The European Parliament is preparing to hear from the Commissioners-designate between 4 and 12 November, including Hadja Lahbib, proposed for the portfolios of Preparedness and Crisis Management and Equality. The Committees on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) and Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) will be conducting these hearings and finalised their written questions on 8 October. Responses from the Commissioners-designate are expected by 10 October, to enable MEPs to refine their questions for the forthcoming sessions.
With regard to gender equality, the parliamentarians are seeking to know Mrs Lahbib’s priorities for the roadmap for women’s rights and the European strategy.
They will question her on the concrete actions she plans to take to close the pay gap between men and women, particularly in female-dominated sectors such as care.
She will also have to explain how she intends to address the inequalities that persist in access to essential services for women in precarious situations. Mrs Lahbib will also be asked to answer questions about her approach to intersectional equality, particularly in terms of access to health, education and services in the context of sexual and reproductive rights.
The fight against gender-based violence is another priority for Parliament.
MEPs expect specific commitments from Mrs Lahbib on the implementation of the Directive on violence against women (see EUROPE 13431/33) and the Istanbul Convention.
Among the questions asked were requests for concrete measures to combat cyber-violence, particularly abuse perpetrated via content generated by artificial intelligence, such as deepfakes and other forms of online harassment.
MEPs also asked whether Hadja Lahbib was considering extending the list of European crimes to specifically include gender-based violence, as requested by Parliament in Article 83(1) of the TFEU.
With regard to preparedness and crisis management, the LIBE Committee would like to know the Commissioner-designate’s vision for a European preparedness strategy, potentially accompanied by future legislation.
Mrs Lahbib is due to speak on the promotion of a culture of preparedness within the EU, which is essential for dealing with emerging threats.
Lastly, the Belgian Minister is asked to explain what she is doing to fill the gaps in European anti-discrimination legislation, particularly with regard to the political deadlock that has persisted since 2008 on the horizontal ‘anti-discrimination’ Directive in the EU Council (see EUROPE 13436/24). MEPs also want to know whether she plans to strengthen the rights of minorities and unify action against hate speech and hate crimes.
Mrs Lahbib will also be asked how she intends to coordinate her actions with other Commissioners to ensure the coherence of equality policies and their integration into broader EU strategies, while improving the collection of data on inequalities. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)