Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-03-29-Speech-1-128"

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"Mr President, in this debate, four key issues must be raised. The first is the delay in tabling a proposal for a directive, as has already been mentioned here, to prohibit discrimination based on sex in fields other than work. This was announced in the social policy agenda in June 2000 and we have repeatedly called for such a proposal in various reports approved by Parliament. We deplore the fact that pressure and resistance on the part of various interested parties, in particular the insurance and media sectors, have delayed its passage. The second issue concerns the vastly reduced scope of the proposal presented by the Commission, which covers only access to goods and services and the supply of these, and excludes other fields, such as media and advertising content, education and decision-making processes. This is an appalling state of affairs, particularly when one sees the discrimination that persists in the media, in advertising and in decision-making processes. Other areas, such as vocational training and social security, are covered by other directives, although we must look again at these areas in order to improve the content and to eliminate discrimination based on sex in all areas, particularly in occupational social security schemes. The third is the need for mechanisms to ensure that the principle of equality is applied on the ground. This principle has already been set out in previous directives, but is still not being implemented. We therefore support the inclusion of some practical measures that will ensure that this principle is applied more effectively. The fourth question concerns the need to eliminate discrimination in services that are essential to ensuring women to live on an equal footing with men on a day-to-day basis. Unequal treatment between women and men must be prohibited in all areas of the supply of goods and services. It is unacceptable that insurance companies include gender as a factor in risk calculations or that banks discriminate against women when granting credit. The rapporteur, whom I should like to congratulate on her work, states that the right to equal treatment belongs to the citizen as an individual and not as a member of a group. The ways in which insurance companies analyse risk, premiums and payment deadlines in terms of groups and of male and female averages, are, therefore, unacceptable. This does not mean, however, that we should not be proactive in eliminating inequality and in promoting equality between men and women. This is a tentative and incomplete step, which I hope will be approved tomorrow and will accordingly become a EU directive. We must strive to fully implement, at the earliest possible opportunity, the processes that are still lacking."@en1

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