Brussels, 23/12/2005 (Agence Europe) - The representatives of sixty churches from 30 European countries took part end November in the conference organised in Brussels by the Conference of European Churches (CEC) and Eurodiaconia on the theme of a “common vision for a social Europe, towards quality of life for all”. The conference will be attended by the former European Social Affairs Commissioner, Anna Diamantopolou, and the Swedish Archbishop, Karl Gustav Hammar. In her intervention, Anna Diamantopoulou (who is now a member of the Greek parliament) recalled that there are different social models at European level that must all be revised in order to meet the current challenges. “What the different social models have in common is that solidarity at the European level is something the State has to deal with. There is a social network where not only the State and the local authority participate but civil society as well”, the former Commissioner recalled, saying: “This means that churches and their structures can play an even more important role”. Archbishop Karl Gustav Hammar felt that the “contribution of the churches to a social Europe must be more than giving support to certain priorities on the social agenda of Europe. The contribution is to be a more radical one (in the literal sense of the word), to ask for the roots of our social activity”. The director of the Friedehorst Foundation (Bremen, Germany), Georg-Hinrich Hammer, said: “Perhaps the most problematic thing lacking in European policy is the spiritual dimension. To become the best economy is a strategic goal but not a vision which inspires people. And so people are not inspired. But if people have to work very hard for Europe and have to suffer for Europe they need at least a social vision”, he stressed. Rüdiger Noll, Director of the Church and Society Commission of CEC, raised the issues of preservation of cohesion and social protection, while Heidi Paakjaer Martinussen, Secretary General of Eurodiaconia, felt that social cohesion should be considered as an essential element in a dynamic society ensuring a good quality of life for all.