This is the third edition of a series of articles about the secretaries and directors of works of JCEP. This time, we got the testimonial of Filipe Martins, the secretary for Social Apostolate of the Jesuit Conference of European Provincials and director of JESC - Jesuit European Social Centre.  Jesuits in Europe have long engaged with the continent’s political and social developments through reflection, formation, and advocacy inspired by Ignatian discernment and Catholic Social Teaching. In Brussels, at the heart of the European Union, this commitment takes concrete shape in efforts to bridge faith and public life, promote the common good, and accompany European policymaking with ethical reflection. The following text offers a personal and institutional perspective from the Director of the Jesuit European Social Centre, tracing the Jesuit involvement in the European project from its post-war roots to today’s work in leadership formation, ecology, and collaboration with people of good will for a more just, united, and sustainable Europe.   An act of honesty at the beginning of this text is admitting that only after arriving to Brussels I started understanding what the European Union (EU) is really about. Until then, in my home country Portugal, the EU was quoted mostly when the governments wanted to implement some laws with which, they would say, “we don’t agree but we are forced to adopt by the EU”. Or when, in the summer months, the elections for the European Parliament had a very low attendance, because of not being perceived as relevant enough to prevent many from spending the day at the beach.  Now, after three years of being the director of the Jesuit European Social Centre (JESC), one of the Jesuit institutions operating in the “Brussels bubble”, I came to realise both the importance and the complexity of the EU. Many of the laws and policies regarding the so-called “shared competences” in the 27 EU countries are the result of often year-long negotiations between the European Parliament (with 720 MEPs elected by the European citizens), the European Council (the 27 governments) and the European Commission (a sort of “European Government” with 27 commissioners, one per EU country). These “shared competences” cover broad areas such as economy, environment, social cohesion, justice, international aid, research and trade, and when a country enters the “EU club”, it accepts the “rules of the game” as defined in the EU Treaties. If on the one hand it may look like an almost “unmanageable monster” (and sometimes it is!), on the other it’s this union between many different countries (small and large, rich and not-so-rich, with very diverse histories, cultures and languages) that allows not only for many countries to develop (which is clearly the case of Portugal since it joined), but to stand together and support one another in moments of crisis such as the 2009 financial breakdown, the COVID pandemia or the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine.  The history of JESC  Also to my surprise, only in Brussels I discovered that this “European project”, started shortly after World War II as a project of peace by a group of politicians from formerly enemy countries (Robert Schuman from France, Konrad Adenauer from Germany, Alcide De Gasperi from Italy and Paul-Henri Spaak from Belgium), has been followed almost from the beginning by some Jesuits engaged with the “Office catholique d’information et d’initiative pour l’Europe” (OCIPE). OCIPE was founded in Strasbourg in 1956, with the mission of reflecting, researching and publishing about the European integration process, through the lens of both global ethics and Catholic Social Teaching. After Strasbourg, OCIPE opened offices in Brussels (1963), Budapest and Warsaw (1990), until a deep reorganisation took place in 2012, when the Brussels office became JESC, under the direct governance of the President of the Jesuit Conference of European Provincials, and the other ones were integrated into their respective Jesuit provinces.    In the years after, JESC kept OCIPE’s focus on “European Affairs”, but - also as a consequence of fewer Jesuits being available - reduced its publishing work and connected more with international groups working on the same topic, such as the pan-European network Initiative of Christians for Europe (IXE). Another group worth mentioning is Passion for Europe, made of passionate people from different European organisations who gathered around JESC Secretary for European Affairs to organise in Namur a yearly “Passion for Europe Weekend Workshop” on different topics, with the presence of high-level EU experts and politicians.   Simultaneously, JESC started developing other lines of work. Following the 3rd Universal Apostolic Preference (UAP) of the Jesuits, “Journeying with the Youth”, since 2019 the European Leadership Programme (ELP) has been hosting 20 young professionals who apply to the program, among the almost 2000 who arrive to Brussels every March and October to participate in the 5-month-long internships offered by the different EU institutions. The ELP Fellows form a “community” living in the same house, and apart from their daily work, they have a professional mentor and a spiritual coach who help them to develop their self-designed “Personal Mission Plan”. An essential part of the program is also the weekly evening meetings with senior EU officials (regular speakers are, for instance, the former President of the Council Herman van Rompuy and the Head of the Legal Service Daniel Calleja, both Jesuit Alumni), who give witness of lifelong commitments at the service of the European Common Good. With 14 cohorts and more than 150 Alumni until now, ELP is slowly but steadily establishing itself as a solid and trustworthy program, forming and connecting those who will possibly be future leaders of the European project.  