the official status and the funding from Brussels the ECPM aims to become more visible in European politics and to become active in the European political debates. With its distinctive Christian-democratic profile, the ECPM is certain that it can offer constructive new ideas for the future of Europe.

The European Christian Political Movement has been growing very rapidly in the last few years. The main reason for this growth is clear, according to Võsu: “We could never have grown so fast if there was not such a need in European countries for our ideas, it is clear that many people in Europe are convinced that Christian values matter!”

Although the ECPM is not a group in the European Parliament, it is now one of the ten organisations that have been awarded this special status. Other organisations that have this status include the European People’s Party (EPP) and the Party of European Socialists (PES).

“The recognition by the European Parliament is very interesting for the dynamics in European politics,” according to vice-chairman Kris Vleugels (Belgium). He claims that the ECPM is really unique because the European Christian Political Movement is not a competitor to any European group in the European Parliament. “Instead,” Vleugels says, “the ECPM wants to cooperate with all parties and politicians who share our values!”

This position points out the unique philosophy of the organisation; uniting parties and politicians around Christian values, regardless of party colours. “This way of thinking opens many opportunities for constructive cooperation in national and European politics which will benefit the people of Europe” concludes Peeter Võsu.

The ECPM will celebrate this milestone during the next Members Congress that will take place in Brussels in the end of May.

For more information contact Guido van Beusekom (general-secretary): office@ecpm.info

ECPYN secretary Jonathan van Tongeren married!

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 18:19:22 +0100

On february 18, ECPYN secretary general Jonathan van Tongeren married Janneke Dral. The board and members of ECPYN wish him and his wife a long and happy life together and God's blessing in there marriage.

On behalf of the board, vice-secretary Auke Minnema was present and brought the good wishes to the couple personally.

Swiss JEVP president visits The Netherlands

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 18:17:53 +0100

Sara Fritz, JEVP president from Switzerland visited The Netherlands on february 16th - 17th. She had a meeting with members of PerspectieF and the Christian Union.

On Tuesday, she visited the Dutch parliament where she had a lunch meeting with ChrisitanUnion MP Esmé Wiegman. PerspectieF (youth of the Christian Union) boardmember of international affairs Niels Kruithof was present as well. They talked about Christian Politics and Swiss-Dutch relations.

On Wednesday, she had a meeting with IJmert Muilwijk, president of PerspectieF. In this meeting, they discussed about practical situations in Youth organisation and relations with the mother party.

Sara Fritz (left) and IJmert Muilwijk (right)

Sara Fritz (left) and Auke Minnema (ECPYN vice-secretary, right)

Swiss Christians about the minaret ban

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 10:00:00 +0100

In november of 2009 a majority of 57,5 % of Swiss voters voted in favour of a constitutional ban on the construction of further minarets. Many people hastily commented on the controversial issue. Now that the dust has settled ECPYN asks representatives of its Swiss member organisations how they voted and why.

Below are two commentaries about the minaret ban. The first one is from a member of the Young Federal Democratic Union (JEDU), who voted in favour of the minaret ban. The Federal Democratic Union was one of the parties that proposed the minaret ban. The second one is from two members of the Young Evangelical People's Party (*jevp), who voted against the minaret ban.

Why I voted Yes to the ban of minarets in Switzerland

By Samuel Kullmann, JEDU (Young Federal Democratic Union), student of political science

It is not often that a popular vote in my country makes the headlines of major newspapers all over the world. With the constitutional ban of minarets Switzerland stirred up huge debates and emotions, especially in Europe where many countries are faced with tensions within their society that reflect scepticism about Islam, or what some people make of it. The result of the vote flew in the face of previous polls and came as a big surprise to most. However, the reactions of Muslims to the vote could not be compared to the controversy around the Muhammed cartoons in Denmark.

Clearly, it is difficult to point out a single reason that led to this result. I believe that the following few factors played a role together:

