Council of Europe Representatives Meet with Ecumenical Patriarch

15/1/2011

The future of Europe, human rights issues and religious and minority freedoms were the focus of a meeting held yesterday afternoon in Fanar between the Ecumenical Patriarch, His All Holiness Bartholomew, with a delegation of high ranking officials from the Council of Europe.

More specifically:
• Mr. Joschka Fischer (Chairman), who has previously served as Vice Chancellor of Germany and Foreign Minister
• Ms. Emma Bonino, Vice-Chair of the Italian Senate. She has been Minister for International Trade and European Affairs.
• Mr. Timothy Garton Ash, Professor from Great Britain
• Mr. Martin Hirsch, President of the Civic Service Agency in France since May 2010
• Ms. Danuta Hübner, MEP from Poland
• Mr. Vladimir Lukin, Human Rights Commissioner of Russia (since 2004, reelected in 2009) and the President of the Russian Paralympics Committee
• Mr. Edward Mortimer, English author and journalist, currently Senior Vice President and Chief Programme Officer of the Salzburg Global Seminar
• Ms. Sonja Licht, internationally renowned sociologist and human rights and political activist
• Ms. Ayşe Kadıoğlu, Professor of Political Science at Sabancı University, Istanbul
During the discussions, held in a cordial atmosphere, Chief Secretary of the Sacred and Holy Synod Archimandrite Elpidoforos, Ecumenical Patriarchate Spokesperson Father Dositheos Anagnostopoulos and Pantelis Vigas, Minority Religious Property representative to the Supreme Council of the General Directorate for Religious Property (Vakuf), also participated.

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