The recent focus on Ecology  A third and more recent line of work is Ecology, also in alignment with the 4th UAP, “Caring for our Common Home”. Even if it’s not mandatory, it has been practice until now that the Director of JESC is also the Secretary of Social Justice and Ecology of JCEP (Jesuit Conference of European Provincials), with its role of coordination of the different European social and ecology networks. And if both migration and international emergencies and development have been covered for long by JRS Europe and the Xavier Network, the field of Ecology hadn’t until recently any European coordination.  So JESC engaged with determination on this field. A new European network of provincial eco-delegates was formed in 2022. The JESC Carbon Initiative (JCI) has been helping some European Provinces (namely the EOF-Western French-speaking and HIB-Irish) to assess the “carbon footprint” of their communities and institutions (in particular schools) and to plan their way forward in regard to the crucial and urgent “green transition”. JCI is also involved in the ongoing carbon footprint assessment of the General Curia offices, with the final results expected to be published soon.  Advocacy has also shaped the recent JESC’s Ecology work. We’ve started accompanying COPs since COP27, by producing awareness-raising materials and inviting the Jesuit audiences to write to their governments in demand of fair and sustainable decisions and commitments. And after the COP28 and COP29 campaigns being jointly produced with other European and African partners, it was a bliss to fully engage in the recent COP30 Jesuits for Climate Justice campaign, the first-ever global advocacy campaign of the Society of Jesus, connecting people and institutions from all continents and from all apostolic sectors.  A faith-based organization in the Brussels secular context  Being the headquarters of most EU institutions, Brussels is indeed a place for advocacy and lobbying. Here we can find all sorts of business associations and corporate representatives, trying to engage with policymakers and to shape the EU policies according to their interests. The same applies to NGOs and other civil society organisations, working on many different fields such as human rights and democracy, education and culture, humanitarian and development aid, and health and wellbeing. Ecology is no exception, and since 2023 JESC has been working on different undertakings, namely the Future Generations Initiative, an ambitious project in which we lead a coalition of more than 30 international organisations and that has allowed us to work closely with some MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) and with the team of the European Commissioner Glenn Micallef. The aim, in short, is for the EU to adopt a long-term sustainable perspective in all its policies, through objective criteria-oriented and legally-binding impact assessments. A novel Strategy for Intergenerational Fairness will be published in March, and accompanying its implementation is the next step.  Even if some of our usual partners, such as Caritas Europa, COMECE (the Commission of the EU bishops) or Don Bosco International, are also faith-based, in these last years we have developed collaboration with other international organisations who don’t usually relate to the church (they are the majority in Brussels), such as the European Environmental Bureau (EEB), the Food Policy Coalition, Birdlife and even Greenpeace. And so far this has been also a huge and happy source of learning, from their scientific expertise (which we often lack), and also of sharing, as their teams are often made up of committed people who, even if far from our faith, are moved by the same wish to build and “fight for” a fairer and more sustainable world. Today, as in the time of Ignatius 500 years ago, at JESC we have the strong feeling that the call for bridging these different “worlds” and for fostering these collaborations among “people of good will” remains very present. And Brussels is definitely one of the places where this call can and is already being embodied.   Filipe Martins sj JESC Director and JCEP Secretary for Social Justice and Ecology

In 2025, the EOF Jesuit Province carried out its carbon footprint assessment for the second time. This initiative is significant for Jesuits in Europe, as it demonstrates how the Province is actively translating the Jesuit commitment to care for our common home into concrete, measurable actions that can inspire responsible ecological practices across Jesuit communities. This exercise helps identify which aspects of Jesuit lifestyles contribute most to climate change, with the aim of informing concrete decisions on how to evolve our ways of living in order to care for our common home. This initiative is rooted in the Fourth Universal Apostolic Preference, which has guided the mission of the Society of Jesus worldwide since 2019: “to collaborate in the care of our common home.” It also follows the ecological transition roadmap adopted by the Francophone Western European Jesuit Province in 2020. Methodology To estimate its carbon footprint, the Province drew inspiration from “Nos Gestes Climat”, the carbon footprint calculator developed by ADEME, the French Agency for Ecological Transition. An individual questionnaire was designed for Jesuits, collecting data on: food consumption, travel and mobility, and personal consumption habits (clothing, digital equipment, etc.). In parallel, data on energy and water consumption were gathered from the administrator of each community (referred to in Jesuit terminology as the