The General Assembly of the European Women Lawyers Association (EWLA), held on 20 May 2006 in Budapest, Hungary, adopted unanimously the following
Resolution on the Future of Europe and Fundamental Rights
Having regard to
- the proclamation of the Period of Reflection by the European Council of June 2005;
- “Plan-D for Democracy, Dialogue and Debate”, launched by the Commission in October 2005;
- European Parliament Resolution on the Period of Reflection, of January 2006;
- the Commission’s Communication on a Citizens’ Agenda - Delivering results for Europe, of 10 May 2006 ;
- EWLA’s first position on the Reflection Period;
- EWLA’s first comments regarding the establishment of a Union Agency for Fundamental Rights.
EWLA welcomes the Commission’s proposal, within the framework of the Citizens’ Agenda, to
“use existing Treaties more effectively, without pre-empting the Constitutional Treaty”, and in particular to strengthen
monitoring of the implementation, in law and in practice, of existing EC/EU standards, and “to focus on respect and promotion of fundamental rights for all people“, as a first
priority.
EWLA also welcomes the Commission’s efforts to promote the “EU’s
global role” and to “improve coherence and coordination with other European institutions and Member States” in this respect.
Consequently, EWLA recalls the importance of
- safeguarding, implementing and developing
the whole European acquis in fundamental rights, including the rights defined in Article 6(2) TEU, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU proclaimed in Nice, in December 2000, rights deriving from primary and secondary EC law and those acknowledged by ECJ case law on the basis of several EC and international instruments and principles;
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strengthening synergy with the Council of Europe, and in particular with its organs that monitor and ensure the implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights, the European Social Charter and other European conventions, with a view to improving fundamental rights standards and the effects of the instruments of both the EU and the Council of Europe within the larger European area;
- strengthening the Euro-Mediterranean partnership and the Neighbourhood Policy, on the basis of
fundamental rights for women and men, in accordance with Articles 6 and 11 TEU, and in particular stressing the
guarantee of gender equality as a sine qua non condition of the process of democratisation; within this framework, enhancing
inter-cultural dialogue, while stressing, in accordance with international and European instruments, such as the CEDAW, the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as interpreted by the Human Rights Committee which is monitoring its implementation, and the Resolutions of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe , that
cultural traditions cannot be accepted as a justification for violating fundamental rights, in particular the rights of women and girls.
On this occasion, EWLA reiterates its strong support for the establishment of a
Fundamental Rights Agency for the EU, which must, in particular, be independent from EU institutions, Member States and economic and political interests and considerations; have an
adequate geographical scope that will include member states, candidate states and potential candidate states; deal with
the whole European acquis in fundamental rights, also in the framework of the
3rd EU pillar; and assist EU institutions in implementing
Articles 7 and 49 TEU.
Moreover, the FRA must operate in accordance with
fundamental democratic principles, including the principle of
balanced participation of women and men in all its organs; actively promote, in all its activities,
gender equality, as a horizontal objective (Art. 3(2) TEC); and engage in
structured dialogue with NGOs which actively promote fundamental rights.