• Minister for Equality Katarzyna Kotula presented to the EU Committee on Women's Rights and sex Equality (FEMM) the priorities of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union on "women's rights" and "sex equality".
• An crucial point of the Polish Presidency is further work on the Anti-Discrimination Directive. In Ordo Iuris' assessment, this act will severely restrict the freedom to enter into contracts and freedom of business and will importantly interfere in private life.
• Minister Kotula besides pointed out the risks associated with the improvement of artificial intelligence, In including the usage of the Deepfake method, “speak of hatred” and “pornography of revenge” (dissemination of photographs or videos of an unequivocal sexual character representing persons without their consent with the intention of public humiliation).
• The precedence was besides to search to increase protection against discrimination, especially against alleged gender-related crimes (gender crime).
• The debate besides addressed alleged women's sexual and reproductive rights, the implementation of LGBT lobby demands, the challenges of an ageing population of women and the anticipation of introducing a common EU-wide definition of rape based on the concept of consent.
• any Euro MPs stressed the request to intervene at EU level in view of the failure of any countries to "complete access to sexual education and reproductive wellness services".
Anti-discrimination Directive against freedom
Minister Kotula notedthat further work on the EU will be an crucial point of the Polish Presidency Anti-discrimination Directivewhich has been controversial for years and has not yet been yet passed. This act establishes a framework strategy for the prohibition of discrimination on these grounds and sets out a uniform minimum level of protection in the European Union for persons who have suffered discrimination on the grounds of the characteristics identified. Ordo Iuris Institute prepared analysis this Directive in 2016. In their analysis, the Institute's experts stressed that a number of proposals contained in the then draft Council Directive on the implementation of the rule of equal treatment for persons irrespective of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation (COM (2008) 426) would seriously restrict the freedom to enter into contracts and freedom of economical activity and would constitute crucial interference in private life. The 4 erstwhile equality directives and Polish Anti-Discrimination Act of 2010, which is presently enforcing them, have a much narrower scope than the 1 presently under pressure. The Directive applies to a wide scope of civilian law relations, including between service providers and their customers. Minister Kotula stressed that its adoption could be an crucial step towards equalising women's opportunities in the labour marketplace and eliminating inequalities in access to services and education.
Digital safety and the fight against online abuse
According to Katarzyna Kotuli, 1 of the main objectives of the Polish Presidency will be the effective implementation of the Digital Services Act (DSA) in the context of women's protection in digital space. She pointed to the increasing dangers associated with the usage of Deepfake (connecting images of human faces with artificial intelligence for disinformation purposes), cyber-violence and so-called. Pornography of Revengedisproportionately affecting women.
Euro MPs expressed their approval for this initiative, stressing the request for more effective mechanisms to prosecute digital crime. They pointed out that better cooperation between online platforms and law enforcement was needed to better destruct illegal content from the network.
Reproductive and sexual rights, LGBT lobby demands and women's ageing
During the debate, MEPs sitting in the FEMM They've paid attention. on issues related to alleged sexual and reproductive rights of women. In their assessment, any associate States inactive do not supply "full access to sexual education and reproductive wellness services", which, according to any Euro MPs, requires intervention at EU level.
A large deal of space was besides devoted to the implementation of LGBT demands. The issue of the situation of older women, who frequently experience social and economical exclusion, has besides been raised, which calls for social policies to be adapted to demographic change in Europe.
Will the Union adopt a common definition of rape?
One of the most controversial topics of the discussion was the proposal to introduce a uniform definition of rape throughout the European Union, based on the concept of consent. Currently, regulations vary from country to country, making protection of victims unequal. Minister Kotula did not declare Poland's unequivocal position on this issue, but stressed that this issue would be 1 of the topics that will be discussed during the Polish Presidency.
The views presented by Minister Kotula have been met with both enthusiasm and criticism, peculiarly among conservative groups who see them as a hazard of excessive EU interference in the sovereign decisions of the associate States. According to them, the Polish Presidency should focus on real challenges specified as protecting the family, supporting motherhood and combating poorness among women, alternatively of promoting controversial legal changes.
– The programme of the Polish Presidency, despite the stated nonsubjective of protecting women's rights, focuses on ideological demands that have no direct connection with the real problems of women in Europe. It is worrying to push forward solutions that may lead to a simplification in associate States' autonomy in labour law and education. alternatively of focusing on the real difficulties experienced by European women, the typical of the Polish government, unfortunately, focused on controversial and ideological issues – said Julia Ksiązek from the Ordo Iuris global Law Centre.
== sync, corrected by elderman ==
