Metsola claims that despite its "problems and imperfections" the EU means that "life will be a little fairer"

Calviño points to the "economic rationality" of gender equality: "You cannot waste the talent of 50% of society"

MADRID, 26 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The president of the European Parliament (EP), Roberta Metsola, has claimed this Thursday that, despite its "problems and imperfections", the EU means that "life will be a little fairer", emphasizing the impact it can have to improve people's day-to-day life, for which he has called not to leave Ukraine "alone" despite the "shock" caused by the "illegal war" unleashed by Russia.

This is how the President of the European Parliament expressed herself when receiving the 'Woman of the Year' award from Women in a Legal World (WLW) for "the work carried out at the head of the European Parliament at a particularly difficult time due to the war in Ukraine , for his commitment to the fight against corruption as a result of uncovering 'Qatargate' and for his staunch defense of EU values".

Metsola has confessed that choosing a career linked to Law was "one of the best decisions" of her life because it led her to enter politics, in part, driven by the "generational aspiration" that her country, Malta, join the the EU, because "with all its problems and imperfections" the community bloc "means that life will be a little better, fair and safe".

In this context, he has defended that, despite the "shock" caused by Russia's "illegal war", which has shaken the EU to its foundations -as he has expressed-, "it is important to be with Ukraine". We cannot leave her "alone", she has affirmed.

Also on a personal level, she has recognized that, although "politics is not easy", it is even less so for women, who continue to face "double standards". Her vital mantra, she has recounted, is that "if you work hard enough then nothing can hold you back", but she has conceded that more must be "done to encourage women" to pursue their goals and to generate "real opportunities ".

For her part, the economic vice president, Nadia Calviño, who has been in charge of presenting the award to Metsola, has vindicated her belonging to "a feminist government" that is "truly committed to gender equality", not only for a reason of "social justice", but of "economic rationality", since "the talent of 50% of society cannot be wasted".

Although he stressed that "very important steps have been taken in recent years", he was aware that "there is still a long way to go". "Women have to be one of the engines of transformation and progress in Spain and Europe in the coming decades", she has argued, adding: "We have to be at the table where important decisions are made".

Another of the winners this Thursday, the prosecutor of the Supreme Court (TS) Consuelo Madrigal, wanted to draw attention to the fact that "equality is no longer just a value under construction" but "an inseparable condition of that just society, free, open, prosperous and supportive in which we would all want to live".

Madrigal, who has received the 'Prize of Honor' for "his unwavering commitment to defending the rule of law", has also shown himself to be aware that "the world continues to belong to men", but in line he has emphasized that "it is not an eternal thing", for which he has urged to work "together" in search of equality.

In this fourth edition, the lawyer and former Minister of Social Affairs Cristina Alberdi has also been awarded the 'Values ​​Award' for her "extensive career" as a jurist and, specifically, "in defense of constitutional values ​​and women's rights". .

In his case, he has declared with satisfaction that many of the objectives pursued by the Government in terms of equality have been achieved, although he has also regretted that many others remain to be achieved, especially in other parts of the world.

Likewise, WLW has recognized the work of the Research Foundation for Governance in India with the 'Equality Award', for "its excellence in introducing innovation in Justice"; and the Spanish Agency for Data Protection, with the 'Sustainable Justice Award', for "his work in the fight against gender violence".

For her part, the president of WLW, Marlen Estévez, has highlighted that, if something "has made clear" in 2022, it is that "the global community can unite, with new commitments and pacts", while defending " the fundamental role that Europe must play on the international stage" with a view to 2023.

Thus, he has appealed for "a strong, supportive and egalitarian Europe". "We have to react to the extremisms that destroy what has been achieved and to the Union's own mistakes, and champion a Europeanism that is more than the sum of the countries, that makes us competitive in a globalized world, in the face of growing economic threats, social and in all spheres that, if we were individual countries, would not be viable", he said.

Estévez added that "European citizens must assume that we are masters of our own destiny and not mere spectators". "We cannot allow ourselves to be carried away by inertia and risk the disappearance of the longest period of peace in history, nor lose all the freedoms and rights acquired. The European Union must respond boldly and intelligently, making courage out of necessity and relaunching with I throw out the integration project", he claimed.

Specifically, he indicated that "Spain, the fourth largest economy in the EU after the departure of the United Kingdom, must necessarily champion its leading role in all of this." Therefore, the confidence of European citizens must be recovered through policies at a global level and the corresponding reforms at a national level that promote democratic, strong and therefore stable European institutions. And for that we need to act," she harangued.