The COMECE Commission on the EU External Relations gathered online on 29 September 2020 to discuss the most pressing issues for EU’s Foreign and Security Policy. In dialogue with EU and Church representatives, the Commission highlighted the important role the EU could play in leading global efforts for reinvigorating multilateralism. Under the chairmanship of H.E. Mgr. Rimantas Norvila (Lithuania), the experts delegated by the Bishops’ … Continue reading »

COMECE and its partners invite you to participate in the webinar “Fostering human security and resilience in the future EU-Africa partnership – The role of local communities” on Thursday 15 October 2020 at 11h00 CEST. The event is organised as a faith-based contribution to a future fair and people-centered partnership between the EU and the African Union. Policy-makers, Church representatives and stakeholders from the EU … Continue reading »

On behalf of all Bishops of the European Union, H.Em. Card. Jean-Claude Hollerich SJ, President of COMECE, reacted to the deadly explosion occurred yesterday, Tuesday 4 August 2020, in the port of the capital city of Lebanon. Read the full statement. “I share the shock and the sadness of the people of Beirut following the horrific and deadly explosions that occurred yesterday, Tuesday 4 August … Continue reading »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »