Brussels, 04/02/2014 (Agence Europe) - More than 40,000 e-mails opposing her work, a website hacked and a virulent campaign on the social networks… Overcoming all of these obstacles, MEP Ulrike Lunacek (Greens/EFA, Austria) was able, in Strasbourg on Tuesday 4 February, to push through her report on LGTBI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) rights in Europe and the fight against homophobia.
In its adoption of the report, by 394 votes to 176, with 72 abstentions, the European Parliament (EP) has asked the Commission to establish a roadmap for LGTBI rights, from employment to union recognition via education. The French UMP MEPs broke ranks with their EPP colleagues and, against a backdrop of political controversy in France about medically assisted reproduction being made available to lesbian couples, voted against the Austrian MEP's report. “I regret this”, the rapporteur said after the vote, also speaking out against the “counter-truths” which surrounded her report. The report does respect subsidiarity, the MEP pointed out, and is not intended to railroad member states into changing their legislation.
The EP is calling for the EU to establish a roadmap to protect the fundamental rights of LGBTI people. According to a study by the European Fundamental Rights Agency, which was published in 2013, 47% of LGBT people have been the subject of discrimination or harassment, and 26% have been physically attacked or threatened with violence in the last five years.
“Homophobia must not be tolerated in Europe anymore. So many of us lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people have lived our lives in fear for too long. Fear of holding hands on the street, fear of being called names, fear of being thrown out of our houses, schools or jobs “, said Lunacek.
Whilst respecting the competence of the member states, the action plan should cover a range of areas. For families, the Commission “should produce guidelines to ensure that the directives on the right of EU citizens and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the member states and on the right to family reunification are implemented so as to ensure respect for all forms of families legally recognised under member states' national laws”, says the EP.
In the field of education, the Commission should “promote equality and non-discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity throughout its youth and education programmes”. This is the request which caused controversy among opponents of gender theory.
“In a non-binding way, the Commission should also facilitate exchanges of good practice between the member states on formal learning, including education supports and policies to fight harassment and discrimination”, the EP adds.
According to the MEPs, the member states should “introduce or review legal gender recognition procedures so they fully respect transgender people's right to dignity and bodily integrity”, for example to preclude any requirement for them to undergo sterilisation.
The EP referred to hate crime and is calling for a revision of the current framework decision on combating certain forms and expressions of racism and xenophobia by means of criminal law.
The French delegation of the EPP (UMP/UDI) spoke in justification of its vote against the report. It “firmly condemns all homophobic behaviour and any discrimination based on sexual orientation”, but calls “for the sovereignty of the member states, which covers the rights of the family, to be respected”, Jean-Pierre Audy explained. Similarly, “the delegation cannot support the promotion of sex education of any kind in the youth programmes of the European Commission. The subject of sex education should be tackled with a great deal of vigilance and, above all, the central role of the family in this matter should be recognised”, the UMP MEP explained.
Michael Cashman (S&D, UK), shadow rapporteur, pointed out that “protecting LGTBI people does not involve creating a new raft of specific rights”. It simply requires “the implementation of the existing laws against discrimination and violence across the EU and a reinforcement of the right of LGTBI people to the freedom of movement”. (SP/transl.fl)