Strasbourg, 14/03/2007 (Agence Europe) - Adopting the report by Amalia Sartori (EPP-ED, Italy) by a large majority, the European Parliament calls on the European Commission to “give practical effect” to its roadmap for equality between men and women for 2006-2010.. Above all, MEPs want the principle of equal pay for equal work to be applied, paternity leave encouraged, action taken against violence, better integration of immigrant women and promotion of respect of women's rights in the EU's external relations, states a press release. It goes on to explain:
Equal pay for equal work: MEPs' calls: - for national measures to help women enter the labour market “on a footing of equal dignity and equal pay for equal work” and for the implementation of “concrete strategies to reinforce female entrepreneurship”; - on the Commission to revise the 1975 directive on approximation of legislation on application of equal pay for men and women; - and on member states to appoint a national official to take charge of gender equality under the Lisbon Strategy's employment and growth objectives.
Reconciling work and family life: MEPs call on the Commission to encourage the creation of policies to reconcile family and working life, for example by ensuring that the cost of motherhood and fatherhood is borne by society as a whole, by making care services and assistance more accessible and flexible, and by actively encouraging fathers and male cohabitees to make use of available flexible working time options and take on household chores and family work.
Action against violence: MEPs call on the: (1) Commission to: - strengthen measures to protect women and children against all forms of violence, including slavery, crimes of honour, trafficking in human beings and polygamy; - and to propose a directive on combating violence against women; and on (2) member states to withdraw the licence of doctors who practise genital mutilation.
A key condition in external policy: MEPs call for “greater commitment” by the EU in favour of gender equality, women's emancipation, the prevention of violence towards women, and women's participation in economic and social life, as well as coordination with the United Nations. The EP considers respect of women's rights must be an essential condition in the EU's Neighbourhood Policy and its external relations and development policies. Also, they call on the Commission and member states to take “appropriate measures, as part of their development cooperation policies, to encourage better representation of women by ensuring that women have the same opportunities as men and by encouraging their participation in professional associations and political planning and decision-making bodies”.
Integrating migrant women: The EP calls on the Commission to “take practical steps to promote the emancipation and economic and social integration of migrant women”, for example by taking measures to “foster language skills and understanding of the rights and duties deriving from the Community acquis” in the host country.
The role of the media to combat stereotypes: MEPs invite the Commission to encourage initiatives in the context of the Media 2007 programme.
Presenting her report to plenary, Ms Sartori had stressed the fact that the policy of gender equality should be treated by the Commission as an “indispensable requirement of respect for the rights of the individual”. She went on to explain: “We must also establish zero-tolerance when these rights are not respected”. (gb)