On Tuesday, 22 June 2021 from 16:00 to 17:15 CEST, the European Movement International, with the kind sponsorship of METRO AG, held a digital panel discussion entitled Creating a Union of Freedom and Equal Rights for All.

The EU strives for high standards when it comes to the protection of fundamental rights, equal treatment and non-discrimination of all citizens. However, people still face prejudice, discrimination, and exclusion on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity. Europe cannot ignore the equality gap that persists among European countries and the challenges faced by LGBTIQ people.

First panel: How can we ensure the protection and equal rights for LGBTIQ people in Europe?

Featuring:
Silvan Agius, Cabinet Expert of Commissioner for Equality Helena Dalli, European Commission,
Patrycja Pogodzinska, Project Manager – Legal Research, European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA),
Kim Van Sparrentak, Member of the European Parliament, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance

Second panel: Advancing equal treatment for the LGBTIQ community: pressing needs and best practices from civil society and business

Featuring:
Nikita Baranov, Executive Assistant to Chief Human Resources Officer & LGBT+ activist, METRO AG,
Belinda Dear, Advocacy Officer, ILGA-Europe
Annette Pampel, Senior P&C Consultant Diversity, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners,

Moderated by Vanessa Cotterell, Policy & Advocacy Manager, European Movement International

The 75-minute panel discussion served to promote dialogue and explore how to amplify the voice and enhance the protection of the LGBTIQ community across Europe and worldwide, and what role the EU, civil society and business can play. At the end of the second panel, a Q&A session gave all the speakers the opportunity to engage in a final discussion.

The livestream is available here:

We encourage participants to join the discussions on Twitter by using the handles @EMInternational and @METRO_Politics.