Deabate on Maternity leave during the EP plenary session in Strasbourg. Vote and&nbsp;debate (19/05) - Statements by Marie ARENA (S&amp;D, BE), Rapporteur, Zanda KALNIŅA-LUKA&Scaron;EVICA, Latvian Presidency of the Council, Javi L&Oacute;PEZ (S&amp;D, ES), Julie GIRLING (ECR, UK), Beatriz BECERRA BASTERRECHEA (ALDE, ES) and In&ecirc;s Cristina ZUBER (GUE/NGL, PT),

Strasbourg

debate

plenary session

vote

GIRLING, Julie (EPP, UK)

BECERRA BASTERRECHEA, Beatriz (ALDE, ES)

ARENA, Maria (S&D, BE)

maternity leave (T)

LÓPEZ, Javi (S&D, ES)

KALNIŅA-LUKAŠEVICA, Zanda (LV)

ZUBER, Inês Cristina (GUE/NGL, PT)

Maternity leave: extracts from the vote and extracts from the debate (19/05)

External shot of the EP building, Strasbourg. (1 shot)

SOUNDBITE (French), Maria ARENA (S&amp;D, BE), Rapporteur, "Frans TIMMERMANS is envisaging to withdraw the directive and to bring it in Refit, the Council turns a deaf ear on us and we, in the Parliament, we don't have to be but we are committed to build bridges with the Council, unfortunately without any success."

SOUNDBITE (French), Maria ARENA (S&amp;D, BE), Rapporteur, "In what Europe are we living, I ask the Council, if those who give life are penalised by the simple fact of becoming mothers. In what Europe are we living if having a child is a synonym of poverty."

SOUNDBITE (French), BE) ARENA, Maria (S&amp;D (S&amp;D, BE), Rapporteur, "Since 1992, that's the date of the first maternity leave directive, things havn't got farther, 1992. Today we are in 2015. If you think of it, 20 years to legislate is a little too long."  

SOUNDBITE (French), Marie ARENA (S&amp;D, BE), Rapporteur, "Can you imagine? Being a mother in Europe today is condered to be a risk, a risk for the employer, a risk for politicians, a risk for society, where are we living?"

SOUNDBITE (English), Zanda KALNI&#325;A-LUKA&#352;EVICA, Latvian Presidency of the Council, "The presidency cannot act on its own. It is bound by the will of its member statesm just like the Parliament is bound by the will of its members."

SOUNDBITE (English), Zanda KALNI&#325;A-LUKA&#352;EVICA, Latvian Presidency of the Council, "A new initiative would provide a better basis for the Council and the European Parliament to work jointly towards improving the reconciliation of work and family life for both women and men".

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Javi L&#211;PEZ (S&amp;D, ES), "The Council, and specially the presidency, have consciously and deliberately decided to kill this proposal and this directive from the first minute. We, in the Parliament, said from the very beginning that we were ready to be flexible, to negotiate, because it was an old proposal. We said that we wanted to talk to the Councilm but the Council hasn't even showed up".

SOUNDBITE (English), Julie GIRLING (ECR, UK), "This has been consistently opposed by a significant minority of member states and, in my opinion, quite rightly. This is opposed on grounds of subsidiarity. And now it's time for the Commission to stick to its word and withdraw it. This whole saga has left the European Parliament looking foolish and this oral question simply emphasises that point."

SOUNDBITE (English), Julie GIRLING (ECR, UK), "It is the stubbornness of many members that has led to no progress for over five years. So I encourage the Commission to take this off the table and to end this monumental waste of time."

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Beatriz BECERRA BASTERRECHEA (ALDE, ES), "A Europe of 28 member states can't allow itself to have a directive of a Europe of twelve members. It is our responsibility and we have to respond to the real needs of our citizens with something that brings a solution to what they care and are worried about".

SOUNDBITE (Portuguese), In&#234;s Cristina ZUBER (GUE/NGL, PT), "When it comes to cutting salaries and social rights in order to have balanced budgets, there's never any problem, and you all agree. When it comes to saving banks and make sure that they can lend money, there's no problem there. When we are sending ships to Lybia, mostly military ships, there's no problem there. But when it comes to protecting or improving the rights of working women, guaranteing them at least 20 weeks of maternity leave with full pay, there we wait and wait, there's an uncomfortable silence, and now it's going to end up soon by some kind of administrative procedure as the Commissioner has just said."    

<p>Vote on the resolution to call for the Council to further negotiate on the proposed directive on maternity leave (resolution B8-0453/2015) - Result: +: 419; -: 97; Abst.: 161</p>