For a humanist Europe – 2019 EU elections campaign
Between 23rd and 26th May, European citizens will be called to vote in the European elections.
In many countries, European elections are considered 2nd class elections and campaigns often focus on national politics or on expressing discontent towards one’s government. However, the outcomes of European elections are fundamental as they will shape the composition and the work of the European Parliament, thereby shaping EU policies for the 5 years to come. Furthermore, while it is Member States’ competence to nominate European Commissioners, the European Parliament has its word to say via the consent procedure foreseen in the treaties.
A memorandum and a manifesto for the EU elections
Memorandum for the European elections
Italian poster for the first EU elections in 1979 Image credit: www.epthinktank.eu
As humanists, we feel that what is at stake is how our values can remain the basic drivers of European integration. This manifesto proposes a vision of a more humane EU that finds solutions to overcome the growing gap between its values and the policies it pursues. A Europe that is truly based on freedom, equality, solidarity and human dignity.
Because the EU is one of our main partners and because we want its action to fully embrace its fundamental values and principles – which, as expressed in article 2 of the treaty establishing the EU, are very much humanist values, we produced a humanist Memorandum for the European elections making a number of proposals in the following 6 key policy domains:
- Rule of law and democracy
- Civil society
- Fundamental rights and freedoms
- Equality and social justice
- Academic freedom and technology control
- Solidarity with the world
Our memorandum is available in English and French. You can download them in the download section on the right hand side.
Manifesto for a humanist Europe
We also drafted a shorter document: our humanist manifesto For a Europe that truly Respects Freedom, Equality, Solidarity and Human Dignity.
This manifesto sums up the 14 key priorities where our memorandum proposes EU action:
- Preserving the rule of law and democracy
- Civil society as a counter-power and key promoter of European values
- Protect a secular vision of Europe
- Defend freedom of thought for everyone
- Defend freedom of expression
- Free and pluralist media as a backbone of citizen emancipation
- Freedom of choice, a building block of human dignity
- A society that values all people for who they are
- No human dignity without social justice and fairness
- Secular and public education as a condition for equality
- Scientific research and technology assessment
- A common immigration policy, based on solidarity and responsibility
- A strong Europe promoting peace and human rights on the world stage
- Solidarity with future generations: climate change and sustainable development
The manifesto is available in English, French, German and Spanish. You can download any version from the download section on the right-hand side.
Help spread the message!
Are you interested in helping us spread our messages and push humanist values into debates leading to the European elections?
Follow our campaign #HumanistEurope and spread our 14 animations on Facebook and Twitter. Below you can see the first one.
Should you want to translate these visuals, get in touch!
