A group of left-wing parliamentarians have called for a “systematic attack” after it emerged that the EU Executive’s anti-racism chief, a black European woman, had been excluded from a reshuffle, leaving her in a “lower position” than her own. He warned of “inequalities''. White friends.
Earlier this month, the European Commission announced that the Coordinator for Combating Anti-Semitism and Fostering Jewish Life and the Coordinator for Combating Anti-Muslim Hatred will be appointed Director-General (at the top of the EU executive branch). announced that he will be transferred to a department under the direct control of the European Commission. President Ursula von der Leyen.
But the commission's anti-racism coordinator will remain in the standard division, a lower-level, less important position, lawmakers and activists say.
Michaela Moore The Finnish former NGO executive was appointed as the commission's first anti-racism coordinator in 2021. The post was created in response to the global Black Lives Matter movement and the EU's first anti-racism strategy. She is the only one of the trio not transferred to Von der Leyen's department.
In 2023, the committee announced The three coordinators will be upgraded to special envoys to strengthen their work, suggesting they consider their roles to be of equal status.
Although no one has been appointed as special envoy, their move to the post of secretary-general is seen as opening the door for their promotion and giving them greater political influence for the time being.
“This exclusion, which affects the only racist co-ordinator, raises concerns about systemic inequalities,” MPs representing the Socialist, Left and Green parties said in a formal question to the committee.
They asked the committee to explain “how to ensure that all forms of racism are treated with equal care, given that coordinators are located at different hierarchical levels.” are.
French Green Party lawmaker Melissa Camara said in a statement to the Guardian: “The decision to place the Coordinator for Combating Anti-Semitism and Anti-Muslim Hatred at the highest level of the EU Commission, while relegating the Coordinator for Anti-Racism to a lower position” raises serious concerns. ”
The European Network Against Racism said this disparity sends a “dangerous message about the Commission's priorities”, creates “unacceptable hierarchies within anti-racism work” and “reduces racism as a systemic problem”. “This has undermined efforts to combat this,” he said.
The European Commission did not respond to requests for comment.
In the EU's anti-racism strategy, the European Commission pledged to “significantly improve the diversity of its staff” and tackle all forms of racism, including unconscious bias.
The outcry over the appointment came after Ms von der Leyen abolished the single post of EU commissioner on equality grounds. The equality secretary now also has responsibility for preparedness and crisis management, but rights groups said this was a downgrade that risked undermining the equality agenda.
MEP Kamala is a member of the European Parliament's Anti-Racism and Diversity Mutual Group, which was re-established in early December. For the first time, the group was founded solely by leaders from three European factions: the Socialists, the Left and the Greens, with no chairs or co-chairs from the centrist Renew Party or the centre-right European People's Party. Although factions existed, they provided members.
Insiders suggest this reflects a shift to the right in parliament since June's European elections brought in a record number of far-right MPs. “We are witnessing an increasingly polarized and racist European Parliament,” Camara said.
