On behalf of Poland, Viktor Orbán did not allow the provision of gender equality in Africa to be included in the final document of the EU summit – Rzeczpospolita has learned unofficially.
We heard this story from two independent diplomatic sources in Brussels. It was Friday morning, the second day of the EU summit in Brussels. It seemed that the deliberations would soon come to an end, because the most important topics – Brexit, EU climate goals and the situation related to Covid-19 – were already discussed by EU leaders on Thursday.
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Surprisingly, however, an hour and a half was spent on one part of the conclusions on Africa, namely on the phrase “gender equality” in Africa, as one of the values that guide the EU’s commitment to this continent. A sentence containing this phrase lists a whole catalog of values, such as the rule of law, social rights, environmental protection and education of young people.
Our information shows that before the summit, “gender equality” was criticized by Poland, which instead proposed the concept of “equality between men and women”. The matter sparked a heated discussion at the summit, as most countries did not want to agree to the Polish demand, recalling that even in EU documents on Africa, “gender equality” had already appeared before. Such countries as Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Ireland, but also, for example, Lithuania and Latvia, spoke about it. Only Hungary supported Poland.
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The dialogue with Poland was hampered by the fact that there was no one to talk to, because Mateusz Morawiecki did not come to Brussels due to quarantine. He handed over the power of attorney to represent Poland to Andrej Babiš. But the Czech prime minister did not understand the problem of Poland. When he left the Chamber due to prolonged discussions, we were represented by Viktor Orbán, who also did not want the phrase ‘gender equality’. Initially, he argued that this should not be included in conclusions about Africa, because “there is a different culture there”. Later in the discussion, he stated that he would not really have a problem with it, but he has instructions from Mateusz Morawiecki.
– Ultimately, he admitted that it is better not to write it down, because in Poland and Hungary there is a Christian culture and a different worldview – one diplomat tells us. Others immediately reacted harshly: “Aha, so it’s not about Africa, it’s about you.”
Despite the calls to Morawiecki, which Orbán was supposed to make, Poland and Hungary still did not want to agree to the above-mentioned provision and finally the document contained the phrase “non-discrimination and equal rights and equal opportunities for all”.
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