During the Special meeting of the European Council (Article 50) in Brussels, Antonio Tajani, EP President, marked the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women by sporting a red mark on his face and making a statement to endorse the initiative.

TAJANI, Antonio (EPP, IT)

violence against women (T)

special meeting of the European Council on Article 50 (T)

Statement by Antonio TAJANI, EP President on the fight against the violence made to women

EP President Antonio Tajani puts a red mark on his face. 

SOUNDBITE (Italian), Antonio TAJANI, EP President, Today is the international day against violence against women. In Italy, there is an initiative underway where millions have signed up. All football players have got this mark on their face to refer to the violence suffered by women and this is not normal as I said. This is an Italian initiative and is part of a set of action undertaken today against the violence against women and the European Parliament will turn orange today out of solidarity, with women who have suffered violence and may suffer violence again in the future. Violence against women is one of the vilest acts that can be committed by a man. In physical terms, men may have more strength but they are not superior in terms of their culture, in terms of their rights and social terms. And that is why I chose to sign up to this action and as I told you earlier this is what my mother taught me and this is what I have taught my children.

SOUNDBITE (Italian), Antonio TAJANI, EP President, No human being is superior or inferior to another and I impose a strict sanction on one of our MEPs who said in the plenary that women should be paid less because they were inferior. I cannot accept that type of statement in plenary, in a public plenary. This goes against the European Values. The European Union isn't just about the Parliament, the Council and the Commission. The European Union is about values and those values relate to individuals and no individual is entitled to be violent against another. 

EP President Antonio Tajani leaves the press conference.