AKTION ELIANT

heike.sommer@eliant.eu

The ELIANT campaign petition is making real headway. Great rejoicing at the first 100,000 signatures – the ELIANT campaign for diversity in Europe

Brussels. “United in diversity!” is a motto as intrinsic to the EU as the blue flag with the golden stars. To achieve this aspiration, signatures are being collected throughout Europe as part of the ELIANT campaign. The name stands for EUROPEAN ALLIANCE OF INITIATIVES FOR APPLIED ANTHROPOSOPHY, and the campaign aims to preserve the diversity of alternatives in all areas of life. European legislation is currently leading to a levelling and uniformity that increasingly restricts European citizens’ freedom of choice. Many people in Europe no longer want to sit back and watch their quality of life being impaired by industrial monopolies or an erroneous concept of security. They are therefore working actively to preserve the existing diversity and safeguard its capacity to develop and thrive. They want European institutions to take account of this in future when they lay down framework conditions. In Brussels, ELIANT is demonstrating the positive response of Europeans to anthroposophic education, services and products. In collaboration with other citizens’ initiatives, ELIANT is working to create a Europe in which the human being takes centre ground.

At the start of the ELIANT petition campaign in November 2006 an average of 1000 signatures a month were coming in. Now 1000 signatures a day are being registered. In the first week of June 2007, the number of recorded signatures passed the 100,000 mark. ELIANT is seeking one million signatures so that the concerns of all those in Europe who, for instance, use foods produced under the Demeter label (biodynamic agriculture) or anthroposophic medicines, can also be forcefully represented to European institutions and legislative bodies.

Dr. Michaela Glöckler MD, president of the Foundation for Anthroposophic Medicine and co-initiator of ELIANT had this to say: “The first 100,000 signatures in just over seven months is a huge success, especially given the campaign’s extremely modest financial means. We are very grateful to the numerous people who have helped collect signatures. It is they who have achieved this success. We now hope to acquire further active supporters and coordinators, together with the necessary financial support, so that we can reach the one million target.”

Signatures are being collected in ALL European countries, including those that do not belong to the EU, and even further afield. ELIANT is pleased at this international support, which shows that the EU can and must act as exemplar for everything connected with the preservation and promotion of diversity and quality of life.

For further information, visit www.eliant.eu

Contact:
Thomas Göing Address: Rebgasse 37, D-79540 Lörrach, Germany.
Mobile: 0049 173 49 38 447
info@eliant.eu
www.eliant.eu

The European Alliance launches its Europe-wide online petition campaign

Brussels, 20.3.2007. As of now anyone can go online to add their vote in support of the ELIANT campaign, at the website www.eliant.eu . The petition supports initiatives of applied anthroposophy in Europe and aims to put in place legal safeguards for their continued survival. This is important for Europe, so as to ensure availability and further development of anthroposophic medicine, Demeter (biodynamic) foods, Waldorf education, special needs education and other initiatives of applied anthroposophy. In Brussels, the sponsors of the European Alliance of Initiatives for Applied Anthroposophy / ELIANT have been promoting legal safeguards for these activities for years. It is now time to lend this work the necessary political weight by the democratic means of collecting 1 million signatures. One example of the need for this is that Demeter International has lost its sale permit following issue of the EU vitamin regulation on infant nutrition (EU guideline 96/5/EG). Demeter’s own guidelines do not allow artificial vitamins in its products, whereas the EU guideline requires this. To secure a sales permit for anthroposophic medicines in the EU a specific form of registration is needed, which takes proper account of the manufacturing processes of anthroposophic medicines and their mode of action. We need to gain general recognition of this fact. 1 million signatures have real political impact on European institutions if the signatures come from several member states. The number itself derives from the European constitution (Art. I-47 clause 4). While this has not yet come into effect, it already exerts political weight when it comes to determining whether a matter of concern or a submission to an EU body or the EU parliament has sufficient “critical mass” behind it. Thus every vote of support for this ELIANT appeal campaign will help and count. (TG)

Info box:
The Alliance’s Charter and online petition can be found at: www.eliant.eu If you would like to support this campaign please contact:
Thomas Göing, Aktion ELIANT,
Rebgasse 37, D-79540 Lörrach, Germany;
fax +49 7621 168 18 63; e-mail info@eliant.eu
The European Alliance of Initiatives for Applied Anthroposphy, known as ELIANT for short, is a confederation of 10 associations and institutions active at a European level (see also the Charter of 29.9.2006 at www.eliant.eu).