Tag: EU
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ITI Interview with Ján Figeľ
On Tuesday 10 May 2022, the ITI welcomed to campus Ján Figeľ under the guise of the Adenauer Forum for a conversation on Catholic Public Leadership with ITI’s President, Dr. Christiaan Alting von Geusau. Mr. Figeľ was instrumental in providing leadership to his native Slovakia as it transitioned from communism and the Soviet Bloc to…
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Embassies must not Partner in Undermining Democracy
War on Ukraine represents a conflict between democratic, independent and sovereign country and autocratic aggressor brutally violating international law. We must be sensitive on protection of democratic traditions and processes in European countries. When diplomatic missions act to involve themselves in the domestic politics of their host, this step crosses the line of interference and…
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Attack on Democracy
Democratic process in Europe must be protected and respected. It cannot be allowed to be subject to attack from any source, nor can it spread to the entire continent if subverted in its core regions. Disturbingly, just such assaults have been recorded, with foreign elements interfering directly in Poland and Hungary, while also engaging in…
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Ján Figeľ: ‘It’s a pity there is no EU religious freedom envoy anymore’
Ján Figeľ, special envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion outside the EU from 2016 to 2019, meets Pope Francis in 2018./ Vatican Media/Ján Figeľ personal archive. Bratislava, Slovakia, Sep 10, 2021 / 04:15 am On the eve of Pope Francis’ visit to Slovakia, the country appointed Anna Záborská, a former member of the…
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We need a ‘climate change’ in matters of religious freedom
Interview with Ján Figel’, the former EU Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief outside the EU For the second time since its establishment by the United Nations in 2019, the “International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief” was observed on 22 August. The…
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Europe and the challenge of religious freedom
The European Union’s Special Envoy for promoting the Freedom of Religions and Belief outside of Europe will soon be appointed. Maragaritis Schinas, vice-president of the European Commission, announced the Office’s re-establishment in a tweet on July 8. The announcement brought to a close what had been at times a very lively debate. The president of…
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EU politicians and religious leaders demand reinstatement of religious envoy
The previous religious envoy was influential in securing the release of the Pakistani Christian, Asia Bibi, from a death sentence in 2019. Calls are growing for the European Union to reinstate its Special Envoy on Religious Freedom, after the post was abolished by the new Brussels Commission under Ursula Von Der Leyen. “In some countries,…
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EU FoRB Day – A call for the renewal of the mandate of the Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion
Seven years ago, the EU Guidelines on freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) were adopted by the Foreign Affairs Council. Today, the FoRB community celebrates this informally as ‘EU FoRB Day’ and civil society take this opportunity to call for the renewal of the mandate of the Special Envoy. This past April came and went…
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COVID-19, Religion and Belief: Special Envoys’ Perspective
The following questions were addressed: Thursday, 28 May 2020 at 3:00 PM CEST https://spark.adobe.com/page/4vSJTeJhUd96y/#ep-8-covid-19-religion-and-belief-special-envoys-perspective
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APPG statement on EU’s Special Envoy on FoRB
The UK All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) urges the European Commission to renew the mandate of the Special Envoy on FoRB outside the EU. Dr Ján Figel was appointed the European Commission’s first Special Envoy for the promotion of FoRB outside the EU, following a resolution adopted by the…