QCEA reaction to referendum result
The Quaker Council for European Affairs reacts to the result of the EU referendum
The Quaker Council for European Affairs (QCEA) has highlighted the importance of Quaker values in the wake of the result of the EU referendum.
‘The UK has decided to step away from an organisation which acts as a mechanism for dialogue, and which is a pillar of peace in Europe and the world,’ said Andrew Lane, representative at QCEA.
He said that more effort is now needed to ‘find ways to keep peace in Europe and to preserve the positive’ and stressed the need to ensure that the UK does not withdraw from the European Convention of Human Rights.
‘Europe, including the UK, will be in greater need of Quaker values as an antidote to an emboldened far-right and to increased division and volatility that will be felt worst by the most vulnerable,’ he continued.
The UK, he asserted, has voted to leave the EU, but ‘cannot leave Europe, and nor can it walk away from very real global challenges’. Without the EU, he added: ‘The UK needs to find other ways to work in an integrated way with countries in Europe and beyond to address war, poverty and climate change.’
Immediately after the result was announced QCEA opened the doors of Quaker House Brussels for anyone affected or worried about the UK leaving the EU and set aside space for quiet reflection.
In February 2016 QCEA’s governing council discerned that the UK should remain a member of the EU.
Comments
Who came to the open house at Quaker House? Was it possible to discern their feelings/reactions?
By doreen.osborne@outlook.com on 1st July 2016 - 12:21
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