New parliament chair drops call for God in EU constitution
16.01.2007 - 17:38 CET | By Lucia KubosovaEUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The new president of the European Parliament Hans-Gert Poettering has promised to act as a "fair and objective" president of the whole assembly, indicating that despite his personal convictions, he would no longer press for a reference to God in any revised EU constitution.
Mr Poettering was elected to chair the bloc's legislature by a majority of 450 votes out of 715 MEPs voting in the first round of Tuesday's (16 January) election.
Despite three other candidates running for the presidency - with Greens co-chairman Monica Frassoni receiving 145 votes, leftist GUE/NGL president Francis Wurtz 48 votes and Danish eurosceptic Jens-Peter Bonde 46 votes - most group leaders said they believe Mr Poettering will manage to act as a neutral president of all members.
Following the vote, the German deputy said one of his key priorities would be to boost a "dialogue between cultures", particularly between Christian and Muslim religions.
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posted by Dr. Denice Hanley, DPM, M.Div. @ 4:24 PM
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