It was not until the last minutes of Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the Union speech on Wednesday 16 September that the subject of the rule of law was briefly addressed and then at a slightly longer length the subject of the fight against racism and for the respect of LGBTI rights.
The President of the Commission, however, expressed her determination to move forward on these issues and pledged to “not rest” in “building a Union of equality”.
“These are subjects on which I note that the President received the most applause”, Younous Omarjee (GUE/NGL, France), co-president of ARDI – the European Parliament intergroup on diversity and the fight against racism – assured EUROPE.
Fighting racism
Recalling that social, ethnic and religious discrimination is a “daily reality for so many people” in the EU, Ms von der Leyen called for “a truly anti-racist Union” (see EUROPE 12513/12).
She thus announced the imminent presentation of a Plan of Action to combat racism. The initiative, entrusted to Commissioner for Equality Helena Dalli, was still being finalised on Wednesday and is due to be unveiled on Thursday.
However, in her speech, the President outlined the content. The Commission will propose, among other things, to extend the EU list of crimes to include all forms of hate crimes and hate speech based on race, religion, sex or sexuality. “I will work closely with Commissioner Reynders to deliver on this commitment”, Ms Dalli promised on Twitter.
An “anti-racism coordinator” will also be appointed to liaise with civil society and institutions on this subject and ensure its primacy in the Commission’s work. This idea had been floated by the members of ARDI (see EUROPE 12537/16), who were pleased to see it adopted and welcomed “an historic State of the Union address”.
Without constraint, no result
Finally, Ms von der Leyen considered that the EU should fight discrimination in areas such as employment, housing or health care, work to improve education on the historical and cultural causes of racism or tackle “unconscious prejudices” within the institutions in particular.
“From now on, the stated objectives must be translated into binding measures. We hope that the action plan will contain detailed proposals for mechanisms to ensure that it will be respected”, Mr Omarjee qualified, however.
This position was also defended by Alice Kuhnke (Greens/EFA, Sweden), who had been consulted by Ms von der Leyen in the context of drawing up the plan (see EUROPE 12560/14).
“We need strong legislation implemented in every single Member State. Therefore the anti-discrimination directive which has been blocked in Council must be adopted as soon as possible”, she stressed, assuring that she was counting on the German Presidency in this regard.
Rights of LGBTI individuals and families
Furthermore, on Wednesday, Ms von der Leyen called for a Union “where you can love who you want” and condemned the adoption in Poland of resolutions establishing “LGBT-ideology-free zones” (see EUROPE 12530/19). “Because being yourself is not your ideology. It is your identity”, she insisted.
A position welcomed in the Chamber by Greens/EFA Co-President Ska Keller, who called on the Commission to launch an infringement proceeding.
In terms of concrete actions, Ms von der Leyen simply announced that in the framework of the strategy on LGBTI rights expected by the end of the year she would “push for mutual recognition of family relations in the EU”. “If you are a parent in one country, you are a parent in every country”, she noted.
Today, LGBTI individuals and families are indeed regularly exposed to challenges to their documents when they move from one Member State to another, says Katrin Hugendubel of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA).
“This has significant consequences for individuals and families, such as limiting the right to reside or to work, creating the potential for inconsistent identity documents, or leaving children in rainbow families without full registration or recognition of their relationships to their parents or even to birth certificates, in some extreme cases”, she told EUROPE.
For all families to be able to enjoy freedom of movement within the EU, the European Commission will have to take steps to strengthen the Regulation on the free movement of public documents (2016/1191/EU) “by upgrading the recognition of the content and substance of these documents”.
Rule of law, the annual report confirmed for September
“Violations of the rule of law must not be tolerated”, “European values are not for sale”, said Ursula von der Leyen in conclusion, confirming that the Commission would present its first annual report on the rule of law – originally scheduled for 23 September – “by end of the month”.
This report will be the “starting point” for a broad debate, in particular with Parliament. “The rule of law in all member countries has never been addressed systematically and in detail”, she added.
The President confirmed that this first report would cover the independence of the judiciary with its checks and balances, media pluralism and the fight against corruption. “And it will show that there are still many challenges ahead”, she said.
See the State of the Union speech: https://bit.ly/3iBviKK (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki, Solenn Paulic)