The European Parliament's plenary assembly rejected any reference
to the continent's "Judeo-Christian" roots in the draft text of the
European Constitution.
The proposal was rejected Wednesday by a vote of 283 to 211. The vote sought to
clarify Parliament's position in view of next week's intergovernmental conference
in Rome that will approve the draft of the Constitution.
The proposal in Parliament was presented by the European Popular Party (EPP),
which called for a "particular reference" in the text to the
"Judeo-Christian" roots of Europe, without proposing a specific
formulation of the request.
Another amendment presented by the European Union of Nations (EUN), which
called for the "express recognition of the legacy of Christianity
inscribed in the history and cultural identity of Europe," met with the same
result.
Although the EPP has a majority in the European Parliament, it did not obtain
the consensus of the majority. It had the support of the EUN, but even within
the EPP, members such as the British Conservatives and others, did not support
it.
Those voting against the proposal included the European Socialist Party and
other minority groups, as well as 30 independent deputies.
"We knew that these were the numbers, but we could not exempt ourselves
from the responsibility to present forcefully the position in which we firmly
believe," EPP spokeswoman Katrin Ruhrmann said.
EPP President Hans-Gert Pöttering lamented the rejection of the amendment, but
explained that the preamble of the draft Constitution presented by the European
Convention makes reference to the continent's religious patrimony. And Article
51 of the draft recognizes the status of churches and communities which share a
common faith, he said.
Ruhrmann said that the last word now rests with the governments of the European
Union. "If they wish, they have the possibility to modify the draft
Constitution in the sense we desire," she said.