The inaugural conference of the European Secularist Network took place on Tuesday 8 July at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
Under the auspices of MEP Estelle Ceulemans and Véronique de Keyser, President of the ESN, the debates focused on the rise of the far right in Europe and the dangers for rights and freedoms, before an audience of 80 people, both in the room and online. Numerous member associations were represented: CAL, Egale, UAAR, etc.
Unprecedented far-right presence in EP
After an introduction by Véronique de Keyser on the European Secularist Network, Estelle Ceulemans painted a bleak picture of the situation in the European Parliament. Far-right MEPs account for a quarter of the seats, an unprecedented figure which would still be manageable if there were a cordon sanitaire. However, since the beginning of this legislature, there has been a rapprochement between the moderate right of the EPP and the three parliamentary groups of the extreme right. Only in the Social Affairs Committee has a cordon sanitaire been put in place.
Véronique de Keyser then highlighted the dangers of the current situation, with a far right that has managed to come to power democratically in a number of European countries.
Orban’s “Christian democracy”: a theocratic regime
The first speaker, Gáspár Békés, from the Hungarian Association of Atheists, traced the history of state-church relations in Hungary after the fall of the communist regime, which, since the establishment of Viktor Orban’s illiberal regime in 2010, has led to a veritable alliance. The current government largely supports the churches financially, has given them a hegemonic position in education, protects their dignitaries, and marginalises and even harasses the most critical voices. It calls for a united front of progressive secularists and faith groups who share the principles of equality, justice and democracy, to create a secular society based on the separation of church and state. We must collectively realise that the future of Europe is secular.
Spain: pressure on the justice system
Next, Mariano Reaño Lambea, lawyer and member of Europa Laica (Spain), focused on the relationship between the far right and the justice system in Spain, between influence and instrumentalisation. In his view, there are legislative provisions to punish statements challenging the State and the Crown, which some judges apply harshly. He also spoke of the difficulties encountered by Europa Laica in its legal actions to enforce the law against certain abuses by the authorities in favour of the Catholic Church.
Against hate speech, for free debate
The final speaker, Joan-Francesc Pont Clemente, President of the Ferrer i Guardia Foundation in Barcelona, who spoke by videoconference, presented his analysis of the manipulation of hate speech, the extreme right and cancellation policies. He went on to suggest ways of combating hate speech while creating the conditions for peaceful debate and avoiding the censorship of dissenting voices.
Urgency of the struggle
The debate was fuelled by numerous comments and questions from the audience, both in the room and online. The discussion touched on the need to warn of the concrete dangers posed by the far right, which still seems abstract to many people; the political responsibility to combat economic and social decline, a breeding ground for the extremist vote; the affirmation of secularism in Europe…
There was general agreement on the urgent need to develop concrete solutions to counter the rise of the far right, summed up in Estelle Ceulemans’ concluding appeal to fight it resolutely, because we too have almost nothing left to lose.
