CCME PRESS RELEASE
30 June 2014

CCME 19th General Assembly 26-29 June 2014

The 19th General Assembly of the Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe ended on Sunday 29th June. In their final message, delegates from across Europe called for “a change of attitudes regarding migration in accordance with European values.” The message highlights that this “includes secure and legal access to Europe for those in need of protection”.

Earlier, the assembly had elected a new Executive Committee (board). Dr Victoria Kamondji from the French Protestant Federation was unanimously re-elected as moderator (chair) of CCME. Ms Elena Timofticiuc (AIDRom, Romania) and Alfredo Abad (Evangelical Church , Spain) will serve as Vice-Moderators with Thorsten Leisser (EKD, Germany) having been elected as treasurer. Ms Efthalia Pappa (Church of Greece) , Dr Jery Jehu-Appiah (Council of African and Caribbean Churches, UK) , Mr Lemma Desta (Church of Norway) and Ms Semegnish Asfaw Grosjean (representing the World Council of Churches) will complete the ExCom for the period until 2017. Dr. Antonios Papantoniou, who has been involved in CCME since its foundation in 1964, was unanimously named as Honorary President of CCME.

In the organisational discussions, the assembly welcomed the commitment made by the General Assembly of the Conference of European Churches (CEC) to work on asylum and migration. The assembly recommended that CCME would for the next 3 years organise relations with CEC on the basis of a cooperation agreement with a view to possibly afterwards completing the integration of both organisations.

Read the assembly message here.

Further information. Doris Peschke, CCME, Tel: +32 2 234.68.00 or +32 479 378759.