At the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg today, MEPs voted on the Report on the progress of equality of men and women in 2013 by Mark Tarabella (S&D), in which the main emphasis should have been on achieving gender equality, but because of different views on the right to life, MEPs voted differently, a the club of the European People's Party (EPP) proposed free voting for its members.
 
˝Again this year we can testify that ideologically coloured matters that are not within the competence of the EU are trying to be squeezed into the Report on equality between men and women in the EU, which is aimed at improving the social and economic status of women, which is something that we all advocate for. The principle of subsidiarity dictates that Member States themselves create laws that will regulate reproductive rights, i.e. the right to life˝, agreed the Members of the Croatian EPP Delegation in the European Parliament (Dubravka Šuica, Ivana Maletić, Marijana Petir, Andrej Plenković and Davor Ivo Stier).
 
Each year, similar European Parliament reports attract great public attention. The fact is that the report contains a number of excellent suggestions in order to improve women's rights, in particular in the areas of ​​employment, women's entrepreneurship and combating violence against women, but provisions that regulate reproductive rights and the right to life are unacceptable.
 
˝Unfortunately, due to ideological provisions that are part of this report, our delegation voted against the report, however, that does not mean we are against equality. The possibility to build a fair and prosperous society is based on shared values ​​and the premise of equality, while the movement for equality is a constant struggle in Croatia and all EU countries. We will continue uphold concrete actions that will improve the situation of women, but we can not allow the violation of the principle of subsidiarity, i.e. the imposition of stances on EU Member States˝, concluded the head of the Croatian EPP Delegation in the EP Dubravka Šuica.