Secretariat of COMECE (Commission of the Episcopates of the European Union)

Membership of the European Laudato Si' Alliance/ELSi'A (a network of Church-related and religious organisations involved in the care for our common home and ecological justice)

Observer in the European Sunday Alliance (a network of national Sunday Alliances, trade unions, civil society organisations and Churches and religious communities committed to raise awareness of the unique value of synchronised free time for our European societies)

Participation to an informal ecumenical group of Christian organisations working on migration and asylum issues

None declared

Does not represent commercial interests

Jan 2021 - Dec 2021

Since 20 September 2021 self-declared 'non-commercial organisations' are no longer required to provide a lobby budget. See above timeline for this registrant's historical lobby budget.

1,108,627€

None declared

none

Fighting against poverty#Freedom of religion and religious tolerance#EPP Interreligious and Intercultural Service: contribution to the session on “Empowerment of persecuted Christian communities” (7 June 2022).

Contributions:

• Contribution on defining the framework conditions of the Social Economy
• Contribution to EC consultation on associations and non-profit organisations
• Contribution to EC ad hoc consultation on cross-border recognition of parenthood
• Contribution to EDPB consultation on guidance concerning the Right of Access
• Contribution to EC consultation on Trafficking in human beings
• Contribution to the EC call for evidence on the provision of digital skills
• Contribution on the European Education Area initiative Pathways to School Success
• Contribution of the COMECE Working Group on Culture and Education to the European Education Area
• Contribution on the Common Foreign and Security Policy in the light of the war in Ukraine “Europe, renew your vocation to promote peace”
• Reflection paper on financial ethics “Serving the common good in times of the systemic change”
• Joint appeal of the COMECE President urging responsibility and care amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and encouraging vaccination together with necessary sanitary measures
• COMECE Statement and feedback to EC on the matter of Draft Guidelines on inclusive communication
• COMECE Statement on the opening of EU accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia
• COMECE President statement of the situation in Ukraine and in Europe
• COMECE Bishops statement “A heartfelt appeal for peace in Ukraine and in the whole of Europe”
• COMECE President statement “Appeal to EU Member States authorities and to the Church in Europe: welcome and relocate refugees in concrete solidarity”
• COMECE President statement on the humanitarian situation of migrants and asylum seekers at the Polish-Belarusian border
• Statement by the COMECE President address to the EU and its Member States to create legal and safe pathways for migrants
• Statement of the Christian Group on Migration on the arrival of refugees from Ukraine
• COMECE Statement on Energy emergency “COMECE is calling for Solidarity ahead of the Winter”
• Statement of the General Secretary of COMECE on the Morocco-Spain border cross tragic incident
• COMECE Statement on the proposal of including a right to abortion in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union
• COMECE General Secretary declaration “Global threats to abortion rights: the possible overturn of abortion rights in the US by the Supreme Court”
• COMECE General Secretary statement on the adoption of a new resolution on abortion by the European Parliament
• COMECE Secretary General Statement ahead of EP motion for resolution on the persecution of minorities on the grounds of belief or religion
• Conversion in the Asylum Procedure: New Developments and Old Challenges, Conference Report (18-20 January 2022, CCME in cooperation with COMECE and EEA).

Events:

• COMECE-CEC meeting with the Slovenian Presidency of the EU Council (5 November 2021)
• Webinar “Returning (to) cultural heritage - Discussing the role of cultural and religious heritage in the EU-AU partnership” (1 December 2021)
• COMECE-CEC meeting with the French Presidency of the EU Council (7 March 2022)
• Webinar on EU mandatory due diligence legislation (24 March 2022)
• Annual meeting of Bishops’ Conferences data protection experts (19 May 2022)
• Meeting of EU Military Ordinariates with a special focus on the war in Ukraine and its implications for CSDP(1 June 2022)
• Meeting of a high-level delegation of religious leaders from Ukraine with EU officials (15 June 2022)
• Second COMECE Catholic Youth Convention on the Future of Europe in cooperation with KAS (2 & 15 June 2022)
• Launch of the Platform on the renovation and reuse of churches (5 July 2022)
• Article 17 Dialogue on the “humanitarian response to the war in Ukraine” (12 July 2022)
• COMECE ad-hoc Working Group on the Social Economy (3 October 2022)

Webnews/press releases/press conferences; COMECE website; Social media; COMECE Annual Report 2021; videos.

Participation to:

- European AI Alliance
- EU Operators’ Forum on the protection of public spaces
- European Platform for Roma Inclusion.

Meeting of COMECE Youth Platform with Members of the Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans on the European Green Deal (10 July 2020)

E-meeting with the EUSR on Human Rights, Eamon Gimore (17 July 2020)

E-meeting with Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi in the context of the review of the EU partnership with the Southern Neighbourhood (18 January 2021)

EEAS roundtable with civil society organisations on religious freedom in third countries (11 February 2021)

E-meeting with Mr Michael Koehler, Deputy Director General at DG ECHO (24 February 2021)

European Data Protection Board Stakeholders list.

20 meetings found. Download meetings

The list below only covers meetings held since November 2014 with commissioners, their cabinet members or directors-general at the European Commission; other lobby meetings with lower-level staff may have taken place, but the European Commission doesn't proactively publish information about these meetings. For more information about which commissioner is responsible for which portfolio, check out this link: https://commissioners.ec.europa.eu/index_en All information below comes from European Commission web pages.

