Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-05-04-Speech-1-085"
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"en.20090504.16.1-085"2
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".
Mr President, the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality has provided a good contribution here towards ensuring a social Europe, and I would like to sincerely thank both of the rapporteurs, Mrs Estrela and Mrs Lulling.
For us in the Socialist Group in the European Parliament, two aspects of this matter are very important, as I would like to briefly point out. On the one hand, it is necessary to include fathers in the framework strategy to improve the balance between professional and family life. We do not, as the Commission states, want eighteen weeks of maternity leave, as this is already in place in almost all European countries, with the exception of Germany and Malta. We want to go one step further, namely to introduce two weeks of paternity leave.
For us, it is also important for both directives to offer the same rights for same sex couples. This is important in the case of the directive on assisting spouses and the assisting member of unmarried couples. I would also like to point out that these protection systems must be obligatory, otherwise they become arbitrary.
I would, once again, like to return to the argument put forward by the employers, namely that this directive on extended maternity leave would be too much for companies to cope with in a time of crisis. That simply cannot be the case. In Germany, we have a system where, in the case of a pay-as-you-go scheme, the costs are refunded - even up to a hundred percent! That is why I am also asking the Conservative group to show understanding and to follow us in improving legal protection for working mothers.
Before the European elections, we want to send people, especially fathers and mothers, a clear and definite signal that, in times of crisis, the concept of a social Europe will not be abandoned, and clearly state that we aim to invest in people, in future generations and in demographic change. I would also like to ask Commissioner Špidla, in connection with the inclusion of fathers in the legislation, to think again and, together with us, to fight in the Council for progress with regard to maternity leave and ensuring a better balance between work and family life."@en1
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