On 6-8 December 2002 a conference on ‘Politics and Morality’ took place in Vienna, Austria, organized by the Institute for Human Sciences jointly with Project Syndicate, Prague/New York.

The following words by Immanuel Kant were taken as a motto of the conference:

Politics says, ‘Be ye wise as serpents’; morality adds, as a limiting condition, ‘and guileless as doves.’ If these two injunctions are incompatible in a single command, then politics and morality are really in conflict; but if these two qualities ought always to be united, the thought of contrariety is absurd, and the question as to how the conflict between morals and politics is to be resolved cannot even be posed as a problem.

The conference began on 6 December with welcome addresses by Krzysztof Michalski, Rector of the Institute for Human Sciences, and Andrzej Rapaczynski, Editor and Director, Project Syndicate, Prague/New York. The opening address was delivered by Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Foreign Minister of Austria.

Two keynote speeches were delivered on 6 December: ‘A Set of Ethics for Europe,’ by the President of the European Commission Mr Romano Prodi, and ‘Is Honest Politics Possible?’ by the President of the Republic of Poland Mr Aleksander Kwasniewski.

On 7 and 8 December, three sessions took place: the first on ‘Moral Obligations and the International Economic’; the second on ‘Moral Sources and Moral Limits of Democracy’; and the third on ‘Morality and Foreign Policy’. The list of speakers included Leszek Balcerowicz, President of the Polish National Bank, former Deputy Prime Minister of Poland; Noelle Lenoir, French Minister Delegate for European Affairs, Paris; Joseph Stiglitz, Professor of Economics, Columbia University; Juliya Tymoshenko, opposition leader in the Parliament of Ukraine, former Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine; Gerfried Sperl, Editor-in-Chief, Der Standard, Vienna; Lord Dahrendorf, former Rector, London School of Economics; Amy Gutmann, Professor of Politics and Provost, Princeton University; Michael Howard, former Home Secretary and current Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, London; Wolfgang Schüssel, Federal Chancellor of Austria; Christoph Bertram, Director, Foundation Science and Policy – German Institute for International and Security Affairs, Berlin; Robert Cooper, Director-General for External and Politico-Military Affairs at the Council of Ministers, Brussels; Bronislaw Geremek, Professor and Chair of European Civilization, College of Europe, Natolin, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland; John Gray, Professor of European Thought, London School of Economics; Ruud Lubbers, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, former Prime Minister of The Netherlands; Aryeh Neier, President, Open Society Institute, New York.

The conference was the sixth plenary gathering of the editors of Project Syndicate member newspapers. (Project Syndicate is an international association of quality newspapers with currently over 160 member papers in 88 countries, with a total circulation of over 29,5 million copies).

In his keynote address Mr Prodi pointed to the relationship between ethics and politics, stating that ‘we should never, for whatever reason, try to separate the exercise of political power from the moral dimension.’ He called for ‘a noble confusion of politics and ethics,’ which, according to him, ‘make a precious compound.’ In view of the fact that ‘Europe has a tragic memory of the wrong relationship between morality and politics,’ there should be a dialogue between those two, emphasized the President of the European Commission.

He then turned to the issues facing the EU, among which he named ‘the relations between science and society, the dialogue between cultures, relations with the developing world, the role of the market and Europe's spiritual and religious dimension.’ These issues, in his words, ‘require us to come up with new ideas, new solutions and new rules if we are to fulfil the hopes placed in the European project and ensure that it is also a project with ideas and a soul.’

Continuing his deliberations, Mr Prodi pointed to the necessity of dialogue between science, culture and religion:

Europe is the expression of diverse traditions and cultures, we might say that managing diversity is in our genes. It is thus crucial to encourage dialogue between scientific communities, philosophers, cultures and religions so that we can exchange opinions and ideas on fundamental issues such as the ethical implications of new technologies for human dignity and for future generations.

Predicaments concerning the relationship between political action and cultural and religious principles and values are not confined to science.

The dialogue between different religions and cultures is no longer simply a matter of foreign policy, it is of fundamental concern within our own societies.

Speaking of the relations between Europe and the Mediterranean, Mr Prodi informed his audience that he has set up a ‘group of wise men’ that will start work on analysing these relations as of January 2003. He also mentioned the North-South relations, pointing to the ‘dissatisfaction with the level of social justice and social participation’ in this area.

Referring to the situation in Europe, Mr Prodi said: ‘After the fall of the Berlin wall, the defence and promotion of human rights – the fight against totalitarianism in all its forms – and espousal of market principles became the common ground that united various schools of thought.’ The new issues, he added, ‘call for new answers.’

In particular, stressed Mr Prodi, there should be a ‘fresh thinking about our relationship with the market.’ The era of dogma is now behind, ‘the nineties and the prevailing certainties of that time are over,’ and ‘the supposed primacy of business and the market over politics has collapsed.’ People now understand that they are not living in ‘the best of all possible worlds.’

Returning to the theme of the spiritual and religious heritage of Europe, Mr Prodi stated: ‘At a time when we are reflecting on the future of Europe, we cannot overlook its spiritual, religious and ethical dimensions.’ He further added that ‘Europe also needs ideas and a soul.’ In order to discuss these issues in an ad hoc working party the President of the European Commission, with the help of Professor Michalski, has decided to bring together a number of European thinkers and politicians.

Several crucial statements were made by the President of the European Commission with regard to the role that religion can play in future Europe.

A new Europe built on the fundamental values that have fashioned it in the course of its history, which also have their roots in the Christian tradition, offers benefits for everyone, whatever their philosophical or spiritual tradition.

As we lay the foundations of a new, enlarged European Union it would not be right to marginalise the religions and movements that have contributed, and are still contributing, so much to the culture and humanism that Europe is rightly so proud of.

That does not mean failing to recognise or denigrating the need for a secular state and a secular Europe. It simply means taking account of Europe’s roots, which lie in religious and spiritual movements as well as in humanism, the enlightenment and the Greek and Roman heritage.

Recognising these roots does not signal rejection or exclusion of others. Europe’s true strength has always lain in mingling and coalescing different influences and cultures.

How can we put Christianity, Judaism and Islam in separate boxes in a Europe that proclaims its pluralism and tolerance?

The separation of the public and religious spheres does not mean denying or ignoring religions and their many believers.

I believe that an open, healthy debate between the Community institutions and religious confessions is now both possible and necessary. In fact the Commission’s White Paper on European governance mentions the need for the participation of religious groups and consultations with them. Next week we shall be following this up with a paper on a new system of consultations.

All of these statements seem to have been made in direct response to the recent outcry among world religious leaders concerning the admittedly secular character of the process of European integration and their plea for some kind of recognition of spiritual and religious values in the European constitutional treaty.

In particular, Pope John Paul II in his speech given to the Italian Parliament on 15 November 2002 expressed his hope that ‘the new foundations of the European “common house” will not lack the “cement” of that extraordinary religious, cultural and civil patrimony that has given Europe its greatness down the centuries. There is a need to guard against a vision of the Continent that would take into account only its economic and political aspects, or that would uncritically yield to lifestyles inspired by a consumerism indifferent to spiritual values.’ Urging European politicians to recognize the Christian foundations of European civilization, the Pope pleaded: ‘Europe, at the beginning of the new millennium, open once again your doors to Christ!’

A few days before this intervention, Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad spoke in Oslo , at the inaugural meeting of the European Council of Religious Leaders, of the necessity to respect religious ideals inherent in many national cultures. Pointing to the fact that ‘some of the values which are characteristic of the Eastern Christian civilization are also characteristic of other models of civilization,’ in particular, of Islam, Judaism and Buddhism, and that these systems of values differ from that of Western liberalism, Metropolitan Kirill stressed that ‘the fundamental values of other cultural worlds must be included into the philosophical basis of integration in order that Europe may become a common home also for those who belong to them.’ He also called for a systematic dialogue between European politicians and religious leaders.

In Romano Prodi’s keynote speech at the Vienna conference on ‘Politics and Morality’ many of these points were outlined and reflected upon. His speech is a clear signal to religious leaders that the European Commission is willing to deepen its dialogue with them and that it finds such dialogue necessary and timely. In a sense, his speech may be considered as a landmark event in this dialogue, which now enters a new phase. It is to be hoped that further growth of mutual respect and understanding between the political and religious leaders of Europe will take place and that this growth will be reflected in the constitutional treaty and other legislative documents for a new Europe.