minister), along with additional information related to community life. The emission factors provided by ADEME were then used to convert this data into CO₂ emissions. This made it possible to calculate: the individual carbon footprint of each Jesuit, the carbon footprint of each community, and finally the overall footprint of the Province, by aggregating data from all communities and extrapolating results to include Jesuits who were unable to respond to the questionnaire. Partnership with the Jesuit European Social Centre The carbon footprint assessment tool for Jesuit communities was developed in partnership with the Jesuit European Social Centre (JESC), an apostolic work under the Jesuit Conference of European Provincials (JCEP). This partnership demonstrates again that even robust provinces like EOF find their apostolate profoundly enriched by adopting a Conference-level perspective on the mission. Based in Brussels, the JESC is a European Jesuit institution that reflects on and contributes to European public policies, with a particular focus on ecological and social transition. Since 2022, building on the work carried out with the EOF Province, the JESC has supported other Christian organisations in developing their own carbon footprint assessments. Read more here.  Key Findings of the 2025 Carbon Footprint The 2025 carbon footprint assessment (based on 2024 data) shows an average of 7.7 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent per Jesuit per year. This figure is: lower than the national averages of the countries where the Province is mainly present (France, Belgium and Luxembourg), yet higher than the emissions of the poorest populations in those same countries, and far above the global target of 2 tonnes per person per year by 2050, as set out in the Paris Agreement. These findings provide both encouragement and a strong incentive for continued action, reinforcing the Province’s commitment to progressively changing practices in response to the climate crisis. Between 2022 and 2025, the Province’s overall carbon footprint declined slightly. However, this average masks contrasting trends: Transport-related emissions increased significantly, largely due to the resumption of travel following the Covid-19 pandemic — a clear call for greater attention in this area. Emissions linked to food and buildings decreased markedly, confirming that the steps taken in these domains are moving in the right direction. From Assessment to Action The Province uses this carbon footprint assessment to identify priority areas for action in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Guiding principles have been shared by the Provincial with all Jesuits, encouraging more responsible practices in areas such as travel, food choices and heating. The results of the assessment will also inform the revision of the Province’s ecological transition roadmap, currently under review. This updated roadmap will shape the action plan guiding the Province’s ecological transition in the years ahead. Want to Calculate Your Own Carbon Footprint? It’s easy to get started using ADEME’s “Nos Gestes Climat” calculator — a practical tool to better understand the impact of everyday choices. Calculate your carbon footprint here.

On 18 November 2025, Jesuit European Committee for Primary and Secondary Education (JECSE) and the Jesuit European Social Centre (JESC) hosted an online webinar titled “Advancing Sustainability in Jesuit Schools: The Experience of a Three-School Pilot Project”. The event brought together members of the Jesuit Global Network of Schools (JGNS) and other religious education networks to explore the experiences of three Jesuit schools located in Malta and France which have participated in the pilot phase of the JESC Carbon Initiative (JCI), a project by JESC aimed at supporting faith organisations in their ecological transition. Learning from Practice: how schools assess their experience with JCI During the webinar, representatives from St Aloysius Primary School (Malta), Lycée Sainte-Geneviève in Versailles (France), and Ensemble Scolaire Fénelon-La Trinité in Lyon (France) shared their experiences of carrying out the JCI environmental assessment. Across the three cases, several key learnings emerged. Schools emphasised the importance of adapting the assessment process to their specific context and, while data collection was often demanding, this challenge also became an essential moment of capacity-building, prompting internal cooperation, clarification of roles, and increased awareness among staff about the environmental impact of daily operations. Another central insight concerned the value of community engagement. All schools noted that involving teachers, staff, students, and families was crucial not only for gathering data but also for fostering a shared sense of ownership over efforts to make the school more sustainable. In Malta, even young pupils contributed to shaping the action plan; in France, the assessment became a catalyst for training days, assemblies, and presentations aimed at building a common understanding of the school’s environmental footprint. The findings themselves proved transformative, offering each school a clear picture of its environmental impacts and the key areas requiring early attention to begin shaping an effective ecological transition. Insights from the project helped schools identify their priorities for change and translate them into concrete actions. At St Aloysius Primary School, the results informed a new strategic plan designed to implement the recommendations emerging from the assessment. At Sainte-Geneviève, the footprint analysis supported the development of a transition roadmap and quickly became a key tool for raising ecological awareness