In the context of the reform of the EU Return Directive, COMECE calls for human-centered policies including the fundamental rights protection of irregular migrants at all stages of their return, the implementation of alternatives to detention, the full respect of the principle of non-refoulment and the prioritisation of voluntary return. According to recent statistics, more than 1/3 of the return decisions were effectively implemented in … Continue reading »

COMECE welcomes the publication of the 2019 Asylum Office report and calls EU Member States to respect international law obligations with regards to anyone looking for international protection in their territories. The report contains an overview of key indicators regarding the situation of refugees in Europe. While the number of applicants for international protection diminished in 2018, the report shows that 39% of them got … Continue reading »

In view of the upcoming EU elections and on the occasion of the “2019 Roma Week”, COMECE calls future EU leaders to adopt a post-2020 EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies and to relaunch EU institutions’ commitment to enhance Roma inclusion. The 2018 EC report on the evaluation of the EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies up to 2020 shows improvements in the … Continue reading »

“Our long-term goal is to prevent, ultimately dismantle, this most evil and sinful enterprise of deception, entrapment, domination and exploitation called human trafficking”, stated Fr. Michael Czerny , S.J., Under-Secretary of the Migrants & Refugees Section (Holy See), during a dialogue meeting hosted at the European Parliament by MEP Teresa Jiménez-Becerril on Tuesday 19 February 2019. Focusing on “Catholic Action against Trafficking in Human Beings”, … Continue reading »

COMECE and Don Bosco International are pleased to invite you on 19 February 2019 from 13h00 to 14h30 to participate in the “Catholic Action against Trafficking in Human Beings”, a dialogue meeting hosted by MEP Teresa Jiménez-Becerril at the European Parliament. This event will gather Churches and civil society representatives together with policy-makers and other active stakeholders in the field of anti-trafficking. It will take … Continue reading »

COMECE welcomes the solution reached today among some EU member states, with the intervention of the EU, that have accepted to receive some migrants who were for days stranded at sea, rescued and brought to a Maltese harbour. The deep concern expressed by the Bishops’ Conference from Malta with regards to the situation of these migrants is shared by COMECE: we can’t remain “deaf to … Continue reading »

“You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 19:34). Following Pope Francis, the Catholic Church in Europe reaffirms “our shared responsibility to welcome, to protect, to promote and to integrate”, migrants and refugees in our societies. … Continue reading »

The COMECE Working Group on Migration and Asylum discussed the current EU challenges in the fight against trafficking in human being and in the protection of refugees. Held on 22 November, the working group gathered experts from Bishops’ conferences together with representatives of Catholic organizations and EU officials. The participants examined the post-2016 framework in the fight against the trafficking in human beings, calling the … Continue reading »

Seven years after the EU Commission adopted the EU framework for National Roma Inclusion Strategies up to 2020, recent statistics show that Roma people’s inclusion in European societies is still a challenge that deserves to be faced. COMECE is committed to promote their full integration into societies, respecting their culture in diversity and meeting their specific needs, including education, employment, housing, healthcare and citizenship. As … Continue reading »