“We are deeply concerned that this vital position has remained vacant for an extended period, sending a worrying signal to persecuted communities worldwide and to those who violate religious freedom with impunity. It suggests a diminished prioritization of this fundamental right within EU foreign policy at precisely the moment when such advocacy is most urgently needed”. This is written in the letter that COMECE Bishops sent to Ursula von der Leyen to ask her to reinstate a Special Envoy of the EU for Freedom of Religion or Belief Outside the European Union. “We therefore call upon the European Commission to appoint a new EU Special Envoy without further delay, strengthening the mandate and allocating adequate human and financial resources for the Envoy’s mission. We respectfully urge the EU to ensure that freedom of thought, conscience and religion remains a cornerstone of EU external action and human rights policy, integrated across all relevant foreign policy instruments”. Lastly: “Within the framework of the dialogue provided for in Article 17 TFEU, COMECE stands ready to support the work of a new EU Special Envoy and to collaborate with EU institutions in the advancement of thought, conscience, and religion for all people everywhere”.