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Agenda Europe (Agenda Europa) is an European Christian network of civil society associations, church representatives, Catholic academics, and politicians who oppose sexual and reproductive rights (SSR), abortion, and LGBT rights.[1][2]

According to Neil Datta, secretary of the European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual and Reproductive Rights, wrote that Agenda Europe serves as the "gravitational centre" of the global anti-SRR community.[3] The group aims to "restore the natural order" through political and legal action to restrict or prohibit access to abortion, divorce, contraception, same-sex marriage, and legal sex change.[4]

History

Beginning

Agenda Europe as an advocacy group was first created in January 2013 at a retreat in London, organised by ÖVP politician Gudrun Kugler and American Terrence McKeegan. The confidential retreat brought twenty pro-life leaders and strategic consultants to discuss the creation of a Christian-inspired European think tank and strategies for a pro-life movement in Europe.[1]

Between 2013 and 2014, an anonymous blog titled "Agenda Europe" appeared, posting about the legal and political developments of sexual and reproductive rights from a traditionalist perspective.[5][1][3] Agenda Europe claims they have no links or control over this blog.[6]

Development

By 2016, the group had focused on specific pieces of legislation, such as initiatives to ban late abortion, marriage, and anti-discrimination laws.[1] In summer of 2017, ARTE Television received documents related to the group's founding meeting in 2013, annual summits after 2013, social medial lists of participants, and a manifesto titled Restoring the Natural Order: an Agenda for Europe.[1][3]

The domain of the agendaeurope.org website is registered to Sophia Kuby, Director of EU Advocacy for Alliance Defending Freedom International, who in 2014 pitched a presentation, “Agenda Europe: a Network for Political Agenda Setting in Europe,” in New York.[3][7]

Participants

As of 2018, the organisation is composed of 300 individuals[4] from thirty European countries[1][2] and 350 conservative European NGOs.[3]

Membership includes both European and Americans,[5][1] with the majority being Catholic, with traditionalist Protestants and Orthodox also represented.[1] Catholic groups have supported Agenda Europe[2], with the International Theological Institute involved in organising the 2013 London meeting and a second meeting hosted at Fürstenried Castle, used by the Bishopric of Munich.[1] Members of the World Congress of Families,[3] Alliance Defending Freedom,[3] Ordo Iuris,[3] and the Political Network of Values were involved with the group.[4]

Politicians involved with Agenda Europe include Irish senator Ronan Mullen, Italian politician Luca Volonté, and Croatian activist Zejlka Markic.[1]

Financing

Agenda Europe claims to not receive any outside funding.[6] Among the those listed in the EPF report to fund Agenda Europe:[1]

  • Vincente Segu, who heads the Mexican anti-SRR organisation Incluyendo Mexico
  • Archduke Imre and Archduchess Kathleen of Hapsburg-Lorraine
  • Oliver Hylton, asset manager for UK Conservative party donor Sir Michael Hintze
  • Alexey Komov, programme officer at the Saint Basil the Great Charitable Foundation in Russia
  • Luca Volonté, former Italian MP and founder of the Fondazione Novae Terrae.

Activities

The group acts through political lobbying, referendum campaigns, petitions, and disinformation actions.[1] Their strategies as are similar to that of the US anti-choice movement[4], with Signs noting that the group positions themselves as "defenders of faith struggling against intolerant, cultural revolutionaries, the concept of discrimination and intolerance against Christians" and the adapting human rights language to their positions, deemed the "colonization of human rights."[2]

The group has drafted many campaigns to influence legislation in different countries. Some of the most important include:[1]

  • Referendum to define marriage in the Croatian constitution as a "union between a man and a woman" (2013; successful)[8]
  • Bill for abortion restrictions in Spain (2014; failure: revoked in September 2014)[9]
  • Petition and referendum to restrict same-sex marriage in Slovenia (2015; successful)[10]
  • Referendum to restrict same-sex marriage in Slovakia (2015; failure: quorum not reached)[11]
  • Complaint against Sweden for failure to respect conscientious objection in reproductive health (2015-2017; failure: all requests rejected)[12]
  • Bill criminalising abortion in Poland (2016; failure: rejected by Parliament in October 2016)[13]
  • A "Mum, Dad & Kids" initiative to define marriage in Europe as a "permanent and faithful union of man and woman with the purpose of founding a family"[14][15] (2016-2017; failure: insufficient signatures)[16]
  • Petition and referendum to ban same-sex marriage in Romania (2016-2018; failure: low turnout)[17]
  • Campaigns against the adoption of the Istanbul Convention (2016-2018; success in Bulgaria[18] and failure in Croatia[19] and Poland[20])

