Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-06-14-Speech-3-179"
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"en.20000614.7.3-179"2
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"Mr President, I must thank the Members for all their compliments on the Presidency’s work. I must also say very sincerely and with immense gratitude that the conduct of this work in this way was only possible because we all – the Presidency, the Commission, the European Parliament and the non-governmental organisations – cooperated together. This was also possible because the bilateral contacts which we each maintain, by working hard at them and thereby multiplying their effectiveness, were vital in the end result. I am extremely grateful to everyone for this.
When I spoke, it was clearly on behalf of all the Member States of the European Union and of all the applicant countries except for Poland. In the contacts established with Poland, it has been made very clear that accession cannot be exchanged for non-recognition of women’s rights. The European Union could not take any other position on such an issue. Women will no longer accept their fundamental rights being regarded as a bargaining chip for political issues.
Europe must continue to be the driving force in developments in this area. These must be achieved through cooperation, particularly with all like-minded countries, some of which, like Canada, are totally committed to the Presidency’s statement presented at the end of the special conference. We must take advantage of all these opportunities. These developments must also be achieved through benchmarking processes and by using the conclusions of the Lisbon Special Summit, which considered that in Europe there could be no economic development without social cohesion. In this way the European Union itself can develop and export these instruments for assessing, measuring and exchanging good practices enabling gradual and effective progress to be made.
I referred to the Portuguese Presidency’s work on the issue of discrimination in the European Union. Portugal is also very pleased that, in the last Social Affairs and Employment Council, a resolution was approved on reconciling family and professional life. Women are constantly being penalised because the time that they devote to family life gives employers objective reasons to discriminate against them in wage terms. Therefore, in my opinion, we have already achieved what was asked of us.
Finally, I must thank the President and the whole House for your kindness and the comments which you have made, and I also thank the Commission for its support. The Portuguese Presidency is now coming to an end and sincerely hopes that the subsequent French and Swedish Presidencies will continue the work which we have together managed to achieve so that they represent the next stage in the consolidation of women’s rights."@en1
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