Citizenship: Will the ‘holy’ EU constitution resurrect?

Apparently, and according to the Parliament.com website, Angela Merkel (Germany’s Prime Minister, has called for “Christian values” to be put at the heart of an EU constitution, resurrecting old claims for a name check for God in the EU’s “moribund constitution”. This has sparked protests from Europe’s MEPs.

No wonder! The issue of Christianity and God had been avoided in the previous draft of the EU constitution, in which the final preamble only mentions “inspiration from the cultural, religious and humanist inheritance of Europe”. This despite certain governments having pushed hard for a direct mention for a Christian God during the original EU constitution talks in 2004. Fortunately then, Italy, Poland, Lithuania, Malta, Portugal, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Ireland remained in minority after opposition was led by the UK, France and Sweden. But today the political situation has changed in certain countries like Portugal or Italy and it is not certain that their present governments would push for that. But it has also changed in Germany...

Apparently it was after a private meeting with the Pope, that the Christian Democrat German chancellor indicated she wished to bring religion back on the agenda. She said that “I believe this treaty should be linked to Christianity and God because Christianity was decisive in the formation of Europe.” Is this a strategy to leave Turkey out of the EU?

The problem is that Merkel will use her term in the EU’s rotating presidency next year (1st semester) to re-launch the constitution. And Berlin will host a political declaration by EU leaders on March 25, 2007 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome. Merkel’s intentions risk unravelling a delicate compromise text agreed by EU leaders in June 2004 and has already angered secular EU enthusiasts (like me!).

So the message is: stop playing with us and keep it as it is, we do not want Europe to become a Christian club, do not start making changes regarding this issue. Or I (and many others) will vote big NO in any referendum!