Brussels, 25/06/2003 (Agence Europe) - The European Women's Lobby presided by Lydia la Rivière-Zijdel takes a stand in a press release against intense lobbying by vested interests, in particular the insurance and the media industry. This could "bury the planned new European Directive on equality of women and men before it even sees the light of day", they say. The Financial Times had anticipated the draft, while noting that it had already been considerably toned down compared to the initial ideas set out by Commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou.
The European Women's Lobby considers this new Directive would be "a unique opportunity to make a real difference in the everyday life of tens of millions of women in Europe", since its will deal with important areas such as the access to and supply of goods and services, education, taxation, as well as discrimination based on sex in the media and respect for human dignity in advertising for example. The Lobby therefore calls on the Commission to present its proposal as it is, and to "leave open the opportunity for a democratic and transparent adoption process and public debate on this issue".