HOME | ARCHIVE | EMAIL US | TRAVEL SECTION

LITHUANIA

Euro Commissioner Tells Baltic Pride Conference: “I Will Remain Vigilant” Over Gay Rights
 

■ European Commission Vice President Viviane Reding: “I will remain vigilant that this is the case, and I will not hesitate to propose to launch infringement procedures if necessary.” photo courtesy European Commission

The full text of the remarks made this morning by Vice-President Viviane Reding of the European Commission at the opening of the Human Rights Combating Fear and Prejudice conference in Vilnius, part of Baltic Gay Pride.  Her remarks were by video link from Brussels.

As the European Commissioner responsible for Fundamental Rights, I am fully committed to combating homophobia and discrimination against people on the basis of their sexual orientation and I am very pleased to be able to speak to you at the opening of this Human Rights conference.

Held against the background of the Baltic gay pride,  your conference presents an ideal opportunity  to work together to raise awareness of, and combat homophobia, the inequality and discrimination still faced by LGBT people in all walks of life.

The principle of equal treatment is a fundamental value for the EU.  This principle is guaranteed by the Charter of Fundamental Rights. Its article 21 prohibits any discrimination based on sexual orientation.

 Yet, as confirmed by the data collected by the Fundamental Rights Agency, by Member States institutions and by civil society, homosexual people in Europe are still victims of exclusion, hate speech, hate crime and discrimination.  This is completely unacceptable.

The Charter must be the compass for all EU policies.  Whenever Member States implement EU law, they must respect the non-discrimination principle enshrined in Article 21 of the Charter.  I will remain vigilant that this is the case, and I will not hesitate to propose to launch infringement procedures if necessary.

 Back in 2000, the European Commission adopted legislation to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in employment. I am very proud to say that this has raised the level of protection for LGBT people in all countries of the EU.  A homosexual person who faces discrimination at work or in applying for jobs can now seek redress.

But this is not enough. The European Commission has proposed a new law which would extend protection from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation beyond the work place to areas such as access to goods and services. The European Parliament is in favour but all EU governments need to agree before we can have EU wide protection.

I have been closely following the developments in Lithuania in regards to the law on the protection of minors.  I am pleased to see that the explicit reference to 'homosexuality' has been deleted from the final version, but we are in the process of analysing the text as a whole to see if there are any problems with EU law. At any rate we will remain vigilant over possible attempts to use this piece of legislation to discriminate against LGBT people.

I am absolutely convinced that there can be no progress toward equality if the right legislation is not in place. At the same time, legislation on its own is not enough.

The EU is very active in the international arena, in bilateral as well as multilateral fora, such as the UN. In these fora, it pursues a determined policy of opposing homophobic actions and campaigns for the decriminalisation of homosexual relations.

 To fully protect LGBT people from discrimination and to promote equality, we also need to challenge stereotypes and change attitudes, not only at work but also in schools, hospitals, hotels and pubs.  This is why today's conference is so important.

Another indispensable ingredient for progress is a vibrant civil society, who can fight for their rights. I would like to pay tribute  to the impressive work that  fundamental rights activists and defenders of equal rights have been doing for the LGBT community in Europe for many years.

And I would like to congratulate those who are present here today.  The European Commission has always been standing by your side and it will continue to do so.

I wish you a very successful conference.

CLICK HERE FOR PRINTER FRIENDLY PAGE

Seed Newsvine