There have been a number of minor political scandals when our government made very controversial deals with the Lybian dictator Qhaddafi or Iran’s “president” Ahmadinejad. So some voters may very well have voted “yes” in protest believing that Switzerland should take a tougher stand towards radical Islamism and such dictatorships.
From different conversations with voters I heard that personal negative experiences with Muslims have led some to vote “yes”. As in most European countries it is no secret that such tensions do exist and that where integration of foreigners fails, locals may react negatively in different ways.
For many the vote was an opportunity to express their outrage about the atrocities of radical Islam by prohibiting the construction of what many perceive to be the very symbol of Islamism. Even some socialists and others who opposed the constitutional ban said that they would oppose minarets at the local level.
Shortly before the popular vote there have been news reports about illegal prayer calls of the Muezzin in some German towns. Although the minaret ban would certainly not solve all integration problems this was one problem that it would solve.
Many asylum seekers of Christian minorities in the Arab world, ex-Muslims and even some Muslims I know supported the minaret ban because they were afraid of the spread of a radical Islam.
Some leaders or Albanians (a big minority in Switzerland) supported the ban arguing that minarets were an obstacle to integration and fostered the formation of ghettos.
Shortly before the vote a well-known radical feminist rallied her supporters behind the ban.
Finally, the initiators of the popular vote clearly stated that the vote would not be against Muslims, against the construction of mosques or against the freedom to practice ones religion. This cleared the way for those who highly value freedom of religion but at the same time felt it to be necessary to set a symbolic boundary to the spread of a radical Islam.

Unfortunately, the way some campaigns were conducted did not only contribute to important discussions (of which there were numerous) but also stirred up hatred towards Muslims in some people. As for me it was very important to have factual conversations and a right attitude towards Muslims in the whole discussion that became too emotional. I supported the ban of minarets because I found it to be an important message towards almost all Islamic countries that spurn basic human rights in the name of Islam. A message that does not say “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” but rather: “we do gladly grant freedom of belief, conviction and religion to believers of all faiths but as long as fundamental human rights are trampled over in most Islamic states we need to protest against the further construction of such visual power displays of a political Islam.”

Why we voted No to the ban of minarets in Switzerland

By Mirja Zimmermann-Oswald, student of theology and Dominic Roser, philosopher and economist, *jevp (Young Evangelical People's Party)

We are very concerned about the things which recently happened in Switzerland. As you know we voted on an article in our constitution: a prohibition to build minarets. The Swiss people said yes to this prohibition. Why are we concerned about the result of this vote and why did the *jevp oppose this prohibition?

We are concerned about...

We are worried because of the attitude which brought many people to this kind of decision. A lot of hate and hostility can be witnessed. Hate against Muslims and also fear of them. There is fear because of the shariah, forced marriages, the circumcision of girls and, and, and... happening in parts of the world, where Islamistic people practice a radical form of Islam. We hoped to show that there is a difference between liberal Muslims and radical Islamists. But most of the people didn't make such a difference.

We had the opportunity to show more respect for Muslims but we missed it. We could have shown that there are ways to live door to door with each other in peace. We could have been heroes of freedom since we believe freedom of worship to be a tremendously important good. And we should not forget that in the past religious freedom has also served Christians (for example the puritans who emigrated to the USA).

We forgot that we as Christians are a minority, too. It should definitely give us reason to worry that there is a majority of people in Switzerland which is able and willing to write their personal preferences on such personal matters as faith and religion in the constitution. It would be better if we as minorities would stand together and fight for our rights and for respect.

How much do we value the fight for freedom which was carried out in the last hundreds of years? Was it now trampled down in only one day? In order to punish the whole religion of Islam only because of the Islamists and Islamistic terrorists? Aren't we taught to be peacemakers and to love our neighbours?

We refused to support the anti-minaret-initiative because of...

Let me tell you why the jevp decided not to support the Anti-Minaret-Initiative:

Laws on buildings are not part of the constitution, they're part of local laws.
There is no problem (like forced marriages, circumsicion etc.) solved by prohibiting only a building which is a sign for only a part of Muslims (especially not for Islamists).
We didn't want to jeopardize the freedom of worship. Switzerland was able to become a peaceful country after it guaranteed freedom (to choose faith freely, to practise it, to share it with others and to change it) for all denominations (after years of war between protestants and catholics, protestans and baptists, ...). The initiative plays with fire in a dangerous way: if there are special constitutional regulations against the followers of the Islamic religion it is a short step to special regulations against the followers of the Christian (or other) religion.
We don't stand for a symmetry of injustice. We know that there are a lot of Christians who are discriminated against or even persecuted in Islamic countries. But that is no reason to do the same.
We don't want to have separated Muslim communities. There is a danger that when we exclude Muslims they build a parallel society.
We have the fundamental right to freely live our own faith, to make it visible (for example through building churches), to communicate our faith and also to change our faith. Minarets are religious symbols. If we completely prohibit them we contravene the European Convention on Human Rights.

How to move on

The EVP decided to launch a popular initiative for a constitutional article on religion. We think that it is important to highlight four freedoms based on the tradition of Christianity.

