On Saturday 1 July, Spain began its six-month rotating Presidency of the EU Council. In terms of fundamental rights, it intends to commit to “promoting equal treatment and inclusivity”. It will also have to help bring the various political agreements reached by Sweden to a successful conclusion by leading negotiations with the European Parliament.
Gender equality
However, the task could prove tricky in cases where the institutions take opposite paths. This is particularly true of the directive aimed at combating violence against women. MEPs want to extend the list of crimes covered by the legislation, in particular rape, while Member States have doubts about the EU’s powers in this area (see EUROPE 13211/35, 13198/1).
With regard to women’s rights, the Spanish Presidency also intends to “commit decisively to guaranteeing access to all sexual and reproductive rights”. While the subject will be debated during an informal meeting of equality ministers in Pamplona in November, issues such as abortion and sex education are far from being unanimously supported (see EUROPE 13201/38, 13174/26).
The programme also stresses the need to continue the fight against human trafficking and to ensure fair working conditions for men and women.
Discrimination
The Spanish Presidency will also be responsible for starting negotiations on the directive aimed at strengthening equal treatment bodies (see EUROPE 13199/3), subject to MEPs adopting their position in November.
More broadly, Spain intends to “tackle [discrimination] across policies”, but pay particular attention to “the application of the LGBTIQ Equality Strategy 2020-2025 (see EUROPE 13160/19) and the EU Anti-racism Action Plan 2020-2025 (see EUROPE 13196/21)”. At the same time, it intends to propose EU Council conclusions on ways of “eradicating the segregated settlements” to which Roma populations are relegated.
Rights of people with disabilities
Finally, the Presidency intends to focus on the rights of people with disabilities. On the one hand, it considers the European Disability Card to be an “utmost priority” (see EUROPE 13083/6). After years of hesitation, due to the differences between the social security systems of the 27 Member States, the European Commission is due to present its proposal on 6 September.
On the other hand, and with the 2024 European elections approaching, the Spanish programme stresses the need to ensure their right to vote, but also to stand as candidates (see EUROPE 13186/29).
Finally, the Spanish Presidency will continue its efforts to ensure the EU accedes to the European Convention on Human Rights (see EUROPE 13184/2).
The programme: https://aeur.eu/f/7v4 (Original version in French by Hélène Seynaeve)