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.

NEWS

Corporate abuses: Bishops demand binding due diligence legislation

The President of COMECE, H.Em. Card. Jean-Claude Hollerich SJ, and other Bishop Delegates to COMECE, together with more than 110 Catholic Bishops from all around the world, signed on Monday, 6 July 2020, the declaration “Now more than ever, we need mandatory supply chain due diligence to stop corporate abuse and guarantee global solidarity”, demanding public authorities to introduce binding legislation to stop corporate abuses, … Continue reading »

Press Release

EU and US Bishops Offer Prayers for US–Russia Arms Control Negotiations

Bishop Rimantas Norvila, President of the COMECE Commission on the EU External Relations, and Bishop David J. Malloy, Chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace, have issued a joint statement in view of a meeting between U.S. and Russian officials, scheduled to take place on 22 June 2020 in Vienna. In the context of the anticipated U.S.-Russia talks … Continue reading »

Press Release

EU and African Bishops call for a people-centred, just and responsible partnership between our continents

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the European and the African Union are currently preparing for the 6th Summit of their political leaders. In this view, COMECE and the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) have elaborated a joint contribution on the future EU-Africa partnership. At a time when the world has been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and its devastating consequences, the Presidents … Continue reading »

NEWS

Future Eastern Partnership: COMECE supports a people-centred focus

In view of the June 2020 Eastern Partnership Summit, the EU presented a new set of long-term policy objectives for the relations with its six Eastern neighbours. COMECE commends the prioritisation of people-centred resilience in the new proposal. With the current Eastern Partnership (EaP) framework expiring at the end of 2020, the European Commission and the European External Action Service have recently proposed to focus … Continue reading »

NEWS

New EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy: a stronger Europe in the world?

COMECE welcomes the EU’s priority actions proposed for the next five years in the global promotion of human rights and democracy, and calls on the EU institutions to increase their ambition in the protection of religious freedom and in the area of business & human rights. Elaborated by the European Commission and the European External Action Service, the EU draft policy document follows the expiration … Continue reading »

Press Release

COMECE facilitates Albanian Church delegation’s visit to the EU

In the context of the current debate on the future of the EU enlargement process, COMECE received H.E. Mgr. George Frendo OP and H.E. Mgr. Gjergj Meta, respectively President and General Secretary of the Albanian Bishops’ Conference on 3-4 February 2020. They met with high-level representatives of the EU and of the Church to exchange on challenges and opportunities for Albania’s EU integration. The visit … Continue reading »

Press Release

COMECE Presidency: “Brexit will not succeed in shattering EU-UK fraternal relations”

In the context of the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union, the COMECE Standing Committee has elaborated a declaration on the topic. Although saddened by this event, the COMECE Standing Committee respect the will expressed by the British citizens during the 2016 Referendum and assure that, “even though the UK will no longer be part of the EU, it will still continue … Continue reading »

News

Integral human development: how can the EU enhance partnerships with religious actors?

On Thursday 23 January 2020 COMECE hosted a dialogue meeting between Churches, faith-based actors, as well as international and European policy-makers, on how to enhance the cooperation among actors working in the field of integral and sustainable human development. Co-organised with Caritas Europa in the context of on-going negotiations on the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), the meeting highlighted the important role of Churches and … Continue reading »