Churches and their organisations: a substantial contribution to the social infrastructure in Europe

COMECE Press Release, July 2012:  The future of the European cohesion policy is presently under discussion in the European Council and the European Parliament. Regional policy is an expression of solidarity within the European Union. For Christians, solidarity is a natural expression of their faith. The Churches are convinced that, particularly at a time when the European unification process is facing a severe test, the European regional policy is of great importance for the cohesion envisaged in the EU Treaty. Therefore, the COMECE Secretariat together with its Ecumenical Partner Organisations elaborated a joint position on ‘the role of Church actors in the European Cohesion Policy ‘.

The Churches and Church related institutions are key actors in the areas of transnational cooperation, education, culture and social inclusion. Across national borders they are involved in social cohesion in Europe. The present Position paper intends to illustrate this key role with concrete examples and asks the EU institutions to reflect the key role of Churches in the current drafting of Regulations and provisions on the future Cohesion Policy.
 

The Position Paper is available in English and German. 

Contact: Johanna Touzel, COMECE Spokesperson and Press Officer
[email protected]   Tel+32 (0)2 235 05 15

COMECE is the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union, and comprises 26 Bishops representing all Member States of the EU. For more than thirty years now, COMECE has been accompanying the process of European integration, and offering its reflections. COMECE is now a partner of the EU institutions in the dialogue foreseen by Article 17 (3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU.