Category Archives: Team

The Secretariat ensures the continuity of COMECE’s work. Its headquarters are in Brussels. A small team monitors and analyses developments in EU policies and initiatives and strives to contribute to the relevant processes. The Secretariat reports to the Standing Committee and to the Plenary Assembly. The current General Secretary is Fr. Manuel Enrique Barrios Prieto. COMECE is assisted in its mission by a number of Commissions and Working Groups made up of experts mandated by the national Bishops’ Conferences and Catholic organisations working in the relevant fields. Ad hoc groups are created as and when necessary.

Team

Marek Mišák

Adviser for EU External Affairs

Policy Adviser on EU External Affairs Secretary of the COMECE Commission on EU External Affairs E-mail contact Tel.: +32 (0) 2 235 05 14 Marek is originally from Nové Zámky (Slovakia) and has been working at the COMECE Secretariat since 2014. He studied law at the University of Vienna (Austria) and international law at the University of Sussex (United Kingdom). He also spent an ERASMUS semester at … Continue reading »

Team

Friederike Ladenburger

Adviser for Ethics, Research & Health

Adviser for Ethics, Research & Health Secretary of the COMECE Commission on Ethics E-mail contact Tel.: +32 (0) 2 235 05 18 Friederike was born in Freiburg and grew up in Münster (Germany). She has been working at the COMECE Secretariat since 2017. She studied Law at the Albert–Ludwigs University Freiburg and completed her legal clerkship at the District Court of Freiburg. She also worked as … Continue reading »

Team

José Luis Bazán

Adviser for Migration, Asylum & International Religious Freedom

Legal Adviser for Migration & Asylum and for International Religious Freedom Secretary of the COMECE Commission on Migration and Asylum Email contact Tel.: +32 (0) 2 235 05 16 José Luis is originally from Spain and has been working at the COMECE Secretariat since 2010. He holds a degree in Law (1989) and a Ph.D. in International Law (1995) from the University of Navarre, (Spain) with the thesis “The protection of … Continue reading »

Team

Iga Malinowska

Intern in the field of EU migration and asylum policies

Intern in the field of EU migration and asylum policies E-mail contact Iga was born in Białystok, Poland, and raised in Glasgow, Scotland. She earned her Bachelor of Laws with Honours from Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, where she wrote an honors thesis on EU asylum policy’s impact on asylum seekers, refugees and civilians alike. During that time she also completed a minor in International Law and Relations … Continue reading »

Team

Alessandro Calcagno

Assistant General Secretary - Adviser for Fundamental Rights

Legal advisor for Fundamental Rights and Article 17 TFEU issues
Secretary of the COMECE Commission on Legal Affairs

Team

Fr. Manuel Enrique Barrios Prieto

General Secretary 

General Secretary E-mail contact Contact his Personal Assistant Tel.: +32 (0) 2 235 05 12 Fr Manuel was born in Madrid (Spain) in November 1962 and was ordained priest in Rome in 1988. He studied philosophy and theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University obtaining the degree of Doctor in Theology with a thesis on theological anthropology based on the works of the Anglican theologian John Macquarrie. … Continue reading »