Barroso II Commission – Cecilia Malmström commits to a European Union respectful of fundamental rights
Between the 11th and 19th January 2010, the European Parliament is conducting 3-hour interviews with European Commissioner-Designates. This exercise of democratic scrutiny allows Members of the European Parliament to raise issues related to Commissioner-Designates’ portfolios, relay civil society’s concerns to future Commissioners, and secure commitments from Commissioner-Designates for their five years in office.
During the hearings of European Commissioner-Designates by the European Parliament, the Intergroup on LGBT Rights is releasing short bulletins on issues relevant to LGBT rights raised during the top-level interviews of future Commissioners.
Today, the Parliament heard Ms Cecilia Malmström (Sweden), Commissioner-Designate for Home Affairs. Following a question on the importance of EU anti-discrimination efforts, Ms Malmström expressed regrets the horizontal Anti-Discrimination Directive had not yet been ratified by the European Council, and assured that horizontal anti-discrimination efforts would occupy a high place in her portfolio.
Raül Romeva i Rueda MEP, Vice-president of the European Parliament’s Intergroup on LGBT Rights, declared after the hearing: “We know about the compromise of Commissioner-Designate Malmström on fundamental rights, notably with regards to LGBT rights, and we expect to work closely with her to combat all kinds of discrimination.” On anti-discrimination efforts at the EU level, Mr Romeva i Rueda continued: “We appreciated her performance as Swedish Minister for European Affairs during the past Swedish presidency, and we hope she will keep pushing upcoming Presidencies, starting with Spain’s.”
