Mon, 19 Nov 2007

ELIANT launches new signature campaign in Britain

LOERRACH (NNA) - The European Alliance of Initiatives for Applied Anthroposophy (ELIANT) has launched a new campaign to raise the number of signatures it has so far collected in Britain.

The alliance is seeking to collect one million signatures throughout Europe which it will use to lobby the European Commission and, in the words of its charter, to “try to influence the development of European policies and to develop and maintain the necessary contacts with European institutions.”

But while the total number of signatures has now risen to a quarter of a million, only some 5,000 people have so far supported the initiative with their signature in Britain.

In a gesture of solidarity, the alliance even received 4,400 signatures from Brazil

The alliance now hopes to raise greater awareness in Britain with its new campaign by encouraging as many people as possible to participate in collecting signatures in their local area and drawing people’s attention to the online voting facility. The campaign also suggests placing postcards and information packs in pharmacies, organic food markets, bakeries and GP’s surgeries.

“Fortunately, since the Lisbon Treaty was passed on 19 October 2007, there now exists a right of petition for proactive submissions to the European Commission when these are supported by 1 million signatures,” ELIANT says in a press release.

“ELIANT wishes to take advantage of this right, using democratic means to support the active lobby work previously carried out over years by individual umbrella organisations for anthroposophical medicine, medicine producers, patient associations, special needs education, Waldorf schools, natural cosmetics and biodynamic agriculture.

“The authorities have repeatedly shown that next to no recognition is accorded to these associations and institutions, and that they lack the critical mass to achieve anything politically. ELIANT aims to remedy this and warmly invites support to do so,” the press release adds.

In contrast to individual countries in Europe, Europe itself does not yet have the legal framework conditions necessary to sustain and further develop initiatives of applied anthroposophy, ELIANT says.

There was, for example, no legal basis for manufacturing biodynamic preparations, specific anthroposophical medicines, producing Demeter infant foods without artificial vitamin supplements, or a school system that not only allows parents the free right of choice but is also itself sufficiently independent.

“The newly planned and to some extent already approved EU guidelines have led to a situation in which the legal scope for tried-and-tested approaches is increasingly being eroded. Things still allowed under the national laws of EU states are now being questioned or elbowed out by EU law,” the initiative warns.

As an example of the necessity of demonstrating that there is widespread support in Europe and, indeed, beyond for anthroposophical initiatives, the alliance points to the recent decision of the European Court of Justice relating to the marketing of anthroposophical medicines: “To safeguard distribution of specifically anthroposophical remedies in Europe, we need a legal ruling for which no legal basis as yet exists,” a recent appeal said.

The allian can be accessed online at www.eliant.eu.

END/nna/cva

Item: 071119-01EN Date: 19 November 2007

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