Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-12-15-Speech-2-366"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20091215.21.2-366"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Madam President, the European Court of Human Rights has rightly ruled that hanging crosses in school classrooms violates the religious freedom of pupils and the right of parents to raise their children in accordance with their own convictions. The judges decided unanimously that a cross at school breaks the European Convention on Human Rights.
The decision is simple, clear and universally comprehensible. This is why it has evoked such fury and aggression among the clergy and Right-wing politicians. They pretend they do not understand, and demand explanations from the Commission and that Parliament adopt an official position. This is unlawful. EU institutions are not empowered to evaluate that judgment, or indeed any other. Let us not forget that there is a tri-partite division of power, and that the Court is a body of the Council of Europe, and not of the European Union.
I will answer the questioners, since they have such doubts: the judgment about crosses does not violate the principle of subsidiarity. Quite the opposite, it gives help in observing the law to those European states which have forgotten that in their constitution, there is a provision, if not about the division of church and state, then at least about neutrality of worldview. The judgment of the Court helps national authorities and courts which are subject to the church to realise the fundamental rights of citizens which are being broken as a result of the clericalisation of social life. The citizens of church states cannot defend their rights before national courts. It is a good thing that they can turn to the Court of Human Rights and obtain justice.
The judgment accords with respect for the national identity of Member States and should be implemented. It does not concern a ban on displaying religious symbols in public, but only in a very small section of public space, in state schools. No one is calling for the removal of crosses from churches, squares or flags, as one fellow Member rashly said.
It is not interference in church-state relations, but only defence of citizens whose rights are being violated. In my country, too, advancing clericalisation is restricting the fundamental rights of Poles. I cannot imagine that the European Parliament and the Commission would prevent my fellow Poles from pursuing their just rights before the Court in Strasbourg. A critical position of the Commission and Parliament concerning this judgment would be unauthorised interference, and would, in addition, expose us to ridicule. I must warn you of this."@en1
|
| lpv:videoURI |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples