Annual Report 2014

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Annual Report 2014 Annual Report 2014 Your Quaker Voice in Europe George Thurley, Sevasti Christoforou, Alexandra Bosbeer, Gordon Matthews and Andrew Lane The Quaker Council for European Affairs (QCEA) was founded in 1979 to promote the values of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in the European context. Our purpose is to express a Quaker vision in matters of peace, human rights, economic justice, and sustainability. QCEA is based in Brussels and is an international, not‐for‐profit organisation under Belgian Law. Table of Contents Message from the QCEA Representative 3 QCEA on Peace 4 QCEA on Economic Justice and Sustainability 5 QCEA on Democratic Governance and Human Rights 6 QCEA Communications 7 Reflections 8 Treasurer's Report 11 Financial Statements 12 Balance Sheet 13 QCEA people in 2014 15 3 QCEA Annual Report 2014 Eventful Service 2014 was an eventful year in Brussels. We had the Matthews, who as Office Manager acts as the ‘Quaker European Parliament elections in May, and then a new face’ of QCEA to many who contact us. College of Commissioners whose organisational diagram changed from a flat one to a structure with This was a very productive year, as you will see in the two levels of Vice Presidents. programme reports. Here in Quaker House, QCEA had a small staff team in QCEA is able to increase its impact in relation to its the office. Our work is directed both towards the small size through our collaboration with other institutions through advocacy, and towards Quakers organisations in networks. We are valued for having an around Europe through providing information and alternative view and for being able to work at the facilitating engagement in democracy at the European junction between issues. Many of the issues of concern level. QCEA’s important contribution as ‘the Quaker to Quakers are rather technical at the EU policy level. voice in Europe’ is founded on a base of hundreds of We have the expertise to contribute and are valued for supporters who write letters, raise funds, and offer our collaborative style. QCEA is also valued for the their time and simple Friendship to our staff team. name ‘Quaker’ which carries with it connotations of integrity and clear thinking. The service of the staff The office here in Brussels is often a place of continues to build this reputation. movement and growth. In January, we were joined by Andrew Lane, who brought his cheerful outreach skills Alexandra Bosbeer, Representative to the role of Deputy Representative, and Gordon “…it is the work of going out of ourselves which we accomplish amid light; lost in another than ourselves we incline and move towards our own beatitude." ‐John Ruysbroeck, 14th Century QCEA Annual Report 2014 4 Peace A Europe active in peacebuilding and resistant to militarism Peace is an essential element of a just world. Quakers are one of the historic peace churches, and that is why QCEA works with the institutions of the EU to encourage progress towards a world free of war and of the threat of war. The role of the European Union has become increasingly important in world affairs: the EU currently has 18 overseas operations including both civilian peacebuilding and military deployments. In recent years the EU has increased military cooperation, including on the development of drones and supporting the arms trade. During 2014, QCEA has criticised these approaches and called on the European Union to reject militarism in favour of internal security and cyber security. We aim for the diplomacy and the 'soft power' that attracts and EU to build fewer walls and more bridges. fosters cooperation. Promoting structures of peace We do not just criticise war. QCEA has promoted ideas that help build peaceful societies, such as the global peace index, gender equality, and institutions for peaceful dialogue. A particular highlight was our December report giving a cautious welcome to the new European Institute of Peace while warning that this new institution should not divert funding from existing peace initiatives. QCEA cooperates with our partners to advocate on issues which are drivers of conflict, especially with regard to funding and trade. For example, during 2014, QCEA met with the European Investment Bank directors to discuss incorporation of learning from A timely Quaker voice for peace their own complaints procedure and to offer advice on the Bank's revised transparency policy. Being located in Brussels allows QCEA to respond to changes at the institutions and new policy discussions. Headlines: Our work on peace Many QCEA supporters have taken part in 'Action • The European Institute of Peace: a new initiative Alerts' on peace, contacting their representatives to for mediation and dialogue help ensure that a resolution supporting Palestinian statehood was passed in the European Parliament, • Britain may sell its shares in peace and to call for the new European Commission Vice • New