Meeting of Committee of Representatives of Orthodox Churches to EU (CROCEU)

On 14 January 2025, a working meeting of the Committee of Representatives of Orthodox Churches to the European Union (CROCEU) was held under the presidency of His Eminence Metropolitan Athenagoras of Belgium and Exarch of the Netherlands and Luxembourg at the “Orthodox Centre Ambiorix” in Brussels.

The meeting was attended by Bishop Apostolos of Tanagra (Church of Greece), Fathers Sorin Selaru and George Valcu (Patriarchate of Romania), Father Stoyan Berbatov (Patriarchate of Bulgaria), and Fathers Konstantinos Kenanidis and Pawel Cecha (Ecumenical Patriarchate).

During the meeting, participants exchanged New Year greetings and reviewed the agenda items. Metropolitan Athenagoras expressed his satisfaction with the spirit of fraternity and collaboration that characterises the work of the representatives of the participating delegations.

The meeting included an evaluation of the committee members’ visit to the headquarters of the Ecumenical Patriarchate at the Phanar, Istanbul, and their meetings with His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, as well as with the president and members of the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s European Affairs Committee.

The participants unanimously expressed gratitude for the warm hospitality extended to them, the exceptional experience of participating in the Patriarchal and Synodal Divine Liturgy on the Feast of the Entry of the Theotokos, and their visit to the Halki Theological School, which remains regrettably closed.

Key issues discussed included the planning and progress of meetings with prominent members of the new European administration, both within the European Parliament and the European Commission, focusing on advancing the committee’s agenda priorities.

The meeting concluded with the scheduling of the next session.