Michael Cashman stood in the European Parliament today and reminded his colleagues:  “I am gay – I’m homosexual”.

The British MEP, who is president of the Parliament’s “intergroup” on gay and lesbian matters, was speaking during the debate on homophobia in the European Union. And referring to the Commission’s report presented earlier, he expressed disappointment.

He insisted that the debate was not about promoting homosexuality, adding that it was about the basic human rights of gay men and women in the EU.

“It’s a day of great sadness that I have to make this statement to Parliament,” he said at the conclusion of his allowed two-and-a-half minute speech.

He and other MEPs were responding to a Commission statement made to Parliament by Franco Frattini, the commissioner for justice, freedom and security.  And there was a sense of frustration from many of the speeches.

Mr. Frattini told Parliament that the European Community had powers under Article 13 of the Treaty to combat all forms of discrimination, including discrimination on grounds of sexuality.

■ Franco Frattini, European Commissioner (photo: European Commission)

He said that this discrimination is “expressly forbidden” and that the European Commission will continue to “fight against homophobia and discrimination based on sexual orientation”.

“I absolutely condemn homophobia,” he told MEPs, without putting forward any remedies.

First to respond to Mr. Frattini was Alexander Stubb (European People’s Party, Finland) who said that “it is key to get members states to abide by Article 13”.

He even went so far as to suggest members should not only have regard to homophobia in the EU, but also look outside Europe where there were nine countries who had the death penalty for the crime of being homosexual.

Sophia in 't Veld (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, the Netherlands) pointed out that the problems with Gay Pride events in some countries last year were “a scandal and a disgrace”.

For the Greens, Kathalijne Buitenweg, also from the Netherlands, asked exactly what the Commission has being doing about the problem.

And she cited Poland, where there had been big demonstrations to “prevent homosexual emancipation”.

Konrad Szymanski (Union for Europe of the Nations, Poland) pointed out that he felt the debate “was a waste of time”.

Replying to the debate, a visibly annoyed Mr. Frattini said that when it came to homophobia, there were absolute rights.  However, he pointed out that the European Commission does not have the powers to combat homophobia in member countries.

But, he added, a proposal to empower an agency “was on the table”.

While Mr. Frattini looked annoyed, during his response to the debate television cameras panned around MEPs who looked both shocked and frustrated, with Mr. Cashman sporting a wry smile as he shook his head in disbelief.

Before the debate, UK Green Party MEP Jean Lambert (London) urged the EU to reassert its commitment to anti-discrimination during a debate on a common resolution to tackle homophobia across Europe.

“Many EU Governments are failing to fully adhere to anti-discrimination legislation and its time that this changed,” she said.

“This is an important moment for the EU to reassert its commitment to anti-discrimination. and ensure that everyone is given the rights they deserve.

“Everyone is equal regardless of their sexuality, gender or race.  If we are serious about justice then we need to ensure Europe does not see homophobic acts as acceptable,” insisted Ms. Lambert, Parliament’s intergroup on gay and lesbian rights.

“We have seen that some politicians and EU countries are willing to express homophobic views which is extremely worrying for all.

“There is absolutely no excuse for a modern Europe to make allowance’s for those countries allowing discrimination and homophobic behavior and we need to take a stand against this now,” she concluded.

A commentary on the debate by Ms Joke Swiebel, the former Dutch MEP and former president of Parliament's intergroup on gay and lesbian rights.

■ Note.  The quotations from the speeches in Parliament above are those given by the contemporaneous translations.  The full official English transcript of the debate should be available on Tuesday January 17.

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