among newly arrived students.In sum, the JCI assessment became far more than a diagnostic exercise: it served as a catalyst for genuine institutional transformation, strengthening community participation and embedding sustainability more deeply across the life of the school. The pilot experience thus confirmed the value of a structured, measurable, and community-based approach to sustainability in schools. Participating schools reported strengthened governance structures, improved systems for monitoring key environmental indicators, and the explicit integration of ecological objectives into staff development, student initiatives, and parental engagement. From Vision to Action: integrating frameworks for ecological transition The second half of the webinar featured a presentation from the EOF province, which introduced the AILE (Loyola Education) pathway, a comprehensive framework designed to accompany Jesuit schools in France on their ecological transition journey. Centred on three interconnected pillars - student education, adult formation and change management, and the practical transformation of school operations - the AILE pathway ensures that ecological commitment is woven into every dimension of school life. Rooted in the spirit of Laudato Si’ and fully aligned with Ignatian pedagogy, it integrates spiritual, cognitive, emotional, and social competencies to help students grasp the ecological crisis and develop the capacity to respond meaningfully. The presentation also underscored the importance of adult leadership, strong governance, and coordinated strategies, offering concrete tools such as training modules, steering committee models, and action-planning guides. Through this contribution, the EOF Province illustrated how a holistic, mission-driven approach can help schools move from intention to sustained, systemic ecological change. For attendees, the webinar offered a valuable illustration of how the EOF Province’s AILE pathway and the JCI assessment work together to support schools in their ecological transition. The AILE framework provided a broader horizon: a mission-driven, holistic approach showing how ecological commitment can be embedded into formation, leadership, and school governance. Complementing this, the JCI assessment was presented as a concrete tool capable of operationalising vision-providing schools with a clear environmental baseline, a structured methodology for designing change, and an inclusive process that brings the entire community together.  In all, the webinar showcased how Jesuit education is mobilising around the integration of ecology and sustainability at both the network and school levels. Participants saw how a strong, mission-aligned framework such as the EOF Province’s AILE pathway can orient schools toward a holistic ecological vision, while assessment-based tools like JCI provide the practical means to move from fragmented initiatives to coherent, science-based sustainability strategies. These tools help transform schools into spaces of environmental management and shared learning, an experience that is profoundly educational in itself. Together, these approaches highlighted the potential of Jesuit educational institutions to serve as living laboratories of ecological transition, forming young people and adults who are equipped to respond to today’s environmental crisis with competence, hope, and a renewed sense of responsibility. In doing so, they embody the Jesuit mission to promote reconciliation with creation and reflect the deepest aims of Ignatian education: to form persons of discernment, committed to the common good, and capable of shaping a more just and sustainable world. * To learn more about the JESC Carbon Initiative (JCI) please click here to download the project brochure. Telmo Olascoaga Michel JESC Ecology Officer

From 11 to 22 November 2025, the city of Belém do Pará (Brazil) hosted the thirtieth United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP30—a milestone summit brought to the heart of the Amazon at a moment of profound urgency for the planet. For the first time in history, the COP took place in the world’s largest tropical rainforest, a region central to global climate stability and home to countless Indigenous communities whose voices are essential in the struggle for climate justice. The Society of Jesus, through the Jesuits for Climate Justice campaign, played a coordinated and visible role throughout the summit. A diverse delegation of Jesuits and collaborators gathered from social centres, including the Jesuit European Social Centre (JESC), universities, international networks to advocate for a just ecological transition grounded in human dignity. Their participation spanned official negotiations in the Blue Zone, the vibrant civil society spaces of the People’s Summit, and the Tapirí Ecuménico, where churches came together for interfaith dialogue on caring for our common home. The following article offers a comprehensive overview of the outcomes of COP30, the advances made, and the significant gaps that remain—as well as how Jesuit networks contributed to shaping global conversations at this critical juncture. The thirtieth United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) concluded in Belém do Pará after two weeks of intense negotiations and diplomatic challenges. In this context, the presence of the Society of Jesus—through the global Jesuits for Climate Justice campaign—stood out for its coordinated international action and strong engagement on crucial issues of climate justice. For the first time, an international Jesuit campaign brought together around thirty Jesuits and collaborators from social centres, universities, international networks, and the Fe y Alegría Federation. The