Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-10-05-Speech-4-009"
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"en.20001005.1.4-009"2
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"Mr President, Minister, Commissioner, I should like to start by thanking our fellow MEP, Mrs Dybkjær for an excellent report and welcoming her back to Parliament after her recent weeks’ campaigning. We know that Lone Dybkjær did what she could.
I am a man in an EU within which men and women do not have equal opportunities. It is worth repeating that. Sometimes, some people – even colleagues in this Assembly – seem to believe that they do have equal opportunities, but they do
. Just as some people have said, it is enough to look at this Assembly: the majority are men, the majority of those making decisions are men, and when the European Council meets it consists solely of men. There is
female Head of State in Europe. It is therefore gratifying that the European Parliament is represented by a woman in these contexts.
More women are needed in decision-making positions, because it is quite simply unacceptable that so much human ability is being lost. Women do have the ability – and without imposing quotas. This week we have taken a great step closer to a reunited Europe. Emphasising how matters stand regarding equality in the candidate countries is a particularly important task in the membership negotiations that are currently in progress.
Some problem areas: women often have two jobs, unemployment is higher among women, childcare has deteriorated, there are too few women in decision-making positions, violence against women is on the increase in many candidate countries and several candidate countries are at the centre of the increasing trade in women.
What can be done? Rapid membership of the EU will provide economic strength, better conditions for women and greater freedom of choice. The chapter on equality must be accorded equal importance in the membership negotiations. There must be no transitional periods. We must monitor whether the directive on equality is really being incorporated into legislation. Mainstreaming is very important in the internal policies of the candidate countries, too. An ombudsman for equality issues should be introduced, and in the candidate countries too. The EU should pursue a campaign to combat violence against women throughout Eastern and Central Europe. The EU should also take the initiative and organise a UN convention against the trade in human beings.
I started by talking about my male status. Perhaps this issue of gender needs to be pointed out in this Assembly. On the basis of my own experience, if I may speak personally, I am convinced that Paragraph 15 of the resolution – stating the importance of men’s involvement in, and access to, good childcare – is the most important paragraph by far if equality and equal conditions are to be achieved for men and women.
I should like to conclude by saying that equality begins in the home. If we cannot share tasks and responsibility in the small world of the home, there will never be real equality in the big world outside, either."@en1
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