Subject: EGALITE
From: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 7 Nov 1997 17:19:36 +0100

Dear friends,

Good news from the EU!  There follows an EGALITE info sheet on the establishment
of an Intergroup at the European Parliament dedicated to lesbian and gay rights.

We hope that a French version of this text will be available shortly.

Good wishes,

Roy Dickinson
Co-President
EGALITE

EGALITE is a group of about 350 people working in and around the institutions of
the European Union for equal rights for gay and lesbian employees of the EU, and
for the rights of lesbians and gays more generally.

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EGALITE INFO ** EGALITE INFO ** EGALITE INFO 

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ESTABLISHES INTERGROUP ON GAY AND LESBIAN ISSUES
 
At the European Parliament on 22 October, four political groups from across the
political spectrum  decided to join forces to develop a structured approach to
gay and lesbian issues in EU policy and administration. 

The European Parliament, the only democratically elected institution of the
European Union, has been consistently supportive of lesbian and gay rights over
the past few years.  The 1993 "Roth Report" written by German Green Member of
the European Parliament (MEP) and EGALITE Prize-winner, Claudia Roth, was the
first comprehensive treatment of the question of gay and lesbian rights in
Europe.  It laid the foundations for an agenda of reforms and legislation which
is still being pursued by MEPs with the support of EGALITE and the members of
ILGA-Europe.  Implementation of Roth_s report is going slowly, but concrete
steps have been the inclusion of provisions in the Amsterdam Treaty to combat
discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, and the Parliament_s
adoption of the "Lindholm Report" earlier this year (see EGALITE Press Release
of 28 October for details).

The establishment of a Parliamentary Intergroup on equal rights for lesbians and
gays is a further step forward and another sign of the European Parliament_s
commitment to our cause.  An Intergroup provides a forum at which MEPs with a
special interest in a particular issue can discuss how to press forward an
agenda at the EU level.  It also helps MEPs to draw on the advice and experience
of interested European citizens.  

The inaugural meeting of the Intergroup was chaired by Mrs. Outi Ojala, a
Finnish MEP with a record in the Finnish Parliament which includes numerous
motions and a draft bill on registration rights for same-sex couples.  She is a
member of the United European Left/Nordic Green Left group which is one of the
moving forces behind this initiative.  But the Intergroup has received support
across the political spectrum, and includes Socialists, Greens and Christian
Democrats.

The new Intergroup will meet monthly in Strasbourg and invite experts, national
representatives and officials from other EU institutions to discuss topics such
as the status of lesbians and gays in national and EU legislation and
policy-making, existing discrimination and possible steps to promote equal
treatment.  Its prime goal will be to assist the European Parliament in its work
on this issues, but it will of course facilitate coordination and exchange of
information in a broader European context.

At the next meeting on 19 November, Commissioner Flynn will be invited to
discuss how the new Treaty article 6a, which enables the EU to combat
discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, can be put into practice.
On that occasion, the Intergroup will formally request the Commission to appoint
both a Commissioner and a Commission official responsible for gay and lesbian
issues. This would put an end to the juggling-around of matters that concern our
position in society and would finally offer gay and lesbian representatives the
chance to address their input to a clear-cut authority with the required mandate
to take action. In December, the agenda will focus on immigration rules and
Interpol.

EGALITE will be playing an active role in the Intergroup, and the ILGA-Europe
Conference decided in October that the Executive Board should appoint an
ILGA-Europe representative to be in permanent liaison with the Intergroup.

Contacts: 
For EGALITE:
Marion Oprel - Co-President ([email-masked]);

For the Intergroup:
Paola Giaculli - Intergroup Secretary ([email-masked]).

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