Protection of fundamental rights must not be a victim of ideological debate

The EPP Group today voted against the Flašíková Beňová Report on fundamental rights. In contrast to the more balanced and objective alternative Resolution tabled by the EPP Group, the adopted Report goes beyond the remit of the Lisbon Treaty, disregards the sovereignty of Member States and goes against the fundamental values and principles the EPP Group firmly believes in. The EPP Group condemns the Liberals and the Left-wing groups who are continuously putting their ideology into the fight for fundamental and human rights. Party politics in this field must come to an end", said EPP Group MEPs Kinga Gál and Manfred Weber after the vote.

"There is no disagreement between pro-European political forces on the importance of protecting fundamental rights within and outside the European Union. The EPP Group, as in the past, is strongly committed to the respect of these rights and values, a commitment which was clearly reflected in our alternative Resolution on fundamental rights", said Kinga Gál, Shadow Rapporteur of the Report.

"It should be stressed that the fact that the EPP Group could not vote in favour of the Report of the Left does not mean that there are two types of fundamental rights within the Union. There is only one set of rights, one catalogue of fundamental rights: the Charter of Fundamental Rights. However, the Flašíková Beňová Report adopted today goes beyond the remit of the Charter and the Lisbon Treaty. We firmly believe that using these rights in a political and ideological struggle behind the slogan of their protection is unfortunate and cannot be supported by the EPP Group", she added.

"The protection of fundamental rights cannot be a victim of political games fuelled by party interests or ideology and must not be a tool for promoting extreme Liberal or Leftist ideologies. The EPP Group is a strong supporter of fundamental rights - in the EU and worldwide. The attempt of the political Left to use fundamental Right questions as political instruments is unacceptable. It is highly disappointing and frustrating that the Left-wing Groups in the European Parliament are not willing to find a consensus with the biggest Group within this house. They are continuously putting their ideology into the fight for fundamental and human rights, as they did in today's vote. The EPP Group is firmly against such hypocritical attempts", said Manfred Weber, Vice-Chairman of the EPP Group.

"The Flašíková Beňová Report touches upon issues which clearly belong to Member States' competence, and fall under the subsidiarity principle. The Report disregards the basic values and traditions of countries, and constitutional arrangements - whose respect should be a basic element in the European Union. In addition, the Report in many parts goes against the fundamental values and principles the EPP Group firmly believes in", he continued.