WRITTEN QUESTION E-2361/03 by Maurizio Turco (NI) to the Commission. Violation of religious freedom in Belarus by means of a new concordat conferring greater power on the Orthodox Church.
Date: 2003-07-17
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Belarus, EU relations, church-State relations, freedom of religious beliefs

8.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 88 E/405

(cid:1) Ragunatha Priya, the leader of the Hare Krishna community in Abranovce, near Prsov, says that they

were obliged to register as a civil organisation;

(cid:1) 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’.

(2004/C 88 E/0411)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2361/03

by Maurizio Turco (NI) to the Commission

(17 July 2003)

Subject: Violation of religious freedom in Belarus by means of a new concordat conferring greater power

on the Orthodox Church

Given that:

(cid:1) a concordat was signed between the Orthodox Church and the State on 12 June 2003, enhancing the
influence of the Orthodox Church in State bodies and allowing it to develop cooperation programmes
with all influential sectors;

C 88 E/406

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

8.4.2004

(cid:1) by virtue of the concordat the State accepts the designation of Belarus as a ‘canonical territory’ of the

Orthodox Church;

(cid:1) previously, Georgia was the only former Soviet republic to have concluded a high-level concordat with
signed by the President Eduard

a local Orthodox church (cid:1) the ‘constitutional agreement’
Shevardnadze with the Patriarch-Catholicos Ilya II on 14 October 2002;

(cid:1) the provisions of that document, however, such as exemption from tax and restitution of church
property, broadly correspond to those in existing laws on religion in Russia, but the new Belarusian
concordat goes much further by introducing into the legal terminology of the State several key
concepts vigorously promoted by the Moscow Patriarchate since the break-up of the Soviet Union.

In view of the excellent economic and commercial cooperation relations between the European Union and
Belarus can the Commission say:

(cid:1) whether it is aware of the facts outlined above;

(cid:1) what steps it will take, in the context of cooperation relations, as a serious and effective means of

inducing Belarus to respect religious freedom?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(12 September 2003)

As regards relations with Belarus, it must be kept in mind that the Union and Member States actions with
Belarus are strictly defined, in compliance with the September 1997 Council Resolution establishing a
number of restrictions on political contact. In this framework economic and commercial relations between
the Community and Belarus cannot be described as being ‘excellent’.

The Commission would like to reiterate that it attaches great importance to the rights of freedom of
religion, belief and expression. The Union has repeatedly affirmed that human rights and democratisation
must form an integral part of all political dialogues with third countries. Religious freedom, as one of the
fundamental human rights, as well as the rights of religious minorities are thus addressed through the
Union’s bilateral political dialogues, and, when appropriate, through démarches and public declarations, as
well as through Union action in fora such as the United Nations (UN) Commission on Human Rights or
the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly.

The Commission remains engaged to support freedom of religion and Human Rights in Belarus, in close
co-operation with Member States, the Council of Europe, Organisation for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE) and the United Nations.

(2004/C 88 E/0412)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2370/03

by Anna Karamanou (PSE) to the Commission

Subject: Gang rape of women by British troops in Kenya

(16 July 2003)

It was recently reported that 650 women from the town of Isiolo in eastern Kenya have complained that
they have been subjected to rape, in many cases gang rape, by British solders. There is a British army base
in the region where exercises are held every year. According to their complaints, the rapes began in 1977;
although the British Ministry of Defence was informed, it failed to intervene. As a result of these rapes,
many women have given birth to half-cast babies and are marginalized, having been driven out by their
families. Most of these women, acting with financial assistance from the Kenyan authorities, have filed law
suits and are seeking compensation.