«We came to Brussels to express our commitment with the European Union» said Mgr Hoogenboom on the occasion of the visit of the Dutch Bishop’s Conference to the European Institutions and to COMECE in Brussels, on 20-21 February.
(Credit: COMECE)
The delegation was led by His Excellency Mgr Van den Hende, Bishop of Rotterdam and President of the Dutch Bishops’ Conference. The Bishops met at the European Parliament with Mr. Wim van der Camp MEP, who introduced them to the work of the Parliament. At the European External Action Service they discussed with Ms Merete Bilde, a senior official of the service, the importance of a good understanding of religion for EU’s foreign policy.
At COMECE, the experts presented the work of the secretariat and explained church-relevant topics and EU policies. Finally the bishops met with Mgr Lebeaupin, the Apostolic Nuncio to the EU Institutions.
Concluding the visit, Mgr Hoogenboom, Member of COMECE, stated on behalf of the delegation: «We hope that our visit will strengthen the ties with all those people who contribute to the future of an organized and living Europe, in which there are three main objectives:
– a return to the values of the founding fathers of the European Union;
– the need to solve common problems together building on the member States’ shared history and culture;
– to work at the European Peace project as being more than just a common market.»