plans to increase EU military research funding President responsible for foreign policy to be someone • EU militarism: It’s time to scrutinise old ideas who would work for peace. about security During 2014, QCEA produced publications outlining • A culture of peace: The Council of Europe has a part to play more peaceful alternatives to draft EU strategies on “There is no security except in creating situations in which people do not want to harm you.” — James G. Vail 1953 5 QCEA Annual Report 2014 Economic Justice and Sustainability With concerns about the wealth of Europe, and a Headlines: Our blogs on sense of competition perhaps with other areas of the world, the current European Commission is focussing environment and economics very much on ‘jobs and growth’. QCEA continues to • Maintaining a Quaker voice in a “growth and jobs” narrative promote human well‐being instead of growth focussed on Gross Domestic Product per capita. When promises • Energy and (in)security are made of more jobs, we ask what kind of jobs and • Trading for injustice • Liberating people instead of trade • An uncessary tradition: The originas of the Investor State Dispute Settlement mechanism One major issue in 2014 was the potential threat to democratic governance from certain elements of free trade agreements which were (and still are, in the case of the US) being negotiated between the EU and with both the US and Canada. The investor state dispute settlement tribunals have been revised in the free trade deal with Canada, but we still fear a chilling effect on the freedom of governments to legislate in the public interest. Examples abound in a joint publication on how the investor state dispute how secure they might be, for example. We reviewed settlement mechanism is likely to play out in the the similarities of solutions to youth unemployment to finalised and yet‐to‐be‐ratified free trade deal those proposed ‐ and found to be too weak to bring between the EU and Canada. Citizen engagement is solutions ‐ in the 1980s. We promote consideration of crucial: we provided a short description of the free other important aspects of human well‐being which trade agreements, and a briefing paper advocating an include the natural environment and economic exit clause for the agreement with the US. The equality. We envisage a shift toward a wholly importance of this work can be seen in the fact that different economic system. over 150,000 citizens and organisations responded to a European Commission consultation on the investor Economic growth is often assumed to require cheap state dispute settlement mechanism. energy, so we also commented on the Europe 2020 energy goals, holding out that increasing employment Headlines: Our publications on and reducing our load on the natural world can both economic justice be achieved through increasing energy efficiency. The • A sunset clause for TTIP need for a robust directive on waste reduction and • Transatlantic Trade and investment partnership ‐ recycling (circular economy) was another area of what is it? QCEA’s work. “Love your neighbour in the next generation, care for the environment." Charles B. Lamb, Ireland YM 1993 QCEA Annual Report 2014 6 Democratic Governance QCEA envisages an EU in which citizens feel engaged, and in which civil society is given the space to express a variety of views and challenge those in power. In 2014, we hosted a dozen Friends in our biennial study tour, during which they visited the EU institutions, the European Court of Human Rights, and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe during a debate on Ukraine. “This study tour has been a very good experience and I am learning a lot,” said one of the participants. Our six action alerts in 2014 stimulated Friends to engage with their Members of the European Parliament and to make submissions to relevant EU European Commission and the European Investment officials on issues that Quakers care about, including Bank on transparency, best practice in stakeholder economic justice and energy goals. QCEA staff made consultation, impact assessment, and corporate social submissions regarding how citizens might best be responsibility. A guide for citizens to getting involved engaged: in 2014, we wrote formal submissions to the with the EU is on our webpage. Human Rights We work in partnership with several networks, formal and informal, on projects in which we share goals with other NGOs. For example, the Human Rights and Democracy Network (HRDN) is a We work for peaceful societies collaboration of more than forty human rights within EU Member States as organisations working at the EU level. QCEA recently played a significant part in an HRDN campaign in well as between them, and the which candidates for the European Parliament need for protection of human pledged to promote human rights is highlighted with the rights in their political work rise of far‐right ideologies in (see stand4humanrights.org).
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