delegation participated both in the official COP30 spaces, where diplomatic delegations and accredited organisations meet, and in the People’s Summit—home to social movements—as well as the Tapirí Ecuménico, an interfaith space dedicated to dialogue on the care of our common home. A Shared Religious Voice for Climate Justice During the first week, the group helped disseminate Religious Life for Climate Justice: Turning Hope into Action, a document produced with several religious networks and institutions. Its demands focused on three key pillars: ensuring a Just Transition supported by grant-based financing that does not increase the debt burden of vulnerable countries; establishing operational mechanisms for the Loss and Damage Fund; promoting the reform of the global financial architecture, including the cancellation of climate-related debt. On 20 November, Fr. Anderson Pedroso SJ, Rector of the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, presented the campaign’s official statement to the COP30 President, Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago. The following day, these proposals were shared at a press conference in the Blue Zone. Progress Made—But Still Not Enough After several stalled drafts, the Brazilian presidency finally released the Mutirâo Global document. It proposes to triple adaptation finance by 2030, launch a “Belém Mission for 1.5°C”, open new dialogues on trade, and establish a two-year work programme on climate finance. However, the absence of explicit commitments to phase out fossil fuels and the lack of a clear strategy to tackle deforestation were widely criticised. These gaps reflect the influence of oil-producing countries and the limits of consensus-based negotiations. Among the positive developments, a coalition of states led by Colombia called for a global roadmap to eliminate fossil fuels and announced that Colombia and the Netherlands will host the first Global Transition Conference in 2026. A Major Step Forward: The Just Transition Mechanism One of COP30’s most significant achievements was the creation of an institutional mechanism to coordinate the Just Transition. Until now, discussions on justice in energy transitions largely centred on employment and job conversion. Today, however, initiatives have expanded to include broader concerns such as energy access, raw materials, and energy poverty. This new mechanism will help establish common principles, channel funding, and coordinate global action. The Justice in Mining Network, together with the Jesuit campaign, advocated strongly for this mechanism during a roundtable on energy, critical minerals, and finance—highlighting its potential to unify disparate initiatives under a framework rooted in human rights and environmental protection. A Spirit That Continues Beyond the Summit Beyond the formal negotiations, the experience in Belém left a lasting impression. The vitality of civil society, encounters with Indigenous peoples, and the warmth of interreligious engagement revealed the strength of global solidarity. More than 400 Catholic organisations signed a joint statement reaffirming their commitment to ecological conversion and the care of our common home. Although COP30 has come to a close, the spirit of Belém—a blend of denunciation, solidarity, and celebration—remains alive. The Society of Jesus will continue working to ensure that the voices of the most vulnerable are heard and that the struggle for climate justice advances with determination.

On 11 September 2025, JCEP had the joy of welcoming two newly appointed European Provincials: Fr Pavel Bačo SJ, Provincial of the Czech Province (BOH), and Fr Ronny Alessio SJ, Provincial of the Euro-Mediterranean Province (EUM), which includes Albania, Italy, Malta, and Romania. They were accompanied by Fr Gonzalo Villagrán SJ, newly appointed Socius of the President of JCEP. The visit began at the Chapel for Europe, where the Provincials discovered the ecumenical mission of this Jesuit-led space at the heart of the EU Quarter. They learned how the Chapel offers a place of prayer and reflection for people engaged in European affairs, while also fostering dialogue between Christian traditions. At the Jesuit European Social Centre (JESC), staff presented their work in Brussels and highlighted collaborations with other Jesuit institutions across Provinces and the wider Society of Jesus, including global initiatives such as the ongoing COP30 campaign. The encounter gave the Provincials a deeper insight into how JESC connects Ignatian spirituality with social, political, and ecological issues in the European context. A joint coffee break with the team of JRS Europe followed, providing an informal moment of fraternity before the Provincials continued their visit at the JRS offices. Welcomed by Director Fr Alberto Ares SJ, they engaged in dialogue about projects underway across Europe and the pressing challenges of migration and asylum. The exchange reaffirmed the shared Jesuit mission to accompany, serve, and advocate for refugees and forcibly displaced people. The Provincials also met with the Coordinator of Religious Teachers at the European Schools of Brussels, Annie Thumelaire. They gained insight into the opportunities and challenges of teaching religion in a multilingual, multicultural setting. This series of encounters offered the Provincials a living picture of Jesuit apostolic engagement in Brussels—spiritual, social, intellectual, and educational. Their visit confirmed the richness of collaboration across Jesuit Provinces and institutions in Europe. It also highlighted the value of these European works of the Society, which provide the Provinces with a real presence and genuine access to the European milieu in Brussels.

