EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 88/404

(2004/C 88 E/0410)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2360/03

by Maurizio Turco (NI) to the Commission

(17 July 2003)

Subject: Violation of religious freedom and legal restrictions on religious activity in Slovakia

Given that:

— leaders of small protestant churches, Muslims and followers of Hare Krishna are complaining about the 1991 law on religion, which prevents religious communities with fewer than 20 000 members from obtaining legal status;

— Ivan Zustiak, the leader of the Brethren protestant church, applied for registration but the Office for Religious Affairs refused his application;

— Mohamed Safwan Hasna, a Syrian imam of Slovak nationality, complains that refusal to allow registration and the fact that no mosques can be built is very humiliating. Muslims do not have an appropriate place to gather regularly to pray, meet one another or give instruction in Islamic culture. Hasna purchased a plot of land in the historic centre of the city around three years ago, but the mayor has not granted building permission. There are about 5 000 Muslims in Slovakia, most of them in Bratislava. The Muslim community there, which had to be registered as a charity, has been trying to build an Islamic centre for many years;

— Martin Huncar, the assistant pastor of the protestant church Word of Life in Bratislava, says that his church has not even tried to become registered, knowing it was pointless. The church was obliged to register with the Ministry of the Interior as an organisation carrying out social and Christian activities with young people. They cannot use the word ‘church’ in their official documents. Mr Huncar stresses that without registration it is impossible for a church to conduct legally valid weddings or funerals and cannot work in schools or prisons;

— Ragunatha Priya, the leader of the Hare Krishna community in Abranovce, near Prsov, says that they were obliged to register as a civil organisation;

— when asked whether the fact that new religious groups are refused registration constitutes discrimination, Jan Juran, Director of the religious affairs department at the Ministry of Cultural Affairs replied ‘it probably does, but that's the way things are. So far there has been no criticism from the Slovak Parliament or the Helsinki Committee’. He refused to say whether pressure not to allow the registration of religious groups came from the dominant Catholic Church.

Can the Commission say whether it is aware of the facts mentioned?

Does it consider that the law of 1991 is compatible with the European treaties and the internationally recognised conventions on and definitions of religious freedom?

Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(12 August 2003)

Freedom of religion is a universal and fundamental right of the individual and, as such, it supersedes national jurisdiction.

The Commission is following up on a regular basis the situation regarding freedom of religion in Slovakia as respect of freedom of religion is an important part of the Copenhagen political criteria for accession. The right to manifest freely his or her religion or belief in Slovakia is guaranteed by Article 24 of the Slovak constitution. These guarantees are regulated in more detail in Act No 308/1991 Collection on freedom of religious faith and on the position of churches and religious societies as amended. The Act regulates also certain conditions for the registration of churches, in conjunction with Act No 192/1992 Collection on the registration of churches and religious societies. Registration is the condition for the recognition of a church and religious society. It is on this legal basis that the associations, which the Honourable Member has mentioned, have been denied registration as a church or religious association. However, the requirement for registration does not constitute a restriction of the rights and freedoms guaranteed in Article 24 of the Slovak Constitution. The right of the individual to freely manifest his or her religion or belief remains untouched. Moreover, creating the category of the ‘registered church’ does not violate the state's confessional neutrality (also granted by the Slovak Constitution).

This has also been acknowledged by a recent Council of Europe report on Slovakia, adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 3 July 2003 (CM/Monitor(2003)9). The report emphasizes that freedom of religion should not be put on the same level with ‘equality of entitlements’. Entitlement rights are acquired by churches upon its registration as a recognition of its socially beneficial nature through the State. The report concludes by saying that ‘churches and religious societies can de jure and de facto operate freely regardless of being or not being registered’.