Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-03-12-Speech-1-121"
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Madam President, honourable Members, I should like to thank Parliament and in particular the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality and the rapporteur Mrs Sartori, along with the other parliamentary committees that contributed to the report on the roadmap for equality between men and women. The plurality and range of opinions reflects the aims of the roadmap, which cuts across all EU policy, both internal and external. It also illustrates the fact that issues of gender equality affect us all and that it is far from being an issue solely for women.
Combating violence against women and trafficking in women is also among the Union’s priorities. We have drawn up a range of measures mainly as part of the DAPHNE programme on the fight against all forms of violence against women in Europe, including sexual exploitation, female genital mutilation and trafficking in women. It is also very important to include support for equality in development policies and external policy, as the EU is the biggest donor in the world. The values governing our action in the Union must be the values that we uphold when it comes to third countries. We must use our finances better, for example by strengthening the capabilities and effectiveness of bodies fighting for women’s rights around the world.
As you are aware, this issue is the central theme of the communication on gender equality and development policies that the Commission adopted on 8 March – International Women’s Day. The roadmap for gender equality establishes control mechanisms similar to the annual work programme, with an assessment of the situation halfway through the period and a final assessment at the end. I believe that these mechanisms are very important, as they constitute an important instrument for good reporting. With these instruments. European citizens can monitor whether we are honouring our commitments in the area of equality between women and men.
Parliament’s report is a manifestation of our shared undertaking to work towards greater equality between women and men, thanks to the instruments that the Treaty has given us. With this roadmap we are again confirming the need to develop a strategic, long-term approach to issues of equality. Moreover, we wish to confirm the need for an approach that in itself addresses special measures and support for gender mainstreaming. The Commission notes that the opinions of the different institutions on various issues are coming closer together and welcomes the fact that your report points this out. I should like to highlight some of these.
Equality between women and men is primarily an issue of rights and the position of women in society. Equality is first and foremost an obligation and an inalienable right. Regulations are a vital prerequisite if we want to establish the foundations for and conditions of genuine equality. In this developing environment, the Community has a legal framework that is among the most advanced in the world. What is still needed, however, is for these measures to bring about a real change in the situation of women.
The existence of regulations and laws does not automatically mean that those laws are implemented for the benefit of our citizens. Our efforts must be stepped up to ensure that these rights are put into practice in daily life. The roadmap and Parliament’s report show that the Commission and Parliament will continue to be allies in this regard, and this is something I welcome. The legal framework must also reflect current tasks and needs, and address them and adjust itself to them. The Commission has therefore undertaken to examine some of the amendments that have not been recast with a view to bringing them up to date, where necessary. We have taken an important first step concerning the directive on maternity and family holidays, and in October of last year we launched the first stage of the formal consultation with the social partners. We are currently also assessing the implementation of Directive 86613 on self-employed women and women who support this kind of activity, as well as Directive 797 on equal treatment for men and women in the area of social security, in order to ascertain whether it is necessary to propose any amendments.
Along with issues of rights, there is also of course the economic issue, because lifelong economic independence for women is of vital importance. The Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Employment established the framework and targets for improving the situation of women in the labour market. Even though we have recently seen very significant increases in the proportion of women in the labour market, women have always suffered discrimination and disadvantages simply because they are women. For example, women are paid 15% less on average for the same work, even with the appropriate regulations in place. The Commission has already begun to address the issue of equal pay for equal work and intends to continue doing so. In the months ahead we will work on a communication on pay inequality, the purpose of which is to start removing the causes behind this inequality, which has continued despite years of legislation, and to propose changes and courses of action. Economic independence can be achieved only if we develop genuine policies for reconciling work life with private and family life, and this is true not only for women but for men too. We are aware that one of the main obstacles blocking women from starting or continuing a career is the difficulty of reconciling family and work life, especially as women have always carried out most of the family and household duties. The Commission has therefore consulted the social partners in order to ascertain whether the regulations on these issues need to be updated. The suggestions made by the social partners will be important in deciding on further developments. We strongly believe that this is a field in which substantial progress can be made.
Furthermore, we have quantified objectives in respect of child care services, and these are Barcelona objectives. The year 2010 is approaching and so we must step up our efforts, including for example, taking the opportunity offered by the structural funds to support the Member States in developing childcare structures, which will now fall under the framework of activities eligible for European Social Fund financing. As regards the decision-making process, it is clear that women are still absent from management boards and from positions of high responsibility in politics and economics. I firmly believe in the importance of role models and I am well aware of the significance of informal networks in careers. One of our priorities will be to set up a network for women in the field of economic and political decision-making, and to gather and disseminate information on the role of women via our database.
The report refers to another, very important issue; that of gender budgeting. We have to be capable of gauging the resources allocated to our priorities and of ensuring that essential financial resources are allocated to support these priorities. Gender budgeting is an excellent instrument, which will enable us to make use of this information. In terms of improving the methodology, we must therefore improve the collection and the accessibility of this information, as well as the exchange of best practice. We are aware of this and we therefore recommend a pragmatic approach in this area. We have launched a study on introducing the perspective of gender equality into the budgetary process.
I should like to reassure you, with regard to the Commission’s commitment to supporting the fulfilment of political targets in the area of gender equality, that appropriate financial resources will be made available. Many programmes or support mechanisms are already linked to measures in this area. I could mention, of course, the European social fund, the aim of which is above all to support measures aimed at gender equality, as well as other programmes on a smaller scale aimed at supporting the development of public policies on equality, such as the newly integrated PROGRESS programme. I am sure that the European institute for women and men will in the years ahead play a major role in raising awareness on such issues, by gathering and disseminating information on the situation of women. At this level there needs to be complementarity of all of these financial resources in support of the one aim.
I share your opinion that the increasing diversity of our society, including ethnic diversity, presents us with new challenges. We must look more closely at the different forms of discrimination suffered by women migrants. The European year of equal opportunities gives us a platform for exchanging opinions on this issue, because one of the problems it is designed to address is multiple discrimination."@en1
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