This sentence is from a Commission that rushed to produce an empty, so-called Women’s Charter in March, and that neglected the Parliament when it came to negotiating the new gender equality strategy, which, I might add,
is no more concrete than the Commission work programme here. We knew in March that Reding’s Charter was only a façade with no substance. We asked repeatedly for a strong legislative text, but Reding did not want to hear about it. Why can we accept a Europe that sanctions Member States when they are financially not in l
...[+++]ine with EU rules and agreements but we cannot accept a Europe that sanctions Member States that neglect gender equality and compose governments with few or no women ministers?
À plusieurs reprises, nous avons demandé un texte législatif fort, mais Reding n’a pas voulu en entendre parler. Pourquoi pouvons-nous accepter une Europe qui sanctionne les États membres qui ne respectent pas les règles et accords européens en matière de finances, mais pas une Europe qui sanctionne les États membres qui négligent l’égalité hommes-femmes et forment des gouvernements qui ne comprennent qu’une poignée de femmes, voire aucune.