“That doesn’t usually happen in this committee, and I apologize.” These are the words that the President of the Commission for Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, Robert Biedron from Poland, dedicated to the Minister of Equality, Irene Montero, at the end of his speech to present the priorities of the presidency of the Spanish Council. The European Union in the European Parliament, which was plagued by noises, interruptions and calls for order. The PP and Vox spoiled the debate by practically confining themselves to the “only yes means yes” law, despite Biedron’s warning not to use his time for national politics.
The first to go on the attack was the PP speaker, the Balearic Rosa Estaras, who pointed to a mission in Spain that her group had made a tool to attack the government and which had no support from the Socialists, the Greens or the left. As is usually the case in the conclusions of this parliamentary tour. “It was said that the sentence would not be reduced, the judges were blamed and they were called sexists,” said Estaras, who first linked the “yes means yes” law after being cut. A directive to combat gender-based violence being negotiated in the EU. “We need to know what kind of attitude he had in Spain, if with that attitude we can build a Europe of values,” he said, before insulting Montero for “never asking for forgiveness from the victims.”
At that moment, the president of the commission cut Estaras’s microphone again and gave the floor to the socialist Maria Neuchl, who could not start because the conservative continued to speak loudly. At one point, a German woman shouted, “Please shut up already.” Meanwhile, Estaras, who also used the appearance of Vice President Yolanda Díaz to demand talks with Younts, appealed to “a matter of order” and assured that he would lodge a complaint with the European Parliament’s president, Roberta Mezzola.
“This is not a circus”
“My right to speak violates freedom of expression.” Pure freedom of expression. I am talking about the fight against violence against women. I wanted to talk about the trans law,” said Estaras, and the president of the commission threatened to expel the MEP from the room. “I know national politics annoys you, but this is not the place,” Biedron criticizes: “We’re not here to talk about your issue. “If you want to do national politics, go to your national parliament.”
Ciudadanos MEP Soraya Rodríguez complains about the president’s attitude. “Unfortunately, his appearance is coming from an angle that I don’t like. Here we talk a lot about Poland, when its measures lead to the death of women in hospitals, and the president, who is Polish, never understood that this is a national policy, but that it is a policy that affects all women, “he said.
Vox parliamentarian Margarita de la Pisa Carrion also used her intervention on the minister’s legislative capacity as the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, referring to the “only yes means yes” law. “What version are you going to maintain now in the chairmanship of the council?” The one who unleashed thousands of predators on the streets? Are you going to admit the error of your sentence? “Are you going to ask for forgiveness?” he asked before his anti-abortion speech.
According to sources in the room, Vox’s MEP Herman Tersch, who is not a member of the Commission, burst into the room and, after talking loudly several times, shouted and stood up. “This is not a circus, this is a parliamentary commission. Have a good day,” he was dismissed by Biedron, who also had to interrupt PP parliamentarian Gabriel Mato, who used his intervention to rebuke his compatriot for “discrimination”.
Montero asserts: “When transformations happen, it matters who is in charge.”
“I am going to stick to the issues of the presidency, I have no problem answering in other forums. I believe in institutional respect. Based on this principle, I am going to act like this,” said the minister, who took the opportunity to talk about the gender violence directive and issues such as sexual consent in the EU regulation. Among the demands received from the parliamentary groups, the inclusion of the European crime of gender-based violence is outstanding.
He also noted the recent accession to the 27th Istanbul Convention and the approval of a report in the European Parliament aimed at punishing prostitutes. Responding to Vox spokesperson Jorge Buxade, who has spoken out against abortion and sexuality education, Montero said that “it’s important to consider sexual and reproductive rights and emotional sexuality education as a right for all citizens.”
Before entering the commission, the minister answered questions from journalists about Podemos’ claim that he remains in the government: “When the proposal is good, it can be evaluated or assumed that it is not an order or a red line. ” “We are making a proposal about what we think Podemos can contribute. It’s become clear in this legislature that when there are deep transformations that have a sexist backlash, it’s also important who is in charge of those departments to counter that sexist backlash,” he concluded.
Source: El Diario
