EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 78/364

(2004/C 78 E/0384)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1278/03

by Dana Scallon (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(4 April 2003)

Subject: Uniates in Romania

On 7 February 2002, after having gained legal title in the courts, the Greek Catholic minority (also called Eastern Rite Catholic, or Uniates) Church of Ocna Mures, Transylvania, Romania, could recover their church. A few weeks later, on 16 March 2002, they were driven out of their church by a mob led by three orthodox priests, aided and abetted by the local police.

Another case happened a few years ago: in the town of Ardud, the police warned the Greek Catholic priest that he would be arrested then called the members of the congregation one by one and told them the same.

In 1995, in the city of Craiova, the orthodox bishop had the Greek Catholic church demolished, with the help of the army and the police.

Is the Commission aware of any discrimination against the Uniate minority in Romania?

Could you please tell me what action the Commission has taken or is aiming to take in order to avoid religious persecution within applicant countries? In this case, in what way? Could the Commission detail the action taken or to be taken?

Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(16 May 2003)

The Commission is aware of the allegations of discrimination against the Greek Catholic Romanian Church United with Rome raised by the Honourable Member.

Respect of human rights, including the freedom of religion, is one of the basic criteria for accession to the Union and is as such closely monitored by the Commission. The results of this monitoring exercise are published annually, and in its 2002 Report on Romania's Progress to Accession (Regular Report) the Commission concluded that:

Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Constitution and is observed in practice. The Government does not restrict the observance of religious belief, although human rights organisations have reported cases of Orthodox clergy, sometimes working with local officials, restricting the religious activities of other churches.

There is no evidence that discriminatory actions against any religious group are systematically applied nor are part of a deliberate policy of the Romanian government. The appropriate course of action would be to use the Romanian legal system to challenge any illegal actions against church property.

At the same time the Commission is aware that the legal framework covering the return of confiscated churches is as yet incomplete and the Commission has therefore urged the Romanian authorities to introduce legislation that explicitly covers the restitution of churches. On this subject the 2002 Regular Report noted:

In July 2002, Parliament adopted legislation that clarified the process of restituting property confiscated from churches. The legislation extends the scope of the previous law in several important respects. However, only church property is covered and there is presently no legal framework for the restitution of actual churches. This is a particularly important issue for the Greek-Catholic Church which had a large number of properties confiscated by the Communist regime but still has no legal redress. The Government has committed itself to producing specific legislation on this issue but delays in preparing such a law means that there has been no substantial progress.

In conclusion, this is a matter that the Commission takes very seriously. However, it is important to note that the Commission cannot judge if specific cases constitute violations of the freedom of religion. Romania is a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights, Article 9 of which sets out basic rights concerning ‘freedom of thought, conscience and religion’. This means that once domestic remedies have been exhausted a complaint can be addressed to the European Court on Human Rights in Strasbourg in order that it may assess these questions.