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The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, urged the European Parliament to update the Bill of Rights of the European Union and placed particular emphasis on including the right to abortion as a fundamental right of the EU. The proposal comes a day after the Maltese Roberta Metsola, openly anti-abortion, assumed the presidency of this body.
Just released the French presidency of the European Union, French President Emmanuel Macron was this Wednesday in the European Parliament to clarify before MEPs what his main objectives are for the next six months. For Macron, the promises of democracy, progress and peace on which the EU was created are under threat.
According to President Macron, the rule of law is at risk within the Union, which is why, he says, France will work to revive it. Among its main measures for this, is the update of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU and the inclusion in it of the right to abortion.
The end of l’État de droit, c’est le règne de l’arbitraire. The end of l’État de droit, c’est le retour aux régimes autoritaires. pic.twitter.com/O1uF2987ET
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) January 19, 2022
“I want us to consolidate our values as Europeans, which are our unity, our pride and our strength. 20 years after the proclamation of our Charter of Fundamental Rights, I hope we can update it to be more explicit about protecting the environment or recognizing of the right to abortion,” Macron said in his speech.
“We must not allow the idea to spread that the rule of law is an invention of Brussels. It is everyone’s idea. It is our treasure,” he added while urging that the debate be opened up to all citizens.
© Capture d’écran
In practice, the proposal to reform the Charter seems difficult to carry out, since it requires the quorum of the member countries. Including Poland and Malta, which reject abortion. Also from Hungary, openly hostile in recent times to the progressive policies dictated from Brussels.
controversy surrounding abortion
Macron’s proposal comes just one day after Parliament elected its new president, the conservative Roberta Metsola. Of Maltese nationality, Metsola’s election created controversy among progressive deputies for her outspoken position against abortion, prohibited in her country, which included a non-acceptance clause of this right when signing her entry to the EU in 2004.
Metsola, however, assured on Tuesday that from the moment of his election, his position on abortion will be the one defended by Parliament as a whole. In France, the controversy also affected the president and his party, key in the election of Metsola together with his European parliamentary group, Renew Europe.
It was precisely the first female president of the European Parliament, Simone Veil, who introduced the right to abortion in France.
importance of security
European security was also the focus of much of Macron’s speech. For him, Europe must be able to anticipate risks and guarantee its security. “The security of our continent demands a strategic rearmament of our Europe as a power of peace and balance, in particular in the dialogue with Russia,” he assured.
Macron stressed that he has long been one of the main defenders of dialogue with Russia, something that, he says, “is not an option.” In case of violation of international rules, he reiterated, Europe must be firm with the sanctions.
With EFE and local media.
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