The Bible includes the story of the prodigal son and the forgiving father. The younger son ran up great debts on foolish living before coming home for help; his father welcomed him back, while his younger brother resented bailing him out.
Federal Union and the Wyndham Place Charlemagne Trust invite you to a discussion about the current financial crisis in the light of the ethics and vision of the European idea.
How should we treat Europe’s debtors, be they countries in the eurozone, banks whose loans have gone sour, or individuals fallen on hard times? What are the limits to bail-outs? How can we offer solidarity without encouraging moral hazard? What is the right balance between self-interest and shared responsibility?
The meeting will take place on
Thursday 10 November at 5.30 pm
(light refreshments available afterwards)
in Europe House, 32 Smith Square, London SW1P 3EU
(by kind permission of the European Commission representation in the UK)
To introduce the discussion, we are privileged to have two speakers:
GRAHAM BISHOP, a widely respected economic and financial commentator on business and investment opportunities arising from the EU Single Market and Economic and Monetary Union. He is currently a member of the European Commission’s consultative group on the impact of the Euro on the capital markets and a special advisor to the House of Lords Select Committee on the EU. He has recently published “The EU Fiscal Crisis: Forcing Eurozone Political Union in 2011?”
MALCOLM BROWN, Director of Mission and Public Affairs in the Church of England, a specialist in Christian Ethics, and author of a recent paper for the Synod on the debt and credit crisis. Malcolm has been a parish priest in inner city and village parishes and was, through the 1990s, Director of the William Temple Foundation in Manchester, a “think tank” concerned with the roles of theology and churches in urban, industrial and economic life. He was subsequently Principal of the Eastern Region Ministry Course in Cambridge and now heads a team of specialist staff responsible for the Church of England’s engagement with national life and relationships with Parliament and public policy.
To book places, please send an e-mail to [email protected]
¤ ¤ ¤
The Wyndham Place Charlemagne Trust is a charity with no regular income for maintaining its activities other than members’ subscriptions and donations at meetings and contributions to refreshments costs – and donations are most welcome. Cheques should be made payable to the Wyndham Place Charlemagne Trust.
(Gifts from UK taxpayers qualify for Gift Aid. By signing the following declaration you are allowing WPCT to reclaim the tax on your donations.)
I confirm I am a UK taxpayer and the tax the tax I pay will at least be equal to the tax the charity will reclaim on any gifts.
I should like to make a donation of £….. (total cheque £ …..)
Signature …………………………………………………… Date …………………………………………………
Please return form (and cheque) to Win Burton, WPCT, 134 Main Road, Long Hanborough, Witney, Oxon OX29 8JY