Yesterday the European Parliament adopted a non-binding resolution on justice, freedom and security in Europe. The resolution contains strong wording on the free movement of all families. In its report on the mid-term review of the Stockholm Programme, the European Parliament criticised the European Commission for its failure to fulfil a previous pledge that it’d
Tag Archive: European Parliament
The fourth EU-Africa Summit is taking place in Brussels since yesterday, and although not officially on the agenda, extremely harsh new anti-LGBT laws are on leaders’ minds. The summit brings together the heads of state and government from the European Union and the African continent, as well as EU and African Union leaders. They will
At the Council of the Heads of the Christian Orthodox Church held in Istanbul last week, Cyprus’ Archbishop Chrysostomos urged all Orthodox Churches to “condemn homosexuality.” The Archbishop stated that governments demonstrated “weakening moral integrity” by ensuring equal rights, for example through civil partnerships or equal marriage. Cyprus’ government plans to submit a civil partnership
Today, the European Parliament adopted two new laws at first reading to reform data protection in the European Union. Until now, the EU regulated data protection via a 1995 directive, ill fitted for the modern omnipresence of personal data. The European Commission proposed a new EU framework in the form of two legal texts: a directive
Today the European Parliament voted its annual report on fundamental rights in the European Union. The report includes an extensive overview of the situation for LGBT people, and recommendations to reach European equality standards laid down in the Charter of Fundamental Rights. Among other recommendations, MEPs ask that Member States guarantee thefreedom of movement of same-sex couples, their
Today, the European Parliament adopted a non-binding recommendation for a future EU roadmap against homophobia and discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. The report adopted today “strongly condemns” homophobia and transphobia in the European Union. MEPs ask the European Commission, Member States and EU agencies to ”work jointly on a comprehensive multiannual policy to protect
Next week, Members of the European Parliament will vote on the report for an EU roadmap against homophobia (available in 24 languages). The Committee on Civil Liberties supported the report with an overwhelming majority in December, and five political groups support it. MEPs have received numerous questions about the report, and petitions misrepresent its contents in several
In a resolution adopted yesterday, the European Parliament strongly condemned recent moves to criminalise LGBTI people in Uganda, Nigeria and India. Parliament also called on Russia to repeal its law prohibiting the propaganda of ‘non-traditional sexual relations’. Earlier this month, Nigeria’s President signed the ‘Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Bill’, punishing people in a same-sex relationship with
The European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs adopted a recommendation for a future EU roadmap against homophobia and discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. The report builds on ten previous requests by the Parliament in the last three years to roll out an EU equality roadmap, or strategy,
Today, the European Parliament adopted a regulation defining the priorities of the European Social Fund (ESF) for the period 2014-2020. For the first time, the Fund will contribute to combating discrimination based on sex—including discrimination against transsexual persons—and sexual orientation. Today’s binding resolution specifies that discrimination based on sex should be interpreted broadly, including discrimination against transsexual