This meeting with leading representatives of the three monotheistic religions was held on 15 May 2007 in the Berlaymont building on the initiative of European Commission President José Manuel Barroso. Together with German Chancellor and European Council President Angela Merkel and European Parliament President Hans-Gert Pöttering, President Barroso co-hosted the discussions, which were attended by 20 leading representatives of the Christian, Jewish and Islamic faiths in Europe. He had hosted similar meetings in 2005 and 2006, but this is the first time such a gathering had taken place under the auspices of the Commission, the European Parliament and the Council Presidency. The topic chosen for this year’s discussion was 'Building a Europe based on human dignity'.

The discussions focused on the following questions: What part can religions and religious communities play in a Europe based on human dignity? How can we promote our common values beyond Europe’s frontiers? Is it by means of common values that we can strengthen the dialogue between cultures and religions? Is tolerance a helpful concept?

The three Presidents found common ground in European values. Such values as democracy, the rule of law, tolerance, justice, solidarity, mutual respect and human dignity are what bind Europeans together. For this reason, they have all been enshrined in the Berlin Declaration. The religions represented and the European institutions agreed that, through these values, they were all working towards the same goal, the common good.

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