Angela Merkel, president on duty of the EU, commented, at the end of her meeting with the religious leaders: "We Europeans are responsible for promoting tolerance and helping others be tolerant. It has taken hundreds of years to learn the lesson. This is why we are deeply convinced that intolerance cannot be tolerated". Many subjects have been addressed during the talks at the Berlaymont, the seat of the Executive, as reported by Barroso and by the leaders of the three religions: what role can the religions and the believing communities play for a Europe based on human dignity? How can common values be promoted beyond the frontiers of the continent? Can such common values help boost the dialogue between different cultures and religious confessions? On his part, the president of Parliament, Hans-Gert Poettering, stated: "Tolerance, one of the EU’s central values, is the foundation of dialogue between different cultures and religions. The mutual respect that is based on human dignity is a shared value". Poettering then appealed to "a permanent, structured dialogue between the EU institutions and the European Churches".
