European Union and religious leaders, meeting for annual talks, agreed that there was a need to emphasise social and ethical issues in the face of the serious challenges facing the global economy.

This emerged from statements by European Commission President Jose Barosso and religious leaders after the May 11 2009 meeting in Brussels.

The meeting, entitled "Economic and financial crisis: ethical contributions for European and global economic governance", was hosted by Barroso and Hans-Gert Poettering, President of the European Parliament. Also present were the EU Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs, Joaquin Almunia, and Jan Figel’, EU Commissioner for Education and Culture.

Barosso told a news conference: "As the financial and economic crisis progresses, it becomes increasingly clear that it is imperative to reconcile economic governance with the fundamental ethical values on which our European project has been based over the past 50 years".

He said that at the meeting, there had been "fundamental convergence" on the need to "put our emphasis on social matters, especially for the most vulnerable; that in this time of crisis we do not give up to some trends of extremism, of xenophobia, of islamophobia, or anti-semitism, or ultra nationalism; that we stand for our values, including our responsibility towards our citizens here in Europe and also in the rest of the world, namely the need to fulfil the Millennium Development Goals.

"The basic idea of reconciling our commitment to open economies with our commitment to social justice, which is very much the European model, or as we call it very often, the social market economy." Barroso said that doing this was a priority for the EU.

"We have come with very important initiatives in terms of regulation and supervision. We try to reinforce the mechanisms of responsibility and the ethics of responsibility in our financial and economic activities.

"Also through the employment summit and other initiatives, we try to put the emphasis on the priority for social matters. The most urgent priority now is to tackle unemployment."

A media release by the Conference of European Churches (CEC) quoted Rev Jean-Arnold de Clermont, president of the CEC, as saying that the present crisis was more than just a financial and economic crisis.

"We need to recognise the complexity of the situation and the interconnectedness of several issues, such as social justice, food security and an effective response to climate change," he said.
 
"The present crisis calls for a substantial change," De Clermont said.
 
"People have lost confidence in a system which is mainly based on individual profit. The present crisis is an ethical crisis in which churches and religious communities need to highlight ethical values such as human dignity, freedom with responsibility, solidarity and sustainability."
 
Bishop Nifon of the Romanian Orthodox Church said that "any response to the present crisis should go beyond individualism and nationalism."
 
The CEC statement said that Nifon had reminded the meeting about the spiritual dimension: "My daily bread is a material concern; the daily bread of my neighbour is a spiritual concern."
 
Bishop Wolfgang Huber of the Evangelical Church in Germany said that "any action in response to the crisis needs to be measured with the yardstick of solidarity; but not only by solidarity among the present population of the world, but also by solidarity with future generations.
 
"This might not always lead to popular political decisions. But churches and religious communities will stand by politicians who are committed to solidarity and sustainability," Huber said.
 
Prof. Jaana Halamaa from the Evangelical Church of Finland reminded the participants that "commonly shared values need to be translated into concrete action."
 
The CEC said that church representatives had underlined the just balance of the social component and competitiveness in a further developed social market economy.
 
The common opinion of the religious leaders was that "as religious communities we must raise our voices for the most vulnerable in our societies and for their protection," the CEC statement said.
 
"In order to continue the dialogue between religions and the European institutions on reviewing European policies from a value perspective, participants in the meeting asked for a more structured preparation and follow-up to annual meetings on the leadership level."
 
Representatives, both of the religious communities and of the European institutions, said that religions have no monopoly in defining European values, but religions were a major actor in European societies and had an important contribution to make to the future of Europe and the world.
 
With the June 4 to 7 2009 European Parliament elections approaching, the meeting emphasised how important it will be for the 375 million citizens in Europe to assume their democratic right and to participate in the elections, the CEC statement said.