Ref. Ares(2019)2649428 - 16/04/2019
Meeting with Patriarchs from the Middle East - 11.12.2018, Vienna
The Special Envoy participated in this meeting organised by the Austrian Presidency of the
EU. He presented the policy of the European Union in the area of Freedom of Religion or
Belief. He spoke on the EU Guidelines promoting FoRB for all and everywhere. He spoke on
his mandate and missions in the Middle East. There, he met the Head of the Caldean Church
in Iraq, Patriarch Sacko, and Orthodox and Catholic religious leaders from Syria. He
expressed his readiness to cooperate further for diverse and inclusive societies in the Middle
East where all religious minorities are respected.