Don’t downgrade equality, rights groups warn von der Leyen

MEPs, NGOs and civil society organisations have accused Commission President Ursula von der Leyen of downgrading equality issues, warning that rights of women, migrants, people with disabilities, and other minorities could be put on the back burner in her next mandate.

The rebuke came after von der Leyen unveiled her team yesterday (17 September), giving the equality brief to Belgian liberal Hadja Lahbib alongside a crisis management role, rather than as a dedicated portfolio.

“We are outraged by this downgrade; it is a slap in the face for millions of people and risks all the progress that the Commission has made so far regarding our rights,” Yannis Vardakastanis, president of the European Disability Forum, said. 

For MEP Mélissa Camara (France/Greens), “this is a rollback compared to the last mandate.”

“Not only is gender equality not respected in the college but equality is relegated to the background of a portfolio,” Camara told Euronews, adding that the rise of the far-right should compel Brussels to still stronger action.

Her fury appears to be shared in other political groupings.

“I am confused and perplexed that Ursula von der Leyen removed the Equality Commission post that specifically worked on functional rights and equality and anti-racism,” MEP Abir Al-Sahlani (Sweden/Renew Europe) said.

But the unconventional portfolio — Lahbib will also help Europe prepare for contingencies like pandemics or nuclear attacks as well as preparing strategies on gender equality, racism and LGTBIQ rights — has also raised alarm bells.

“We’re very concerned about equality being sidelined in the new Commission. This new portfolio looks more like an add-on to crisis management, with no clear immediate links between the two themes,” Alyna Smith, deputy director of PICUM, a European association working for undocumented migrants, told Euronews.

For the European Women’s Lobby, meanwhile, “It is unacceptable that such a critical issue is treated as an afterthought while women’s rights and equality are experiencing setbacks all across the EU.”

Lahbib herself has welcomed the “‘huge responsibility” of her new duties, stressing the need to ensure that every European can live freely.

“Equality has always been at the heart of my political action. We will continue to fight discrimination based on gender, origin, beliefs, disability and social status,” the commissioner hopeful posted on X.

First EU ban on conversion therapies on the way

One challenge for the next Equality Commissioner will be to consider outlawing conversion therapy – interventions aimed at changing, repressing or suppressing sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression among gay, transgender or queer people.

Malta introduced a nationwide ban in 2016, followed by France, Germany, Greece and Ireland, and the Commission has also registered a petition calling for a legally binding EU-wide ban. 

“We really hope that the European Commission will finally commit to banning these torturous practices committed on LGBTI+ EU citizens,” Mattéo Garguilo, co-president of petition organiser Against Conversion Therapy (ACT), told Euronews.

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Gay and transgender rights association ILGA-Europe also welcomed the explicit commitment of the new Commission “in the face of rising anti-LGBTI instrumentalisation in politics.”   

“LGBTI people comprise a vital part of the European fabric and democracy, and their rights must be protected,” Chaber, ILGA-Europe’s Executive Director, told Euronews.