Hate crime threatens European ideals of equality and human rights. The Quaker Council for European Affairs has produced a new background paper to raise awareness of hate crime and promote effective policies to reduce it. Read our background paper to find out why the small proportion of crime that is motivated by hatred, has such […]
Civil society
Around Europe 359 October – November 2014

In this issue of Around Europe, Andrew Lane outlines the nomination of Federica Mogherini as the new EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, and how Quakers used it to call for non-violent responses to the security challenges faced by the European Union. Alexandra Bosbeer discusses the role of civil society in EU decision making […]
Around Europe 358 August – September 2014
In this issue of Around Europe, Chris Diskin discusses free trade agreements and whether they may bring the social changes we would like to see. Andrew Lane highlights the Global Peace Index and the opportunity to hold our governments to account, and Alexandra Bosbeer describes some of the current European Commission consultations and how you […]
Briefing Paper: Shrinking Civil Space in European Countries
Restricting anyone’s right to speak his or her voice and truth is fundamentally at odds with both the Quakers’ testimony to equality and the EU democratic foundation. This new briefing paper describes the shrinking civil space in society in some EU and Council of Europe Member States, and what we citizens can do about it. […]
Report: The EU and the Western Balkans
This report aims to assess the extent to which the European Union’s enlargement process is supporting the work of local grass roots peacebuilders in the countries of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia. The report deals with the 7 broad issues that concern local peacebuilders the most: Nationalism; transitional justice; returnees; regions of concern; education; […]
Mainstreaming Conflict Prevention in ACP Countries – Conclusions and Recommendations for the EU
This is the last section of the report Mainstreaming Conflict Prevention – A Study of EU Action in ACP Countries. This section includes conclusions, questions and recommendations generated from research into the EU’s conflict prevention initiatives. Read “Mainstreaming Conflict Prevention – A Study of EU Action in ACP Countries : Conclusions and Recommendations” (pdf – […]
People are Party to Building Peace
This paper discusses the question:What role can and do non-governmental organisations (NGOs) play in relation to the EU in the context of conflict prevention? It examines the terminology and concepts central to peacebuilding and looks at the role of the European Peacebuilding Liason Office (EPLO) in particular. Read “People are Party to Building Peace – […]
Briefing paper: the Future of Europe — spiritual values and citizenship
To make an input into the Future of Europe debate, QCEA has decided to consult Quakers across Europe by running seminars and a conference. The feedback from these efforts will be used to produce a report entitled a ‘Quaker View of Europe’, which will be used as a submission to the Convention, but will also […]