Category Archives: EU External Affairs


The EU started to develop a Common Foreign and Security Policy with the Maastricht Treaty (1992). Moreover, in recent years, the EU intensified efforts to promote Human Rights outside its borders and it has played a major role in International Trade and Development Aid.
EU Enlargement continues to be an important pillar of EU’s External Policy. Since 2004 a specific Neighborhood Policy was elaborated to establish good relations with neighboring countries.
In the hope that a united Europe can take a stronger role on the world stage, COMECE together with Justice and Peace Europe aims to assist the EU in its vocation to promote global peace and assume its responsibility for supporting sustainable development and social justice across the world. COMECE is assisted in this mission by a Commission on the External Relations of the European Union.
EU External Affairs, Justice & Fundamental Rights, Policy Areas, Press

Press Release

🇪🇺🇨🇮 Irish EU Presidency | European Churches meet with Prime Minister Micheál Martin

A delegation from the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) and the Conference of European Churches (CEC) met Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin in Dublin on Thursday, 9 July 2026, in the context of Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Download the COMECE-CEC Joint Contribution [EN]  The delegation was led by H.E. Mgr. Mariano Crociata, Bishop of Latina, President … Continue reading »

EU External Affairs, Policy Areas, Press

Press Release

DOCUMENT | COMECE publishes contribution to the future European Security Strategy

The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) today, Thursday, 2 July 2026, publishes its contribution entitled “A European Security Strategy at the service of peace”, as the European Union prepares its new Security Strategy. Download the Contribution Drawing on the Catholic Church’s social teaching and the European Union’s founding vocation as a project of peace, the document offers reflections on the … Continue reading »

EU External Affairs, Policy Areas, Press

News

🇪🇺🇺🇦 Ukrainian Church leaders visit COMECE to discuss peace and Ukraine’s European future

The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) welcomed a high-level delegation of the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organisations (UCCRO) to its Secretariat in Brussels on Tuesday, 23 June 2026. The meeting provided a valuable opportunity to listen to the testimonies of Church leaders representing the diverse religious communities of Ukraine and to reaffirm COMECE’s unwavering solidarity with Ukraine and … Continue reading »

EU External Affairs, Policy Areas, Press

Press Release

Catholic bishops from G7 countries and COMECE issue joint appeal ahead of G7 Summit in France

On Friday 12 June 2026, the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE), together with the Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Great Britain and the United States, published a joint statement ahead of the G7 Summit, which will take place in France from 15 to 17 June 2026. Download the Declaration: EN – FR | Summary : EN | … Continue reading »

Ethics, Research & Health, EU External Affairs, Policy Areas, Press

Press Release

High-level conference reflects on “outer space as a new frontier of the common good”

On 9 June 2026, the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE), in cooperation with the Caritas in Veritate Foundation hosted a High-level Conference on the theme: “Outer space: A New Frontier of the Common Good”. Bringing together representatives of the Catholic Church and EU institutions, diplomats, academics and experts, the event provided an opportunity to reflect on the ethical, political and … Continue reading »

Ethics, Research & Health, EU External Affairs, Policy Areas, Press

Invitation

EVENT | Conference on “Outer space: a new frontier of the common good” to be held in Brussels on 9 June. Registration required

The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE), together with the Caritas in Veritate Foundation, is pleased to invite participants to the high-level conference “Outer space: a new frontier of the common good”, to be held on Tuesday, 9 June 2026 from 13:00 to 14:30 at the COMECE Secretariat, 19 Square de Meeûs, Brussels. Registration mandatory. Deadline: 1 June. Read the Programme … Continue reading »

EU External Affairs, International Religious Freedom, Plenary Assembly, Policy Areas, Press

Press Release

COMECE Spring Assembly in Cyprus: EU bishops call for peace, dialogue and renewed EU engagement

On the occasion of the Spring Plenary Assembly of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE), held in Nicosia from 22 to 24 April 2026 in the context of the Cypriot Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the delegated bishops adopted a declaration addressing the worrying crises shaping the international landscape, with particular attention to the wars and instability … Continue reading »