EUROPEAN UNION: Today, 365th day without an EU Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief!
One year after the end of the mandate of the last EU Special Rapporteur on FoRB, Ursula von der Leyen goes on turning a deaf ear to calls from MEPs and civil society associations, the last one being the Humanists International.
By Willy Fautré, Director of Human Rights Without Frontiers
HRWF (30.11.2025) – 365 days after the end of the mandate of the last EU Special Envoy on FORB and almost 1 ½ year after the last elections of the European Parliament, Ursula von der Leyen has still not filled in the vacant position despite growing impatience inside the European Union and in countries outside the EU where believers of all faiths and non-believers are persecuted.
Moreover, there was no public call for candidacies and therefore any appointment will fail to meet one of the most basic principles of democracy that EU citizens can expect from an EU institution: transparency.
In China, Egypt, India, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam… believers of all faiths and non-believers are in urgent need of concrete acts of an EU Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief.
Vain calls from MEPs
Concerning an urgent request of MEPs Bert-Jan Ruissen and Miriam Lexmann co-chairing the European Parliament Intergroup on Freedom, Ursula von der Leyen answered about 7 months ago:
Dear Honourable Members,
Thank you for your letter regarding the European Union ’s role in protecting the right to freedom of religion, belief and conscience and the appointment of the Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief outside the EU.
I would like to reaffirm my commitment to defending and promoting freedom of religion or belief both within and outside the EU. As you rightly point out, at a time where hate speech and intolerance are on the rise, we are witnessing an increasing number of violations of these fundamental freedoms, in many regions of the world. The work of the Intergroup on the Freedom of Religion, Belief, and Conscience is more vital than ever, and I highly appreciate your dedication to ensuring that these issues remain a priority on the EU agenda.
The Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief outside the EU has made an important contribution. During his mandate as Special Envoy, Mr Frans van Daele brought significant advances, particularly in addressing the situation of religious minorities in the Middle East and Pakistan. I remain committed to continuing this important work and intend to renew the position of Special Envoy.
Out of the 200 words of this letter, only ten words are related to the question of the MEPs about the urgently needed appointment of a new EU Special Envoy on FoRB: “I intend to renew the position of Special Envoy.” Since then, the MEPs have not got any further news. Radio silence.
On the occasion of the UN International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief (22 August 2025), MEPs Bert-Jan Ruissen (Co-Chair of the European Parliament Intergroup on Freedom of Religion, Belief and Conscience) and MEP Carlo Fidanza (Vice-Chair of the Intergroup) urged the European Commission to immediately reappoint an EU Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief outside the EU, a position kept vacant since December 2024.
Criticizing the delay despite Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s written pledge on 5 May 2025 to renew the position, Bert-Jan Ruissen stressed:
“We welcome President von der Leyen’s commitment, but what we need now is concrete action. The longer this post remains vacant, the more the EU’s credibility suffers in its efforts to stand up for freedom of belief.”
Carlo Fidanza concluded:
“Every day without a Special Envoy is a missed opportunity to defend those suffering for their faith. Europe must show that it takes its promises seriously – words are not enough.”
Since the mandate of EU Special Envoy was created in 2016, the position has repeatedly been kept vacant for long periods without any convincing explanation despite numerous calls from members of the European Parliament and civil society organisations in the EU to appoint a new Special Envoy.
EU Special Envoy on FoRB (2016 – 2025): 5 years out of 10 without activity
In a February 2016 resolution on Daesh atrocities, the European Parliament “called for the EU to establish a permanent Special Representative for Freedom of Religion and Belief” outside the EU. In response to this resolution, the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker swiftly created the function of the Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief outside the European Union (in short, EU Special Envoy on FoRB).
Three months later, in May 2016, the first Special Envoy on FoRB was appointed. It was Jan Figel, former EU Commissioner (2004-2009) and former Slovak Minister of Transport (2010-2012). His mandate was first limited to 12 months and afterwards extended until it expired with the end of term of Juncker Commission on 30 November 2019. During those three years, Jan Figel was very active as it can be seen from his 13-page report of activities, in particular his country visits in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. It was the golden age of the function.
Elections at the European Parliament took place in May 2019 and in the process new EU Commissioners were appointed. For 1 year 1/2, the position of EU Special Envoy on FORB remained empty.
On May 5, 2021, the European Commission appointed Christos Stylianides as EU Special Envoy on FoRB). Christos Stylianides had previously served as the European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management between 2014 and 2019 and as the European Union’s Ebola Coordinator.
He left the European Commission after four months for a more attractive and prestigious position of Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection in Greece’s government in which he was sworn in on 10 September 2021. Needless to say that due to the poor conditions of his mandate he could not achieve anything during those summer months.
For one more year and three months, the position of EU Special Envoy on FoRB remained empty. In fact from 1 December 2019 to December 2022 when a new EU Special Envoy was appointed, 3 years passed without any activity under the mandate of the EU Special Envoy for freedom of religion or belief in the world!
On 7 December 2022, three years and a half after the previous EU parliamentary elections and one year and half before the next ones, Baron Frans van Daele (75), a Belgian retired diplomat and former King Filip’s chief of staff, was appointed as the new EU Special Envoy on FORB. After such a long delay, it cannot be said that the EU had rushed to promote freedom of religion or belief in the world.
This last mandate only lasted for two years and came to an end six months after the EU parliamentary elections of June 2024 which were to be followed by the appointment of new EU Commissioners. During the second part of his mandate, only limited political follow up of the EU Special Envoy’s initiatives and activities was therefore to be expected due to the political transition.
As of early June 2025, the position of EU Special Envoy on FoRB has again remained empty.
In conclusion, during the 10 years of the existence of the post of EU Special Envoy for freedom of religion or belief in the world, the mandate has only been carried out for 5 years. This is the reality of the facts.
Lack of transparency
Again, there has obviously been no political will since the end of the mandate of Baron Frans van Daele to swiftly appoint a successor.
Noteworthy is that there is never any public call for candidates and appointments are opaque.
President von der Leyen would be well advised to follow the good practice of the United Nations in its appointment of Special Rapporteurs on Freedom of Religion or Belief. Another source of inspiration in terms of transparency for President von der Leyen is the appointment procedure of the “Representative on combating racism, xenophobia and discrimination, with a special focus on discrimination against Christians and members of other religions” of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). In the meantime, several EU member states (Netherlands, Germany, Slovakia…) and the UK have appointed their own Special Envoys on FoRB…
Last but not least, opacity also prevails concerning the financial management of the function of EU Special Envoy and the report of activities of the last EU Special Envoy on FoRB is at least not publicly available, if it exists. Only EU Special Envoy Jan Figel provided a report of activities with recommendations which was made public a few days before the the end of his mandate.
No report of activities has been published by the last Special Envoy before the end of his term.
