Equality in danger: EU fights against the shift to the right!

Equality in danger: EU fights against the shift to the right!

International Women's Day was celebrated today in the European Parliament in Strasbourg. The SPÖ MEP Elisabeth Grossmann was critical of a new roadmap for women's rights in the EU, which takes up some social democratic demands, but falls short of expectations in key aspects, such as: OTS reported. Grossmann criticized the lack of concrete commitments, particularly with regard to the right to physical self-determination, the classification of gender-based violence as an EU-wide crime and intersectional equality policy. She also sharply criticized the withdrawal of the European Anti-Discrimination Directive because there was no alternative proposal.

Challenges of equality policy

“Equality is not a sure-fire success; it must be enforced politically and legally,” emphasized Grossmann. Pay transparency also remains a hotly debated topic, as women often earn less than men for the same work. She further demands that the EU must introduce binding income reports in order to close the income gap and make it easier for women to combine work and family. According to the historical review of the European Union's equality policy, which was set out in Article 119 of the EEC Treaty, equal treatment of men and women has become a core requirement and began as early as 1958 with the Treaty of Rome. Through the development of the European Court of Justice, which was the main actor in shaping laws on gender equality, many fundamental guidelines on equality were developed and consolidated, such as Wikipedia reported.

Grossmann also warned of the growing shift to the right in Europe, which must be viewed as a threat to equality policy. She calls for a clear, stronger legal basis from the Commission for the equality strategy after 2025 so that women's policy does not fall victim to the shift to the right. The Social Democratic Group's commitment to women's rights in Europe remains crucial to actually achieving progress in equality and overcoming the existing deadlock.