Brussels (The Brussels Morning Newspaper) – EU Commission’s President Ursula von der Leyen’s decision not to have a dedicated Equality EU Commissioner has provoked anger.
MEPs, NGOs, and civil society organisations have blamed EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for demoting equality issues, cautioning that the rights of women, migrants, people with disabilities, and other minorities could be placed on the back burner in her next mandate.
The denunciation came after von der Leyen unveiled her team, providing the equality brief to Belgian liberal Hadja Lahbib alongside a crisis management position, rather than as a dedicated portfolio.
How are MEPs and NGOs reacting to the equality downgrade?
“We are enraged by this downgrade; it is a slap in the face for millions of people and threats all the progress that the Commission has made so far regarding our rights,” Yannis Vardakastanis, president of the European Disability Forum, expressed.
MEP Mélissa Camara (France/Greens) expressed that “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 said, adding that the elevation of the far-right should compel Brussels to still stronger action.
“I am confused and bewildered 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) stated.
“We’re very concerned about equality being sidelined in the new EU Commission. This new portfolio glances more like an add-on to crisis management, with no apparent immediate links between the two themes,” Alyna Smith, deputy director of PICUM, a European association working for undocumented migrants, said.
For the European Women’s Lobby, meanwhile, “It is inappropriate that such a critical issue is treated as an afterthought while women’s rights and equality are undergoing setbacks all across the EU.” Lahbib herself has greeted the “‘huge responsibility” of her new duties, highlighting the need to ensure that every European can live freely.