Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-09-27-Speech-4-038"
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"en.20070927.4.4-038"2
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"Mr President, Mrs Kauppi, Members of the House, obviously the Commission warmly welcomes this report and the motion for a resolution on equality between women and men in the European Union. Adoption of the report will underscore Parliament’s commitment to gender equality. I should like to thank and congratulate Mrs Kauppi, as the rapporteur, for the fact that the text expresses support for the European Commission’s approach and the measures it is taking to promote equality between women and men.
In the first place, gender equality is one of the founding values of the European Union. It is also an area in which Europe has led the way, in many cases anticipating developments in society. Over the past few years, a number of important and ambitious initiatives have been launched. The adoption of the Roadmap for equality between women and men highlighted the Commission’s unstinting commitment to push forward resolutely on all fronts in pursuit of effective equality between women and men in every field.
The Commission welcomes the emphasis that Parliament’s resolution places on certain themes which the Roadmap also identifies as priority areas for action, particularly equality between women and men in terms of economic independence, the reconciliation of working and private lives, the balance of gender representation in decision-making posts, and the need to combat stereotypes.
While there has undoubtedly been progress in the pursuit of equality between women and men, major challenges clearly remain. The Commission agrees with the rapporteur that we must continue our efforts and consolidate what has been achieved. The Commission is aware, in this respect, of the importance of applying the
effectively, and it will determinedly pursue its role as guardian of the Treaties. It will not hesitate to initiate infringement proceedings if it believes that a European directive has not been properly transposed. There are several current examples of infringement procedures under way, at various stages, in relation to equality between women and men.
In order to improve compliance with Community law, the Commission has set up a network – known as the Network of Equality Bodies – linking the organisations responsible at national level for promoting equality in the treatment of women and men. The Commission believes that pooling of their respective national-level experience and closer cooperation with the Commission itself can make the various equality bodies more effective in their role of promoting equality of treatment and ensuring that the national agencies responsible for interpreting the legislation do so more uniformly.
The report also emphasises the central importance of reconciling working and private lives in the process of achieving real equality between men and women. This reflects the Commission’s own thinking. We are well aware that, in the majority of households, family and domestic responsibilities continue to be borne by women. Women are thus more likely than men to have to interrupt, or indeed abandon, their education or career, and this inevitably spawns gender inequalities in relation to work, as well as eroding women’s productive potential. Providing accessible, affordable childcare services of high quality is crucially important as a means of boosting the female employment rate – a point made in the Barcelona objectives. The Commission is to report in 2008 on progress towards these objectives.
The Commission has also undertaken a process of consultation with the social partners on the reconciliation of working and private lives, the second phase of which concluded at the end of July. In the Commission’s view, this is a complex question that needs to be addressed through a whole range of instruments. At the same time, however, existing Community legislation could be amended to take better account of the challenges that Europe must address. The Commission is currently studying the social partners’ responses to the consultation, and it will use these as a basis for taking the necessary steps. We will also continue to support exchanges of good practice in this field, as reflected in the draft resolution.
I would reiterate here that respect for the principle of equality between all women and all men is one of the European Union’s fundamental values. That being so, the question of balanced participation by women and men in decision-making is absolutely crucial. It is therefore one of the priorities in the Roadmap for equality between women and men which the Commission adopted last year.
I should like to conclude by emphasising how important it is to combat stereotyping, a point made several times in the report. Stereotypes probably constitute the toughest obstacle in the way of equality between women and men, and combating them demands effort beyond the contexts of legislation and financial measures: it is about changing forms of behaviour, attitudes and values that determine and influence men’s and women’s roles in society and the career choices they make. Equality policy has always been a driver of change in behaviour and ways of thinking, and it will continue to play that role. The Commission warmly welcomes Parliament’s support in the shape of this motion for a resolution."@en1
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