Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1398811
14 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 4 AUGUST 2021 ŻEUROPE This article is part of a content series called Ewropej. This is a multi-newsroom initiative part-funded by the European Parliament to bring the work of the EP closer to the citizens of Malta and keep them informed about matters that affect their daily lives. These articles reflect only the authors' view. The European Parliament is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains. MEMBERS of the European Parliament are directly elected by citizens to represent them and accordingly should reflect European society, an MEP from the Parliament's Anti-Racism and Diversity Intergroup (AR- DI) said this week. ARDI is a cross-political-party grouping that aims to promote racial equality, counter racism, and educate about non-dis- crimination. "In a time of rising racism and xenophobia, it is vital to build- ing strong cross-party alliances to uphold EU values, and it's vital that we tackle racism and discrimination – be it in the EU institutions, in European socie- ty and beyond, and secondly, to promote diversity positively," MEP Monica Semedo (Renew Europe), and ARDI member, said. "Here, the EU institutions should lead by example and es- tablish best practices promot- ing diversity," Semedo said. Nevertheless, NGO's, rights groups and non-discrimination experts have long criticised that EU institutions, in general, still lack diversity, despite some progress made. Asked whether the EU is lack- ing the will to diversify them- selves, the Luxembourgish MEP said that "members of the Eu- ropean Parliament are directly elected by citizens to represent them; accordingly, they should reflect our societies". "Currently, this diversity is se- verely missing," she said, adding that this change will only hap- pen when diverse candidates are in electable positions on na- tional party lists. "Then we will see a different and truly representative Euro- pean Council and Parliament," she added. The intergroup has highlight- ed diverse issues such as police misconduct in the EU after the killing of George Floyd in the US and has called for justice for Stanislav Tomas, a 46-year-old Roma man who died after being detained by police. Soul Cap controversy Most recently, they promi- nently pointed towards racial inequalities in sports, just ahead of the Olympic Games in To- kyo. Members of the anti-racist par- liamentary group this week in a letter accused the global sports community, including the In- ternational Olympic Committee (IOC), of having "institutional structures and rules that exclude people of colour and Black wom- en specifically." Their comments came after the International Swimming Federation's (FINA) refused to approve swim caps designed for "thick, curly, and volumi- nous hair" – developed by the UK-based brand Soul Cap – because they do not "follow the natural form of the head." The EU lawmakers said the ban would "reflect stigmatisa- tion of Black hair and leads to institutional inequalities, espe- cially targeting Black women" and their interest in the case would be as "the EU's treaties encourage the bloc to promote fairness and openness in all sporting competition". "We must consider all groups in our society, listen to them, and involve them when finding solutions. We must take an in- tersectional approach. We are not one homogeneous group, but we are united in our diver- sity," Semedo said. The MEP pointed out that the EU's recently proposed EU Anti-Racism Action Plan, EU Roma equality strategy and EU anti-Semitism strategy are wel- come developments. "It is important to have the political will from the Com- mission. However, in the end, it is up to the member states to implement and transpose legis- lation to eradicate racism and discrimination in their coun- tries," she said. Infringement procedures? In their reports and letters, the intergroup had repeatedly criticised member states like Greece, the Netherlands and Lithuania, where the national laws do not fully or accurately transpose EU rules on com- bating racism and xenophobia through criminal law. In Hungary, they pointed out that legislation fails to comply with the Racial Equality Direc- tive. "We can draft laws, but they are redundant if not imple- mented – here, the Commis- sion must step up and take firm action," Semedo said. Asked whether there should be more infringement pro- cedures or sanctions against member countries that fail to implement the strategies laid out by the European Commis- sion, she said that they are " important tools in taking ac- tion to bring change". However, she emphasized that although "these proce- dures help, we must also raise awareness of the different problems people face in the EU". "We need a change of mindset in society – this won't happen overnight and will take hard work to achieve, but I believe we can have a society that em- braces diversity," Semedo add- ed. MEP says diversity is 'severely missing' in European Parliament