ECR MEPs have called on the European Commission to do more to combat the rising persecution of religious minorities.

Speaking in plenary in Strasbourg Dutch ECR MEP Bert-Jan Ruissen said: “360 million Christians in 50 countries are affected by ‘very severe’ to ‘extreme’ persecution. Religious persecution is on the rise worldwide, but the European Commission has already taken three years to fill the post of EU religious freedom envoy.”

Ruissen also denounced the fact that the European Commission has not applied its own directives on freedom of belief in external relations for eight years. The most recent report of Parliament’s Intergroup on Freedom of Religion or Belief shows that there is a lack of effective action when it comes to the implementation of the guidelines by the European External Action Service.

Italian ECR MEP Carlo Fidanza added: “It seems as if religious freedom is an uncomfortable subject, to be treated with reluctance and debated only at a late hour and without any binding votes. The situation in the world is constantly deteriorating. There is not a minute to lose.”