Monday, December 12, 2022
Image credits: Kenny Eliason, from: Unsplash We as Sallux team are looking back at a very busy but also very productive time. Due to the fact that one of our small staff was on a well-deserved parental leave, we needed to focus even more on the immediate tasks at hand. This to ensure that our publications were published and events were properly prepared and that our partners got the cooperation from our end to ensure that all happened as planned. Due to this focus we were unable to publish our newsletter for some time. First of all I want to thank all our partners in all the various projects for their cooperation and hard work to reach out and involve people in essential debates that touch everyone in Europe. Instead of a long and tedious expose of each project, I will try to clarify what themes have been at the core of these projects. First of all the question how to change the fundamentals of our economy so that common people see that Christian-democracy and Christian engagement in politics is prepared to bring the fundamental change they need. We now see everywhere how the current system is dysfunctional for people who work for an income. That is why we need a new balance in which the critically important stakeholders in our economy become at least as important as shareholders. Without that fundamental change we will keep running in a vicious circle at the cost of people and planet. That is why we are grateful for our cooperation with both Jubilee Centre and World Evangelical Alliance Business Coalition in realizing these two publications: ‘From Extraction to Creation’ and ‘A Just Economy in Times of Global Crises’. Secondly the question of how we can have a foreign policy that supports the oppressed and therefore also the average European taxpayer? The appeasement of oppressors has only brought costs for taxpayers in Europe and misery for the oppressed. By highlighting the plight of ethnic minorities we provide a new and effective approach to the big geopolitical questions of this moment. Ethnic minorities are both the most oppressed and at the same time the ‘weak spot’ of oppressive regimes such as Iran, Turkey, China and Russia. In this case we made our earlier publication on this topic (‘Engaging Ethnic Minorities’) very practical. Together with Mr. Geuking MEP and his great team we organized an event in the European Parliament last 17 November in which opposition movements of Iran’s ethnic minorities got an opportunity to come together and together speak out at the European level. A new EU policy on Iran cannot overlook 50% of the people of Iran. Moreover, the issue of ethnic minorities is highly relevant in the war of Russia against Ukraine. Russia is using disproportionally people from its ethnic minorities as cannon fodder in Ukraine. It is smart policy to apply the principle of cherishing Europe’s rich ethnic diversity also in EU foreign affairs. This emphasis on the need to engage with all ethnic groups equally, also has consequences for the EU policy towards Israel. Our new publication (‘Two States for Two Peoples?’) in cooperation with thinc outlines this. For Sallux the main point is that the EU Member States cannot ratify and support a state for the Palestinians unless the same policy is applied to many other stateless peoples that aspire to have a state. The alternative (which we suggest) is a more confederal outlook for the whole region. Thirdly we continue to be engaged in supporting Christians to have a constructive and clear voice in Europe’s society and politics. This also demands renewal of Europe’s Christian-democracy. We thank Fondazione Magna Carta, Kompassi, Areopagus, Clapham Institute and Swedish Evangelical Alliance for the various events in which we had the privilege to be a partner. Two questions came back in all these events: How can we respect the secular state and maintain our voice as Christians? What is our input if we engage? The core conclusions are that we have the right to speak out as Christians just like every other group in society and that we do so most effectively if we are engaged based on a relational understanding of human dignity. We need an economy based on this relational understanding of human dignity. That understanding includes both our ethnic/national and religious identity and provides both a broader outlook so that neither will be used to exclude people from society. Moreover it is the message that can renew Christian-democracy in Europe which is in desperate need of a new and passionate message. Christian-democracy cannot be renewed without that core message of God coming to us humans in Christ. Christmas means Incarnation which means that God demonstrates that we as human beings are of infinite worth in His eyes. This is the ultimate foundation of human dignity. Working to realize human dignity for all is a message that is Christian by definition and at the same time appealing for all, regardless of religious conviction. It is a message that elevates people, engages them and empowers them. We will develop and deepen that message in three projects with various partners in which a relational understanding of human dignity is explained, explored and applied as foundation of the EU and its legal order as well as basis of Christian engagement in Europe. All this we can only do thanks to our members and partners and thanks to all those who support our work. At the end of every year it is always a bit of a challenge to achieve our obligatory match-funding that is mandatory to keep the subsidy from the European Parliament. Every euro we receive results in 19 euro subsidy from the European Parliament which allows us to do all this work with all our members and partners. Therefore it would be highly effective to support our work and also highly appreciated. We thank all those who follow and participate in all we do and we encourage all of you to stay engaged in Europe’s society. We wish you a merry Christmas and a blessed New Year! Sallux Director
Johannes de Jong
