“The absence of a dedicated Equality portfolio runs counter to the EU’s founding commitments and values”, was the criticism from AGE Europe, the European network of associations for the elderly, in a press release published on Tuesday 17 September, expressing its fear that equality issues will be relegated to second place within the next College of Commissioners.
The appointment of the current Belgian Minister for Foreign Affairs, the liberal Hadja Lahbib, to the post of Commissioner for Preparedness, Crisis Management and Equality, is causing concern among civil society associations who, like AGE, fear that the fight against discrimination and the inclusion of minorities will be overshadowed by crisis management emergencies.
Under the previous mandate (2019-2024), a Commissioner, Helena Dalli from Malta, was specifically responsible for equality and significant progress was made, as various associations have pointed out. As these commitments were made by a separate portfolio, this guaranteed constant attention to these issues.
Ms Lahbib’s mission statement gives her a number of responsibilities, including managing economic, health and geopolitical crises, while reaffirming the importance of integrating equality issues into European policies.
Tasks also include monitoring the actions of the Anti-Racism Coordinator and implementing plans to combat all forms of discrimination. Ms Lahbib will have to work in collaboration with other portfolios to ensure that these issues remain at the heart of EU policies.
However, groups such as the ERGO Network, which campaigns for the inclusion of the Roma at European level, the European Women’s Lobby and the European Disability Forum believe that crisis management risks taking precedence over equality, especially as the resources dedicated to these issues may be limited.
“At a time when the protection of human rights and the rule of law is being undermined within the European Union, this appointment risks legitimising the rise of the far right, while opening the way to a questioning of the EU’s priorities in the fight against racism and the promotion of equality for all”, stated the ERGO Network in a press release dated 18 September.
It went on to add: “If we’ve learned anything in recent years, it’s that there are always enough crises to fill a commissioner’s working day, entailing putting equality issues on the back burner”.
The European Disability Forum described the decision as a “slap in the face” for the millions of people affected by these issues, warning that the progress made during the last parliamentary term could be reversed.
These associations are calling on the European Parliament to react firmly during the hearings of the Commissioners-designate, which are now due to begin, to demand that a portfolio devoted exclusively to equality be re-established. In their view, advances in fundamental rights, the fight against discrimination and the inclusion of minorities must not be sacrificed for the sake of crisis management alone.
Here is the mission statement for Hadja Lahbib: https://aeur.eu/f/dh8 (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)