Benoît Willemaers, Belgian Jesuit and Secretary for European Affairs at the Jesuit European Social Center, wrote recently an article about Ursula Von Der Leyen's "Estate of the Union speech". On Wednesday, 10th September, Ursula von der Leyen delivered her annual State of the Union speech, the first of her second term as President of the European Commission. She styled it as a call to unity for a Union embattled, fighting for an independent place in a hostile world. If her previous exercise, in September 2023, appeared to us a bit too self-congratulatory and falling short of taking Europeans’ worries seriously, this speech was definitely an attempt to address head-on the challenges facing Europe: geopolitical, social, and ecological. Her opening on continued support for Ukraine was not unexpected. While forceful, it was also fairly consensual thinking, stressing the need for more sanctions as well as more European help for Ukraine’s institutions and defense industry. Her obvious frustration with European divisions on Gaza was perhaps less expected, announcing reduced cooperation with Israel where the Commission has the authority to do so, along with propositions to the Council to suspend part of the Association Agreement or to sanction violent settlers and nationalist ministers. Finally, confronted with a shifting world order, courtesy of Trump, Putin, and Xi, von der Leyen defended her policy of pushing for more trade alliances (Mercosur), all while minimizing the impact of US vagaries and attempting to make the EU less reliant on China.  In the line of listening more to citizens, social concerns took a front seat. Actions on a quality jobs act, on a strategy against poverty or on various living costs aspects (energy, housing, food, cars) were announced. In a broader societal context, her intervention also focused on the traditional press and social media, defending the role of the former as democracy’s backbone and promising to protect children from the dangers of the latter.  Ecological concerns also popped up here and there in the speech. A mention of farmers as “custodians of our lands and oceans, our biodiversity.” A development on the circular economy. A defense of electric cars. A recognition of the impact of climate change on forest fires. A reminder of the goals on emission reduction, those already agreed for 2050 as well as those proposed by the Commission for 2040. This said, while there is much we can agree with, we must point out underlying concerns on how these various challenges are tackled and what is missing in the speech.  It is obvious when it comes to ecology: policies apparently must be sold for their tangible economic (opening new markets) or geopolitical (independence) benefits they bring. They also favor, as often, a very technological approach, with a focus on “green” energy. If a circular economy is mentioned, it is in a narrow perspective of having the materials to produce ever more. If that is what it takes to save elements of the Green Deal (thankfully mentioned), so be it. But one cannot help but wonder if this technological mindset is at the level of cultural change required to confront the roots of the ecological crisis. On social aspects, the main worry is evidently the lack of strong competences of the EU, which could lead to disappointing results. Time will tell. Von der Leyen also calls for “all of society, all lawmakers and all stakeholders to come together” in tackling the housing problem. This presupposes a healthy society, in which civil society is vibrant and local initiatives are supported. The approach of the Commission with civil society will be under test in the coming months and years. Funding for civil society initiatives will probably be reduced under the upcoming financial framework. Even more fundamentally, a delicate balance will have to be found by the soon-to-come Democracy Shield aiming to fight disinformation without smothering free speech and association. On geopolitics and trade, the silent part is what constitutes just trade. As for now, it is mostly considered through the lens of Europe’s interests and competitiveness. How political, social, and environmental concerns will survive this focus is anyone’s guess. The recent undermining of the due diligence directive is not inspiring a lot of confidence. Neither is the treatment of the migration question. Considered only under the perspectives of increasing returns of denied asylum seekers and of the fight against human trafficking, the approach is purely defensive, with little thought given to the root causes of migration. Sadly, nothing new here in the last two years. But all this might be missing the point. Von der Leyen evidently attempted to offer bridges to the various partners of her coalition in the Parliament: keeping competitiveness at the front while defending some social and climate goals, defending her deal with Trump while playing up her red lines on digital regulations, pushing for a rearmament of Europe while saving humanitarian principles for Gaza, … If indeed the goal was to find unity, this was in vain and the debate that followed was a sad demonstration of it.  If automatic criticism from the extremes in the assembly was to be expected, the desire to find a new common ground was mostly absent. The leader of the EPP used the moment to taunt the other centrist parties under the tune of “we won the elections, now apply our program.” The answer of the S&D was a strong denunciation of von der Leyen’s agreement with Trump. Only Renew seized on von der Leyen’s speech, running with her calls for institutional changes (right of initiative for the Parliament, generalization of qualified majority voting) and pushing it further. But while there might be merit in the idea that part of the paralysis of the EU is due to its functioning, it is only a small part. The reality is that divisions run deep among countries and political families. Those divisions were sadly on show yesterday. Benoit Willemaers SJJESC Secretary for European Affairs