Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-03-14-Speech-2-051"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20060314.7.2-051"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:translated text |
".
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the establishment of a European Institute for Gender Equality answers a fundamental demand to provide a new instrument for the European policy of gender equality, enabling further progress to be made. I am sure you will agree with me that gender equality is an economic just as much as a political goal, as well as being a fundamental building block of our democratic society. It constitutes a defining principle of Europe’s economic, social and political life. The full participation of women, with completely equal opportunities and full participation in the workplace has become a key element of the European economy within a Union that has to cope with an aging population and demographic loss. The Commission’s reports for the years 2005 and 2006 on gender equality show, however, that progress has been slow in this area. There are still major obstacles in the way of this social aim.
Ladies and gentlemen, if we fail to exploit the potential offered by women, we will not achieve the Lisbon objectives, and moreover we will be unable to compete on a global level. Gender equality, besides its underlying political aspects, constitutes a key competitive factor for us in the fierce arena of global competition. In the interests of eliminating all remaining inequality between men and women, it is now a priority of the first order to redouble efforts at Union and Member State levels, paying regard particularly to the increased heterogeneity of the enlarged Union. For these reasons, the creation of an instrument operating at a European level has since 1999 been viewed as essential. The European Council, in June 2004, therefore called on the Commission to submit a proposal. The Commission submitted the proposal to set up an institution which would be a technical instrument assisting European bodies and especially the Commission in developing policies and in guiding Member States on their implementation. The priority task will be to gather, analyse and distribute objective, reliable and comparable data within a Community setting. The institute will also develop appropriate methodological resources, aimed especially at incorporating a gender perspective into Community policies. Eventually, it will also contribute to the greater visibility of Community policy, which is particularly important at the present time and which is in principle also a building block of the democratic political process, as it is imperative that issues are there for all to see. Where an issue is not in view, or has been concealed, it is very difficult to mobilise public opinion and to achieve majority consent.
Our proposal is the outcome of numerous analyses and it takes account of the results of two studies into operability, as well as the countless discussions that have taken place. One of the studies was carried out by the Commission and the other by the European Parliament, which has backed the establishment of the institute since 2002. The proposal takes account of budgetary restrictions and does not represent new expenditure against the European budget.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Commission wants this institution to become a centre of excellence. At present, no such centre exists on a European level. There are some excellent university or other such bodies, but no centre of this type. It is therefore necessary for us to respond, and the Commission has therefore decided to meet the pressing demand of all subjects."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples