[Originally published on the blog of the Quaker Council for European Affairs, qceablog.wordpress.com] Update 30 August: The European Council meeting has ended with the announcement that Poland’s Donald Tusk has been named the President of the European Council and Italy’s Frederica Mogherini as the new EU High Representative of Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Frederica Mogherini has …
[originally published on qceablog.wordpress.com] The EU is working on developing free trade agreements with many countries of the world, from Canada possibly to China. QCEA (and others) have written about our concerns regarding special tribunals to protect investors whose profit expectations are undermined by legislation introduced by democratic governments. And we urge you to write …
[originally published on qceablog.wordpress.com] They tell us that the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) between the European Union (EU) and Canada has been finalised – but not what the text is. In fact, if you search on the European Commission website for CETA, you find only documents that are nine months …
I have been a Quaker for 22 years. ‘Unprogrammed’ or liberal Quakers, as you may know, don’t have pastors or other leaders. Community leadership role are usually rotated after a few years, and it is the community which makes decisions together to act in the world. A few years ago, …
This is a blog post inspired by the civil conflict in Ukraine. However, it does not examine the causes of the unrest or attempt to lay blame with one side or the other. As people living outside of Ukraine, we may feel powerless as we follow the news trickling out …
[originally published on qceablog.wordpress.com] I was recently invited to participate in discussions on the role of religion in public affairs. The discussions were fascinating: depending on the religion from which one views the question, the answers differ. The question is, how can religion play a role in increasing environmentally and economically …
[originally published on qceablog.wordpress.com] The current crisis in Ukraine, and the response of the European Union (EU), might prompt us to examine some of our long-held assumptions about well-being, the causes of conflict, and the overuse of the resources on which we base our economy and our prosperity. Peace due …
[originally published on qceablog.wordpress.com] There is a crisis on the fringes of the European Union (EU). Many narratives are circulating about Ukraine. Whichever narrative one accepts, the crisis illustrates the difficult issues which arise when European countries try to cooperate. All is well as long as people are content. But …
[originally published on qceablog.wordpress.com] Last Thursday, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), an assembly of national parliamentarians which meets four times a year, debated and agreed two demanding resolutions: on climate change and on energy use. The statements made during the debate were wide-ranging. Refreshingly, many speakers mentioned the connections between climate …
[originally published in qceablog.wordpress.com] The Council of Europe (CoE) is a European institution focussed on promoting and facilitating human rights, democracy and the Rule of Law. It has many more member states -47- than its cousin the European Union (EU). The CoE in fact includes all the EU Member States. All these …