Pope Francis received the Heads of State and Government of 27 EU Member States on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome. In his speech, he called on them to discern “the paths of hope, identifying specific ways forward to ensure that the significant steps taken thus far have not been wasted, but serve as the pledge of a long and … Continue reading »

COMECE organised a roundtable debate on the possibilities to better articulate civilian and military aspects of a global concept of defence. 25 stakeholders from European External Action Sevice, EU Military Staff, European Commission, European Parliament as well as NATO, UN and from the humanitarian field discussed the opportunities to strengthen the coherence of civil-military relations at the European level. In the light of the current … Continue reading »

COMECE participated in a conference on “The European Defence of Europe?” organised by Egmont – Royal Institute for International Relations. The objective of the conference was to discuss with EU policy-makers, NATO representatives and academics the strategic questions of European defence cooperation and the development of appropriate capabilities. COMECE supports the view that reinforced security and defence measures can only be considered a partial response … Continue reading »

COMECE hosted a Prayer & Breakfast organised by Justice & Peace Europe on the theme of Pope Francis’ Message for the World Day of Peace “Nonviolence: a style of politics for peace”. The event was presided by Mgr. Jean-Claude Hollerich, the President of Justice&Peace Europe and gathered around 40 participants from the EU institutions, churches and civil society. In his reflection, Mgr. Hollerich recalled that … Continue reading »

Under the chairmanship of the COMECE member Bishop for Luxembourg Mgr. Jean-Claude Hollerich, the joint COMECE – Justice & Peace Europe commission on the external relations of the EU exchanged with representatives of the EU on the current issues in EU External Action. The meeting agenda included a discussion on security & defence, trade defence instruments, the situation in Ukraine and in the Middle East … Continue reading »

“One of the causes of the jihadi Salafism development is the lack of alternative proposals by our society” said Br Olivier Poquillon, Secretary general of COMECE, in his intervention to 5th European Catholic-Orthodox Forum. The European Catholic-Orthodox Forum is an initiative promoted by the Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE) along with the Ecumenical Patriarchate with the accordance of the Orthodox Churches present in Europe. … Continue reading »

COMECE participated in a consultation of the civil society with the EU Commission organised by The European Peacebuilding Liaison Office, a platform of NGOs on the 2017 programming of the EU financial Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace. The discussion mainly focused on preventing violent extremism, strengthening the role of civil society in the security sector and the importance of peace education. With regard to … Continue reading »