The European Commission has appointed Mairead McGuinness, former Vice President of the European Parliament, as the new EU Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief outside the European Union. The position had remained vacant since December 2024.
This was reported by Adfinternational.

The prolonged absence of an envoy had raised concerns among human rights advocates, who warned that the EU was leaving unused a key instrument of its human rights diplomacy.

Mairead McGuinness previously served as European Commissioner from 2020 to 2024 and Vice President of the European Parliament from 2017 to 2020. She is a long serving Irish Member of the European Parliament and European Commissioner for financial services, and a former television presenter. Last year, she ran for the office of President of Ireland but withdrew from the race.
As Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief outside the EU, she will report to Commissioner Brunner, who oversees the Commission’s dialogue with churches and religious associations or communities, as well as with philosophical and non confessional organizations. She will support intercultural and interreligious dialogues outside the European Union, including with national authorities, organizations, and representatives of various faiths.

The role of Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief outside the EU was introduced in 2016 with the aim of protecting freedom of religion or belief worldwide. In its resolution of 4 February 2016 on the systematic mass killings of religious minorities by the so called “ISIS/Daesh,” the European Parliament called on the EU to “establish a permanent Special Representative for freedom of religion and belief.” Part of the mandate included visits to countries with the most severe religious persecution in the world in order to assist in addressing the situation and developing response plans.