Brussels, 26/11/2001 (Agence Europe) - At a session last week on the subject of the "EU and the Challenge of Terrorism", the executive committee of the Commission of Episcopates of the European Union (COMECE) insisted on the need for a balance between the need to ensure security and the protection of fundamental rights. It also warned against the adoption, in response to the threats of terrorism, of legislative projects that could inadvertently encourage discrimination against members of society who were already vulnerable, such as asylum seekers and ethnic minorities. EU Bishops (some of whom came from candidate countries) highlighted their desire to contribute to the development of an inter-religious dialogue and recalled that COMECE had participated in a meeting of religious representatives at Toledo preceding the Euro-Mediterranean Conference of Barcelona in November 1995. European Commissioner, Antonio Vitorino, Philippe Morillon, MEP and the Director of the Policy Unit of the Council of Ministers, Christoph Heugsen, all participated in the meeting where COMECE called for the EU, "to redouble its efforts to reduce poverty, to promote democracy, human rights and the rule of law and help to build a more just global order". "The Bishops also urged the EU to assume its responsibilities in those areas apparently forgotten by the mass media, such as Angola and Sudan, where long-standing conflicts are being exacerbated by the exploitation of natural resources, sometimes involving companies based in the EU".