The freedom to choose a faith or a religion or none at all.
The freedom to practise faith.
The freedom to communicate faith.
The freedom to change the faith or the religion.

I hope that we can find a path into a future where Christians, Muslims, adherents of other religions as well as secular people and everybody in between live together peacefully and in respect for each other. In Switzerland and all over the world.

Read also the December 8th commentary by ECPYN secretary general Jonathan van Tongeren 'The Towers of Christendom' and the response to the polemic on the minarets in France by Christine Boutin, leader of the Parti Chrétien Démocrate and former Minister of Housing and Cities.

7th International Summer School will take place in Ohrid, Macedonia

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 02:31:21 +0100

This years International Summer School will take place in Ohrid, Macedonia, from july 12-16. The theme will be Reconcilliation, which will encompass such topics as conflict resolution, international security issues, leadership, et cetera. Participants from all over Europe flock to this event were speakers with backgrounds in politics and other parts of society will give lectures and workshops. Excursions will be organised to relevant political locations and of course there is ample time to get acquainted with the other participants of the conference and their parties or organisations.

The summer school provides a great opportunity for all participants to take part in discussion of the Christian concept of reconcilliation and on security issues in Europe and learn about the political processes in different European countries with special focus on South-East Europe. The participants from the Western Balkan countries will have the chance to learn on this topic from the valuable experiences of their colleagues from the Central and Eastern European countries who are already in the European Union.

Besides the official part, the summer school will provide an opportunity for cultural exchange, learning about each other’s cultures and countries, making friendships and have plenty of fun. During the school, the participants will go on excursions around the country, which is famous for its beautiful mountains, lakes, as well as cultural heritage.

There will soon be more information about the summer school here, that can be found at http://www.ecpyn.org/summerschool.

The participation fee will be 100 EUR. Participants can apply for reimbursement of travelling costs, Central and Eastern Europeans are most likely to be elligible for some form of reimbursement.

Secretary visits AUF-Party in Saxony

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:32:55 +0100

ECPYN secretary general Jonathan van Tongeren visited the 'Landesparteitag' of the AUF-Party in the state of Saxony (Germany) October 31. He gave a lecture in which he explained how a young party can be seen and respected when it becomes involved in concrete local issues which can be solved with creativity and commitment.

You can read a full report of the 'Landesparteitag' here (in German).

Belarusian Christian Democracy party to hold its second founding convention

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:26:46 +0100

The leadership of the Belarusian Christian Democracy party received denials to their requests for renting premises from almost every single official body they had applied to. Only the last from 11 different institutions, which received the BCD request, the directors of the Small Hall of the Palace of Republic haven't replied yet and said they will do so send in written form within 30 days after the application.

It is worth mentioning that BCD sent the request for renting premises to Minsk Tractor Plant, Minsk Automobile plant, “Sukno” factory and some other places. It is worth reminding that the Belarusian Ministry of Justice denied registration for the party after its first Founding Convention in February, 2009.

The BCD leader Paval Sieviarynets commented on the situation:

“If the authorities do not grant us a right to rent premises for the Founding Convention on October, 31 we will hold our Convention in front of the Presidential Administration – at Kastrychnitskaya Square. We ask delegates, our guests and all Christians and all not indifferent people support us under the motto “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty”.

Belarusian Christian Democracy party is ready to hold its Founding Convention on the street. I think that in the looming prospect of the EU decision on sanctions against top Belarusian officials, which is due to be made on November 16, 2009, our Founding Convention on the street will be a good illustration of so-called “liberalization”.

Foreign guests and ambassadors will be also invited to take part in the Convention outdoors.

It is expected that 300 delegates and about 400 guests will take part in the event. If the Founding Convention is to be held at Kastrychnitskaya Square then there will not be restrictions on number of participants and, as a result, more people will be able to attend the event.”

Human Dignity in Christian Social Teaching

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:17:56 +0200

October 3 a dozen of involved young Dutchmen, Belgians and Poles gathered in the margin of the national party congress of the Christian Union party of the Netherlands, in Zwolle, for a workshop about Human Dignity.

Jonathan van Tongeren, secretary-general of ECPYN, gave a theoretical introduction to the concept of Human Dignity as elaborated in the social teaching of the Church. After the discussion of the Christian Social Teaching and how this effects the way we look at political questions regarding human dignity, several concrete and current examples of political questions were discussed. These examples clearly demonstrated the importance of a Christian approach when we speak about human dignity. They also demonstrated the clear need for coordinated action of Christian acros Europe. The newly founded ECPYN International Political Working Group on Human Dignity aims to be instrumental in this respect.

