Hadja Lahbib, candidate for the post of European Commissioner for Preparation, Crisis Management and Equality, began her speech at a hearing of MEPs on Wednesday 6 November by noting her background as the daughter of Algerian immigrants, growing up in a disadvantaged region of Belgium, and reminding them that “Europe is about equality, solidarity and opportunity”.
Equality. Although equality is at the heart of Ms Lahbib’s remit, she does not have a dedicated portfolio, as was the case during the last mandate, which led to criticism, notably from Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus (S&D, Polish). Ms Lahbib gave assurances that she would put in place a cross-cutting strategy, explaining that the task now was to ensure that the new rules were applied throughout the EU.
She presented integrated strategies covering gender equality, LGBTQ+ rights, Roma inclusion and the fight against racism, using data collection to guide policies.
Against a backdrop marked by the re-election of former US President Donald Trump (see other news), she reaffirmed her commitment to women’s rights, calling however for “men to be included”. “I’m calling for more men to take part in debates on women’s rights, the rights of your wives, daughters and sisters”, she declared, drawing applause from the elected representatives. She would like to present a roadmap for women’s rights on International Women’s Day, 8 March 2025.
The Commissioner-designate said she was determined to make gender violence a European crime, although this would require unanimity in the Council. In an exchange with Evin Incir (S&D, Swedish), Ms Lahbib stressed her objective of applying existing European directives, including the one adopted in February (see EUROPE 13431/33). She affirmed her support for sexual and reproductive rights, including tackling rape - which was welcomed at a press conference by Lina Gálvez (S&D, Spanish), Chair of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality - and insisted that Member States ratify the Istanbul Convention.
The Commissioner-designate plans to tackle the glass ceiling for self-employed women, particularly those affected by crises, pointing out that the pandemic has had a major impact on small businesses run by women. To counter cyberbullying, she is proposing a framework for social platforms, incorporating measures against online abuse of women.
With regard to reproductive rights, Ms Lahbib supported safe access to abortion and recalled the position of the European Court of Human Rights. She also spoke of the importance of sex education, in line with UNESCO standards.
The Commissioner-designate announced her intention to strengthen anti-discrimination legislation and renew anti-discrimination strategies for LGBTQ+ people, working closely with businesses to promote inclusive environments.
Ms Lahbib affirmed her commitment to banning conversion therapies and also plans to step up the fight against hate speech, targeting antisemitism and Islamophobia, to combat the growing violence against these communities. She wants to work towards the adoption of the horizontal anti-discrimination directive (see EUROPE 13441/26), which is currently blocked in the Council.
In terms of the rights of people with disabilities, the candidate wishes to speed up the implementation of the 2021-2030 strategy, by ensuring the effective application of the European Disability Card and the rights associated with free movement within the EU.
Crisis management. The Commissioner-designate called for a “change of mindset” to encourage greater preparedness for crises by involving all parts of society, especially the public. “We reacted in response. Now is the time to prevent disasters”, she told MEPs, calling on the EU to apply an “all-hazard approach”.
Ms Lahbib called for greater collaboration between the various links in the decision-making chain. “We have all the tools. What is needed now is collaboration and a cascading chain of command. Knowing who does what”, she argued several times on Wednesday morning.
Asked about the EU’s emergency assistance in response to the deadly floods that have hit the Valencia region (Spain), Ms Lahbib pledged to “learn the lessons from this disaster” but pointed out that it was up to the Member States to request assistance from the EU, notably through the Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM). This was proposed to the Spanish authorities on Wednesday 30 October (see EUROPE 13517/14).
Building on the report by the Special Advisor to the President of the European Commission, Sauli Niinistö, on strengthening the EU’s civil and military preparedness and readiness (EUROPE 13515/1), the Commissioner-designate plans to strengthen the UCPM, the Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) and the rescEU Strategic Reserve as key instruments of EU solidarity.
Ms Lahbib will also be working on a new medical countermeasures strategy to address public health threats, which would include group purchasing and increased preventive stockpiling.
Humanitarian aid. Ms Lahbib, a former war correspondent, said she wanted to encourage an integrated approach within the Commission to support vulnerable countries in humanitarian crises, with particular emphasis on a more harmonised implementation of the humanitarian-peace-development ‘triple nexus’ (see EUROPE 13297/13).
“For me, the nexus is the sine qua non for humanitarian aid to work”, she said in response to a question from Charles Goerens (Renew Europe, Luxembourger). She went on to add: “It’s an initial response, but development must quickly take over to avoid keeping people in a situation of dependence”.
Ms Lahbib also gave assurances that she would work with the Commissioner-designate for International Partnerships, Jozef Síkela, to tackle the “root causes” of crises abroad.
She called for the humanitarian donor base to be broadened by mobilising EU Member States and the private sector. She also expressed her commitment to encouraging Member States to reach the target of 0.7% of gross national income devoted to humanitarian aid.
“She very clearly reaffirmed her commitment to humanitarian aid policy, even though this no longer appears in the title of her portfolio”, commented Barry Andrews (Renew Europe, Irish), Chair of the European Parliament’s Development Committee (DEVE), after the hearing, also welcoming the commitments made by Ms Lahbib on the situation in the Middle East.
In response to questions from MEPs on the current situation in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, the former minister defended the EU’s neutral approach to humanitarian aid and called for respect for international humanitarian law and the principles of the Geneva Conventions.
Meeting after the hearing, the political group coordinators decided to confirm Ms Lahbib as Commissioner with a majority consensus from the S&D, EPP, ECR and Renew Europe, to which the Belgian Minister’s party MR belongs, totalling 170 votes out of 255, despite opposition from The Left, Patriots for Europe, and Europe of Sovereign Nations.
The official election of the entire College of Commissioners by the MEPs, by a majority of the votes cast in a roll-call vote, is scheduled for the plenary session from 25 to 28 November in Strasbourg. (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit and Nithya Paquiry)