Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-12-13-Speech-1-020"
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"en.19991213.1.1-020"2
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"Madam President, a remark on the question concerning European culture. All Members of the European Parliament have had some very attractive UNICEF Christmas cards handed out to them to use for their Christmas and New Year greetings. These cards are supplied with a paper insert showing the EU’s blue flag and a text in eleven languages. This reads as follows: Best Wishes, De bedste ønsker, Frohes Fest, Meilleurs Vœux, Migliori Auguri, Beste Wensen, Boas Festas and, in Swedish, Med bäste lyckönskningar, as it has become. Now, these are not phrases you would normally write at Christmas. So what is going on? In fact, it looks as if the European Union has become so self-effacing in its response to other cultures that we dare not acknowledge the fact that it is Christmas and our culture’s New Year which we are to be celebrating shortly. It is obviously considered that we might offend against other religions if we were to emphasise that we are in fact a Christian part of the world and that in Europe we therefore say Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année etc. Madam President, this is not first and foremost a question of religion or faith. For me, it is a matter of daring to stand by one’s own culture. A people or nation or Europe which, out of a misguided sense of protocol, does not cherish its own culture is in danger of dying out, so I would call on my colleagues to throw away the EU’s insert and just use UNICEF’s beautiful Christmas cards."@en1
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