Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-04-01-Speech-3-093"
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".
Mr President, I should like to start by adding my heartfelt compliments and thanks to the rapporteur, who has done a fantastic job. My group is delighted that, almost five years after Mr Barroso promised to do so, a proposal for a directive is finally on the table. Discrimination runs counter to the European Treaties, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, and the European Convention on Human Rights. Yet treaties, conventions and solemn declarations are of little use in court. European citizens must be given an instrument to enforce their rights.
This, not milk quotas or public procurement rules or the Structural Funds, is the
of the European Union, Mr Weber, a European area where everyone is free to arrange their lives at their own discretion. A single European area where everyone is equal before the law, enjoys equal opportunities in society and is treated with respect. A directive alone will not suffice to bring this about, but it is a precondition. This Directive is about Europe as a community of values, and values cannot be negotiated by 27 governments in the course of the usual trade-off of national interests. We determine values together as citizens, in an open debate, and the European Parliament is the appropriate arena for this.
Yes, Mr Weber, some areas are very sensitive, particularly the grounds of sexual orientation and religion. We have a responsibility towards all our European citizens, however, we cannot let Europe turn into
: ‘All Europeans are equal, but some Europeans are more equal than others’. Freedom of religion and of conscience are fundamental rights for which I would fight on the barricades. In a free Europe, everyone must have the freedom to hold their own convictions. This is the cornerstone of democracy. Freedom of religion must not be misused as a licence to discriminate against others, however.
Yesterday, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights published its second report on homophobia in Europe. It is a disgrace that, in 2009, millions of people are still having to fear discrimination, hatred, violence and even murder in Europe, merely on account of their sexual orientation. I can reassure Mr Weber that laws on marriage are and remain a national competence; this Directive does not change that. In 21st century Europe, a ban on marriage on grounds of religion, racial origin or sexual orientation is an anomaly, however. Many people think it perfectly acceptable for the government to ban marriages or partnerships between two adults of the same sex. Yet would we consider it acceptable if – as has happened in the past – the government were to ban marriages between Jews and non-Jews, Catholics and Protestants, blacks and whites? This is unacceptable.
Ladies and gentlemen, I urge you to vote in favour of this report, in the interests of the citizens we all represent. Compromises are not ideal for anyone, ourselves included; but let us surpass ourselves, as Mrs Buitenweg says.
Finally, I would urge the Council, too, to follow Parliament’s recommendations. It is true that each Member State has its own issues, but the European Parliament has shown that differences can be bridged and that we can agree on rights for all European citizens."@en1
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