• Date	11 Sep 2023	Location	Brussels
  Subject	Enlargement policy
  Cabinet	Cabinet of Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi
  Portfolio	Neighbourhood and Enlargement
  Attending	Ildikó Voller-Szenci (Cabinet member)

• Date	28 Feb 2023	Location	Brussels
  Subject	Social Economy
  Cabinet	Cabinet of Commissioner Nicolas Schmit
  Portfolio	Jobs and Social Rights
  Attending	Santina Bertulessi (Cabinet member)

• Date	19 Sep 2022	Location	Online
  Subject	Social Economy and the SEAP implementation
  Cabinet	Cabinet of Commissioner Nicolas Schmit
  Portfolio	Jobs and Social Rights
  Attending	Santina Bertulessi (Cabinet member)

• Date	15 Jun 2022	Location	VTC
  Subject	Celebrating the European Year of Youth
  Cabinet	Cabinet of Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi
  Portfolio	Neighbourhood and Enlargement
  Attending	Olivér Várhelyi (Commissioner) Szabolcs Horvath (Cabinet member)

• Date	14 Jan 2022	Location	virtual conference
  Subject	Article 17 dialogue
  Cabinet	Cabinet of Vice-President Margaritis Schinas
  Portfolio	Promoting the European Way of Life
  Attending	Vangelis Demiris (Cabinet member) Margaritis Schinas (Vice-President)
  Other Lobbyists	Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, Church Council The PR Office European Buddhist Union Conference of European Churches EKD-Büro Brüssel / EKD-Office Brussels Office of the Anglican Bishop in Europe association européenne de la pensée libre Committee of the Representatives of the Orthodox Churches in European Union The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - European Union and International Affairs Office Unie Vrijzinnige Verenigingen EGALE Egalité-laïcité-Europe

• Date	25 Nov 2021	Location	video-call
  Subject	Interfaith Convention on the European Green Deal
  Cabinet	Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans
  Portfolio	European Green Deal
  Attending	Frans Timmermans (Executive Vice-President)

• Date	29 Jun 2021	Location	VTC
  Subject	Exchange of views on the future of Lebanon
  Cabinet	Cabinet of Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi
  Portfolio	Neighbourhood and Enlargement
  Attending	Olivér Várhelyi (Commissioner)

• Date	24 Jun 2021	Location	Brussels
  Subject	social policies and inclusion
  DG	Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion
  Attending	Joost Korte (Director-General)

• Date	10 Jun 2021	Location	Brussels - video conference
  Subject	European Green Deal presentation and discussion
  Cabinet	Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans
  Portfolio	European Green Deal
  Attending	Aleksandra Tomczak (Cabinet member)
  Other Lobbyists	Unie Vrijzinnige Verenigingen Committee of the Representatives of the Orthodox Churches in European Union HINDU FORUM EUROPE EGALE Egalité-laïcité-Europe association européenne de la pensée libre Grande Loge Féminine de France (Institut Maçonnique Européen) European Union for Progressive Judaism Conference of European Churches Alliance Maçonnique Européenne EKD-Büro Brüssel / EKD-Office Brussels European Buddhist Union Office of the Anglican Bishop in Europe

• Date	18 Jan 2021	Location	VTC
  Subject	The state of play on the Southern Neighbourhood policy
  Cabinet	Cabinet of Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi
  Portfolio	Neighbourhood and Enlargement
  Attending	Olivér Várhelyi (Commissioner)

• Date	07 Sep 2020	Location	Brussels
  Subject	Green Paper on Ageing
  Cabinet	Cabinet of Vice-President Dubravka Šuica
  Portfolio	Democracy and Demography
  Attending	Astrid Dentler (Cabinet member)
  Other Lobbyists	Federation of Catholic Family Associations in Europe

• Date	10 Jul 2020	Location	Brussels - video conference
  Subject	Discussion on the European Green Deal with the Catholic Youth
  Cabinet	Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans
  Portfolio	European Green Deal
  Attending	Aleksandra Tomczak (Cabinet member)

• Date	16 Jun 2020	Location	Brussels - video conference
  Subject	Preparation of youth dialogue meeting
  Cabinet	Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans
  Portfolio	European Green Deal
  Attending	Aleksandra Tomczak (Cabinet member)

• Date	04 Feb 2020	Location	Brussels
  Subject	EU Enlargement and opening of accession talks with Albania
  Cabinet	Cabinet of Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi
  Portfolio	Neighbourhood and Enlargement
  Attending	Olivér Várhelyi (Commissioner)

• Date	25 Oct 2018	Location	Brussels, Belgium
  Subject	Meeting with the Task Force for the Preparation and Conduct of the Negotiations with the United Kingdom under Article 50 TEU
  DG	Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom
  Attending	Michel Barnier (Head of Task Force)

• Date	08 Feb 2018	Location	Brussels, Belgium
  Subject	Agriculture
  Cabinet	Cabinet of Commissioner Phil Hogan
  Portfolio	Agriculture & Rural Development
  Attending	Phil Hogan (Commissioner)

• Date	14 Sep 2017	Location	Brussels
  Subject	Dialogue selon l’Art. 17
  Cabinet	Cabinet of First Vice-President Frans Timmermans
  Portfolio	Better Regulation, Interinstitutional Relations, the Rule of Law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights
  Attending	Bernardus Smulders (Cabinet member)

• Date	02 Jun 2017	Location	Brussels
  Subject	EMU reflection paper
  Cabinet	Cabinet of Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis
  Portfolio	Euro and Social Dialogue, also in charge of Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union
  Attending	Kai Wynands (Cabinet member)

• Date	12 Oct 2016	Location	Comece Secretariat
  Subject	European Pillar of Social Rights and its role in ensuring good working conditions and account for the changes on the labour market.
  Cabinet	Cabinet of Commissioner Marianne Thyssen
  Portfolio	Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility
  Attending	Ruth Paserman (Cabinet member)

• Date	10 Nov 2015	Location	Brussels
  Subject	social issues – including youth unemployment, the impact of austerity policies on citizens and child poverty
  DG	Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion
  Attending	Michel Servoz (Director-General)