 Full minutes of the Sessions SESSION OF THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2003 2004 Elections: How balanced representation of women and men will be ensured Karamanou (PSE). – Madam President, it is truly strange, after 50 years of European policy on gender equality and 100 years since the demand and recognition of women’s right to vote, that we are here trying to convince people of the obvious: that men and women should equally and fairly share all the responsibilities and obligations of both private and public life, that there should be balanced participation of women and men in all democratic institutions and political decision-making centers. In view of the June European elections, the excellent report by Ms. Dybkjær is of particular importance, as it sets the framework within which all member countries, particularly those about to join, should operate to ensure that the percentage of women in the body resulting from the European elections will at least not be lower than it is today, which is 31%. I would even like to name the two countries, Estonia and Slovenia, which did not make the effort to send even one woman, not even one as a token, among the observers they sent to the European Parliament. Our fears are also reinforced by the traumatic experience we had last year with the 17% participation of women in the Constitutional Assembly for the European Constitution. Therefore, our committee, the Committee on Women’s Rights and Equal Opportunities, has placed the promotion of democracy and equality at the top of its priorities and has taken initiatives to mobilize governments, national parliaments, political leaders, and women themselves to achieve this goal, a goal that is not just about implementing gender equality in practice and not just in words, but also about the economic and social development of the Union through the rational utilization of the valuable human resources represented by women. The Lisbon Strategy, like other ambitious European policies, needs the full participation of women at all levels of planning and decision-making in order to achieve its objectives. It is impossible for the future of Europe to be planned without the participation of women. In view of the European elections, further strategies must be developed and legislative measures, positive actions, quotas, or political agreements must be foreseen to ensure balanced participation of women and men in the electoral lists and elected bodies that will result. I hope the new European Parliament of 25 will approach this goal and act as a shining example and model for the other parliaments of the world. |
