Debate: Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in the European Union
Date: THURSDAY, 20 JANUARY 2022
Speaker: Věra Jourová
Language: EN

Today I will conclude by repeating the position of the Commission. I have to say, again, what I said at the beginning, that we have discussed here a theme which falls under the competence of the Member States and that the Commission and the EU only have complementary competence in this field. It doesn’t mean that the Commission doesn’t pay attention to matters relating to health and reproductive rights. The Commission continues to monitor the developments in all Member States regarding gender equality.  At the root of many gender inequalities are stereotypical beliefs and opinions on how men and women should behave in society. By the way, these stereotypical opinions also caused the failure of the Istanbul Convention, which we had to accept with regret and which we are now trying to replace with the EU directive against violence against women, which is now in the making at the Commission. The Commission will continue to support Member States’ efforts in implementing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals relevant to women’s health, such as on universal access to sexual and reproductive care, family planning and education. As a last comment, I want to react to those of you who mentioned the issue of depopulation. Indeed, we have a declining demographic line. It is one of the most serious threats and risks we see now in Europe and which we have to tackle. Let’s try to solve this problem. We have to do that, but let’s find the right solutions. In my view, the solution is investing in facilities and social services, kindergartens and related services in the Member States. For many years, the Commission had the position that this spending should be paid solely by the Member States. We changed that position three years ago, when we recommended that Member States also use EU funding for massive investment in these services so that women and working parents can continue their careers while having the chance to rely on high-quality services provided by the State. Some Member States are using this opportunity and some are not. Why? It’s a question for those Member States.  We must also stop being hypocritical and have to look at the sad reality. When women have children, they then pay for their care with the pay gap. They are paid less. Women’s salaries are still 20% lower than salaries for men. Some speak about the care penalty. I don’t like this term because care is something which we love to do, both women and men. Most of us love to take care of children and also of our old parents, if this is the case. But why should we be punished for that? Women pay a high price, through the pay gap and the loss of career chances.  So we have a lot of structural problems, which are tightly connected with the issue we discussed here today. These connected things fall very strongly under the competence of the EU, and that’s why the Commission tries to focus on these matters which relate to the problem or to the topic we are discussing here today.  I just want to say on the issue of women’s rights that the context is much broader and it is still very serious. There is a lot of unfairness and also a lot of economic aspects to it. It’s not wise not to enable women to have families and continue their work. Sorry for this broader context, but I wanted to speak about the things where we can – and we should – do more. This is exactly what we are trying to do through the gender equality strategy and through the legislation that the Commission is proposing.