You can download Jonathan's powerpoint presentation and a synopsis of the theoretical part of the workshop below.

If you want to know more about the ECPYN International Political Working Group on Human Dignity, you should keep track of our website. More information will follow soon at http://ecpyn.org/humandignity

European Christian Democratic Movement today. From values to practice

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 15:25:01 +0200

The ECPM was very happy to be present at the second conference of Christian democrats of Eastern Europe.

This second conference of Christian democrats of Eastern Europe organized by the Christian Democratic Union of Armenia, Christian Union of the Netherlands, European Christian Political Movement, Eastern European Bureau of Christian Democratic Parties, Christian Democratic Union of Nagorno Karabakh and Christian Peoples’ Unity of Armenia was held on September 25-26 in Sevan, Armenia.

The representatives of Christian Democratic Parties and organizations from 8 countries such as Moldova, Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, the Netherlands, Armenia and not recognized Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh gathered around the topic: “European Democratic Movement today. From Values to practice”. Among guests were the ambassadors and the representatives of different NGOs.

The Conference was held in Sevan in Hotel Complex “Harsnakar” (Sevan).

By means of an official greeting, the chairman of the ECPM, Mr Peeter Vosu wished all participants a blessed meeting and stated the following about the importance of Christian democrats in politics:

We need Christians in European politics. Only politicians with strong Christian identity can preserve and advance Christian values in our societies. To be a politician is a calling from the Lord, like to be a pastor or a priest. You are called by the Lord to serve your societies.

Furthermore, the General Secretary of the ECPM, Guido van Beusekom and the representative for Eastern Europe, Leo van Doesburg, were present at the conferencem together with many other participants.

The participants and the organizers of the conference also received greetings from the General Secretary of the European People’s Party Antonio Lopez Isturiz, who stated about party’s support of the consolidation of Christian democrats of Eastern Europe and the establishment of a stable cooperation between them. In his written address to the Conference he expressed interest in the development of closer ties will all European Christian democratic political forces, which share the same values and principles and welcomed the initiative of Khosrov Harutyunyan to host the second conference of the Eastern European Bureau of Christian Democratic Parties in Armenia.

The Conference resulted in establishment of the Association of Christian Democrats of Eastern Europe and the decision to register it according to the Ukrainian legislation. The decision on establishment of the Association was taken by the chairmen and representatives of 5 parties (CDM of Georgia, CDPP of Moldova, BCD, Belarus, CDU of Armenia and the CDU of Ukraine). The idea on establishment of the Association was supported by the Chairs of CDU of Latvia and Estonian Christian Democrats.

All these parties are also a member of the European Christian Political Movement. Also, the CDU of Nagorno-Karabakh joined the Association as an associated member.The chairman of CDU of Armenia, former Prime Minister and former speaker of Armenia, Mr. Khosrov Harutyunyan was elected as the Chairman of the Association. The deputy chairman of the CDU of Ukraine Yuri Reshetnikov was elected as the Executive Secretary of the Association.

The ECPM fully supports the close cooperation between Eastern European Christian democratic parties and hopes that the establishment of the Association will be truly beneficial to Christian politics in Eastern Europe.

ECPYN salutes Eastern European Youth Initiative

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 16:19:24 +0200

September 6, during the Eastern European summer school of Christian democratic youth organisations in Zatoka, Odessa Region, Ukraine, participating organisations from Belarus, Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldova, Romania and Ukraine decided to launch the Eastern European Youth Initiative (EEYI). The EEYI expresses in its founding declaration that it shares the goals and targets of ECPYN and wants to focus on issues specific to the region.

Further Christian Democratic Youth organisations from Armenia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are expected to join soon and others are also welcome to. Ana Ciofu of the New Generation of the Christian Democratic People's Party from Moldova was elected as the first president of the EEYI.

The ECPYN board salutes this initiative and sees many opportunities for fruitful cooperation: "It's encouraging that the Eastern-European parties have gathered enough potential and organizational capabilities to launch such an initiative as this. We are looking forward to include ECPYN capacities in collaboration with EEYI and therefore to strenghten the Christian doctrine in Eastern Europe, which is indeed much needed" says ECPYN board member Vladimir Plamadeala, who attended the summer school in Zatoka. "I also hope the Initiative will fit within the recently launched Eastern Partnership of the European Commission and will contribute to the region's countries integration in the EU."