23/01/2015
COMECE Comments on the EU proposal for amendments to the Dublin III regulation regarding unaccompanied minors (EN)
Category Archives: Migration & Asylum
Migration and asylum are human rights issues. Frequently, individuals and families leave their places of origin or residence seeking an improvement in their living conditions or simply fleeing violence or war.
The current scale of the phenomenon at the EU borders is worrying, as are the tragedies and deaths that result from the desperation of migrants, many of them victims of criminal activities of smugglers and traffickers. Integration of migrants and asylum seekers is also a challenge.
The COMECE Secretariat works for the rights of migrants, refugees and hosting societies to be harmonised and respected in the EU for the sake of the common good in the Christian spirit of welcoming the stranger.
COMECE is assisted in this mission by a Working Group on Migration and Asylum.
Press Release
Human trafficking: Churches call on the EU for action on a wider front
An estimated 800,000 women, men, and children are victims of human trafficking within the EU today. Up to 60% of the victims originate from EU states. The EU and its member states urgently need to implement the legal framework already in place and to intensify cooperation with civil society and church organisations that work with victims at the grassroots level. This was one of the … Continue reading
24/11/2014
Event Report of the debate | “Fighting trafficking in human beings. A joint effort” (EN)
19/11/2014
20141119 – COMECE Recommendations for the development of safe and legal paths to protection in the EU (EN)
News
COMECE General Secretary visits Caritas projects in Greece
On Saturday 11 January the COMECE General Secretary, Father Patrick H. Daly, paid a visit to the offices of CARITAS Greece at 52 Kapodistriou Street in downtown Athens. He was received by Father Andreas Voutsinos (Director CARITAS Greece), Nikos A. Voutsinos, responsible for the Refugee Programme and Evelyn Karastamati, Coordinator of the ELPIS Project. He was fully briefed on the work of CARITAS for the … Continue reading
News
A humane approach to migration
The shipwreck, in which over three hundred migrants lost their lives in a vain attempt to reach the island of Lampedusa on 3 October last, made migration a banner headline issue in most European countries. It captured our hearts but it also focused our minds on the plight of migrants and how we were treating them. Yet it is sobering to remember that upwards of … Continue reading
Press Release
‘Migration and Integration in the EU’ COMECE Plenary Assembly 13-15 November in Brussels
Europe is a continent on the move. Internal migration and migration from outside, not least in pursuit of political asylum, has impacted on the lives of all communities within all Member States and communities of the EU. The Church is deeply concerned for the situation of refugees and asylum seekers, especially after the tragedy off Lampedusa. ‘Migration and Integration’ will be the main topic of … Continue reading
News
Lampedusa: this is not the Europe we want
In a meeting today with the President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, COMECE President, expressed his deep concern for the situation of refugees and asylum seekers, especially after the tragedy off Lampedusa, where an estimated 280 people died whilst attempting to reach the shores of Europe. In the light of this tragedy, Cardinal Marx has urged the Europeans to act: … Continue reading
30/04/2012
COMECE Contribution to the public consultation on family reunification (EN)
24/11/2011
COMECE Reflection on the EU Roma Framework (EN)