Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-10-25-Speech-2-594-000"
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"en.20111025.31.2-594-000"2
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"Madam President, we all know the word Parliament derives from the French word meaning ‘to talk’. Sometimes, I think this Parliament talks too much and is not willing to listen to Member States’ concerns. The ECR Group opposed tabling this question, as we saw little value added. Perhaps we are the only group which puts faith in its Member States. We certainly believe it is not the duty of Parliament’s Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality to hassle the Member States.
The normal sequence of events of any directive is that once it is passed by Parliament, it goes to the Council, which may then deal with it as and when it sees fit. The Women’s Rights Committee is now trying to push its overreaching, expensive and unnecessary proposal onto the Council. Early this year, I was practically a lone voice in the committee calling for a reassessment of the directive, and I wish to state again what I said in the past. The Maternity Leave Directive is not right for women; it is not right for businesses, and it is not right for Member States’ governments in a time of economic recession. Twenty weeks of fully-paid compulsory maternity leave, two weeks’ fully paid paternity leave and breastfeeding breaks of three hours a day are totally unrealistic.
There is a reason why the Council is blocking these proposals. The Council is the last line of defence a Member State has; national governments are sending us a powerful message, and it is time we listened. We should have listened months ago and amended this directive to make it workable for all the stakeholders. Time and again, rigid rules supported by so-called social dimensions triumph over common sense. We need to be more flexible. We did not listen, so now we are paying the price. By refusing to make compromises and concessions, we have managed to let down the very women we are here to support."@en1
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