In introducing the speaker, the president of the European Parliament Hans-Gert Poettering recalled that "the presence of His Holiness Bartholomew in this Parliament is one of the initiatives for the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue". The European Parliament has already hosted several guests, including the Great Mufti of Damascus; a Jewish leader will come in November. The invitation has also been sent out to the Pope and the Dalai Lama. Poettering stated that "the EU is a community of values, and one of its most outstanding values is the freedom to profess one’s own religion". Then, he recalled that "cohabitation between the great religions has not always been peaceful" in the world; on the other hand, "Europe needs the contribution of the faiths and the believers" to grow in peace. Again, Poettering commented that "the presence of countries with an Orthodox majority is growing in Europe", and he mentioned Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Cyprus. And Bartholomew actually lingered on Cyprus, wishing "political negotiations may lead to overcoming the divisions" that exist on the island between the Greek Cypriot community and the Turkish Cypriot community, "divisions that affect the Orthodox community as well".