Reception

Agenda Europe has been described as anti-feminist, ultra-conservative, far-right, and religious extremists.[2][21][22][15]

In response to the document released by the European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual and Reproductive Rights, Agenda Europe called the claims within it a "work of fiction" and disowning the Restoring the Natural Order: an Agenda for Europe manifesto, calling it the "work of individuals" who were unrelated to the organisation.[3]

Simone Pillon, former advisor of Fondazione Novae Terrae, described Agenda Europe as being similar to "a group of friends getting together."[4]

Page issues

This article or section contains close paraphrasing of one or more non-free copyrighted sources. (December 2021)
This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2021)
The neutrality of this article is disputed. (December 2021)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Restoring the Natural Order" (PDF). epfweb.org. 2019-05-24. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-05-24. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
  2. ^ a b c d e Graff, Agnieszka; Kapur, Ratna; Walters, Suzanna Danuta (2019-03-01). "Introduction: Gender and the Rise of the Global Right". Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society. 44 (3): 541–560. doi:10.1086/701152. ISSN 0097-9740. S2CID 150566008.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i VSquare (2021-05-07). "Ordo Iuris and a global web of ultra-conservative organisations". VSQUARE.ORG. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  4. ^ a b c d e "The network of organisations seeking to influence abortion policy across Europe". the Guardian. 2022-05-26. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  5. ^ a b "Malta's pro-lifers part of European extremists that want to roll back sexual and reproductive rights". MaltaToday.com.mt. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  6. ^ a b "Agenda Europe Summit". agendaeurope.org. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  7. ^ "[Investigation] US billionaires funding EU culture war". EUobserver. 2019-08-22. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  8. ^ "La Croazia ha vietato i matrimoni gay". Il Post (in Italian). 2013-12-02. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
  9. ^ "Spain: Abortion Bill Violates Rights". Human Rights Watch. 2014-05-12. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
  10. ^ "Slovenia: Same-Sex Marriage Law Rejected by Voters". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
  11. ^ "Slovak Republic: Effort to Ban Same-Sex Marriage Fails". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
  12. ^ "Sweden accused of not respecting freedom of conscience". The Iona Institute. 2013-11-26. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  13. ^ "Women to go on strike in Poland in protest at planned abortion law". the Guardian. 2016-10-03. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
  14. ^ ""Mum, Dad and Kids" European Citizens Initiative". wucwo.org. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
  15. ^ a b "'Agenda Europe': an extremist Christian network in the heart of Europe | Gunda-Werner-Institut". Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  16. ^ "Initiative detail | European Citizens' Initiative". europa.eu. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  17. ^ "Romanian constitutional ban on same sex marriage fails on low vote turnout". Reuters. 2018-10-07. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  18. ^ "Bulgaria Court says 'Istanbul Convention' Violates Constitution". Balkan Insight. 2018-07-27. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
  19. ^ "Croazia. Entrata in vigore la Convenzione di Istanbul". 2019-03-21. Archived from the original on 2019-03-21. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
  20. ^ Amiel, Sandrine (2021-04-01). "Poland moves a step closer to quitting domestic violence treaty". euronews. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
  21. ^ "New book exposes European religious network intent on overturning laws related to sexuality and reproduction". www.epfweb.org (in Dutch). Retrieved 2021-09-25.
  22. ^ De Sutter, Petra (2019-09-03). "The ESC Madrid Declaration: promoting evidence-based SRHR policies with respect for human rights". The European Journal of Contraception & Reproductive Health Care. 24 (5): 325–326. doi:10.1080/13625187.2019.1662393. ISSN 1362-5187.
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