WRITTEN QUESTION E-3029/02

by Concepció Ferrer (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(23 October 2002)

Subject: Persecution of Catholics in Russia

The Moscow Patriarchy's Foreign Relations Department has accused the Roman Catholic church of proselytising and has decided to deny it the right to preach the gospel in the lands under the Patriarchy's dominion.

Does the Commission know any more about this decision, which constitutes a blatant attack on freedom of thought and belief?

Is the Commission intending to take any action vis-à-vis the Russian authorities with a view to ensuring that Russia upholds the above freedom?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(28 November 2002)

The Commission refers to the answer it gave to Oral question H-688/02 by Mr Gil-Robles Gil-Delgado during question time at Parliament's October 2002 session(1).

The Commission is not aware of any such decision by the department of external relations of the Moscow Patriarchate. Nevertheless, the Commission is fully conscious of the present difficult situation facing Catholic and other religious groups in the Russian Federation.

In this regard, the Commission fully shares the concern of the Honourable Member over recent restrictions on freedom of religion affecting the Catholic and other churches in Russia. Since April 2002, at least five Catholic priests (three Polish, one Italian and one Slovak) have been expelled from Russia following a decision by the Vatican to seek to upgrade the four temporary church structures in Russia to permanent Roman Catholic dioceses. Other churches have also been the target of restrictions, including a Swedish Protestant pastor and a number of Protestant missionaries which were similarly expelled. Furthermore, in 2001 the Moscow branch of the Salvation Army was disbanded, the Moscow office of the Jehovah's Witnesses is engaged in a four year long court case which could lead to its closure in Russia, and the Moscow Department of the Justice Ministry has recently filed a lawsuit against an association belonging to the Pentecostals. These restrictions cannot be easily reconciled with Russian commitments on human rights. In particular, the Joint Statement of the last European Union-Russia Summit in Moscow (29 May 2002), states its common goal of strengthening a society based on respect for democratic principles and human rights.

Within the framework of its intensive political dialogue with Russia, the Union has repeatedly raised its concerns regarding freedom of religion in Russia. In this context, the Commission will continue actively to promote the principle of religious freedom as part of its dialogue on human rights issues with Russian authorities. Furthermore, the Commission will continue to press the message that the effective partnership that the Union and Russia are trying to establish necessarily has to be based on a series of fundamental core values, which include full respect for Human Rights. In accordance with the major international and European Human Rights conventions that Russia has ratified, this respect for Human Rights and fundamental liberties includes freedom of religion or belief. In parallel, the promotion of Human Rights in Russia will continue to be a priority in the framework of the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR). Russia is among the focus countries that have been identified for 2002-2004.

(1) Oral reply, 22.10.2002.