Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-10-04-Speech-3-188"

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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, this week is an important week as far as the debates in this House are concerned. Yesterday, we discussed the Charter of Fundamental Rights, and today, in discussing Community initiatives, we are debating the matter of combating discrimination. We are thereby boosting the positions of the European Union regarding the practical situations experienced by European nationals in connection with discrimination and equal treatment. I should like, straight away, to emphasise the importance of these two texts: on the one hand, the directive, acting as it does on the state of the law and, on the other hand, the action programme, because it makes it possible to implement effectively new practices intended for adoption on a widespread basis. In this regard, I cannot accept the muddle that some parties are making of the necessary anti-discrimination measures, equal treatment and the mention of other cases of prohibition. I do not think we can mix things up in this way. The proposal for a directive discussed in the Mann report is a key one, and I should like to discuss it briefly. It seeks to boost the principle of equal treatment at the same time as reducing the number of opportunities for exemptions, which we think excessive. Let me return to the subject of the exemption for religion. I should like to express our reservations on this difficult issue and restate our commitment to the principle of secularism, especially in the context of the fight against discrimination. This seems fundamental to us, particularly after incorporating the questions of activities in the social or health fields. The desire for action is a matter of jurisdiction, not religious belief. One last word on the discussion which may ensue on the need to maintain statistics on the subject. They are essential. Let us beware, nonetheless, lest these statistics be used against the men and women they concern."@en1

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