Pools voorzitterschap over regeling zwangerschapsverlof in de EU (en)

Met dank overgenomen van Pools voorzitterschap Europese Unie 2e helft 2011 i, gepubliceerd op dinsdag 25 oktober 2011.

On Tuesday in Strasbourg, on behalf of the Council, representing the Polish Presidency, Deputy Minister for Employment and Social Policy Radoslaw Mleczko took part in the European Parliament’s debate on the maternity leave directive.

In his speech, Minister R. Mleczko addressed the following issues:

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    Firstly, there are substantial differences in social security systems and in the field of protection of mothers among Member States. As a consequence, introducing changes to the maternity leave directive in the form put forward by the EP would result, in the view of many Member States, in the deterioration of well functioning solutions currently in place;
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    Secondly, the subsidiarity principle must be respected, which means avoiding the inclusion of too detailed provisions in the text directive. Its goal is to establish minimum standards for twenty-seven different Member States.
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    And thirdly - he pointed out the difficult economic situation, at the same time underlying that financial factors are not the only and most important obstacle in adopting a common position by the Council.

Minister R. Mleczko also pointed out that the debate during the informal meeting of Ministers for Family Affairs and Gender Equality, which took place in Krakow on 21 October 2011, showed that without significant change in the position of the EP the progress in negotiations on this document would not be possible.

Based on this debate, as well as other informal discussions, the Presidency is of the opinion that the current complicated economic situation makes the ongoing debate even more difficult. In his concluding remarks Minister R. Mleczko expressed his hope that today’s debate in the EP will bring us closer to a compromise solution, and if not, it will still bear fruit in the future, and the ongoing exchange of views will subsequently bring positive solutions for parents and their children.

Watch the debate on EBS: http://audiovisual.europarl.europa.eu/AssetDetail.aspx?g=7957b350-debd-4946-8ead-24e14d4f4295