Gender Equality, Security, and European Unity – a Conversation with MEP Lucia Yar
In the latest episode of the Liberal Europe Podcast, Ricardo Silvestre (Movimento Liberal Social), talks to the MEP Lucia Yar, […]
In the latest episode of the Liberal Europe Podcast, Ricardo Silvestre (Movimento Liberal Social), talks to the MEP Lucia Yar, […]
In the latest episode of the Liberal Europe Podcast, Ricardo Silvestre (Movimento Liberal Social), talks to the MEP Lucia Yar, Vice President of the European Liberal Forum, about her journey from journalism to politics, Progressive Slovakia’s mission, and the importance of gender equality in EU policy.
Show notes
Play the episode on Spotify, on SoundCloud, or read the full transcript down below the show notes.
This podcast is produced by the European Liberal Forum in collaboration with Movimento Liberal Social and Fundacja Liberté!, with the financial support of the European Parliament. Neither the European Parliament nor the European Liberal Forum are responsible for the content or for any use that be made of.
Ricardo Silvestre: I hope you’re doing very well, and thank you so much for listening to the podcast today. We are very privileged in this episode to have the member of European Parliament from Slovakia and also, the Vice President of the European Liberal Forum, Lucia Yar. Lucia has been elected via the party Progressive Slovakia that not only had a good result in the European Elections but, in trusting the polls, they are a valuable and serious governing solution for Slovaks. Lucia and I will talk about that, and we will also talk about the work that she does on the Budget Committee and on gender equality in the European Parliament. And after our main conversation, please stay to know a little more about the path that the MEP took to the point when we recorded this conversation at her office in the European Parliament. But now, with no further ado, I bring you Lucia Yar.
I’m here with MEP Lucia Yar. Lucia, thank you so much for coming to the podcast.
Lucia Yar: Thank you for having me.
Ricardo Silvestre: Oh, it’s a privilege to have you here. I’m in your office at the European Parliament, and we are going to talk about some of the work you do here in Brussels. But I really want to go first with you to what is happening in Slovakia. I follow your country’s politics closely. I know the dangers that we have in your country right now, but also the positive note, which is Progressive Slovakia having very positive results — one of them for the European Union Elections. Actually, we have you here because of that. And then the polls that consistently show that you can be a serious liberal solution for Slovakian voters to trust you with governance. So, tell us a little bit – what is it that Progressive Slovakia has been doing to reach the electorate so that other people listening to us can follow that?
Lucia Yar: So, what is happening in Slovakia? For over a year, we do have a government which is, politically correctly saying, leaning away from the European Union. And this was my motivation, and this was also the focus of the campaign that we were doing before the European elections: to make sure and to convince people that we need to stay in the European Union, that this is our vital interest.
We were also campaigning in such a way because unfortunately in Slovakia even politicians are carrying all kinds of disinformation. These are really destructing the trust of people towards the institutions, towards the nation, and towards the European Union as such. And Progressive Slovakia is feeling that pro-European sentiment because we know that major part of the investments that we have in the country is coming from European money. But we also know that economically, it’s just impossible for the country of 5 million people to survive staying somewhere at the periphery, at the border of a war.
So, I think this is the sentiment that we are working with, and this is important to us. Progressive Slovakia was quite a small party, and many in the liberal circles know it maybe as a startup, but we really managed to attract very experienced people. People with strong values who are sticking to them. Because this is what was missing – at least for me in the past – from previous politicians.
Also, we don’t shy away to underline where we are standing with our strong liberal values: transparency, truth, and equality for all – I think that’s an important part. And more and more, we understand that we need to speak to people from the whole country. We go a lot to different regions. I am personally coming from the very Eastern part of Slovakia. We are talking about topics that are dear to both for us and for our families. For example, starting from the price of goods and food. I’m shopping here in Brussels and paying less for veggies and fruits than I am in Bratislava. And everybody feels this home. And it’s not just the question of inflation – it is a major mismanagement that people in Slovakia feel for over a year.
Another important thing is, I suppose that voters can still see us as very transparent compared to the government. The first laws that the government has been passing were dealing with securing their own power, their money, their incomes, and securing it wherever they are, giving direct orders or even businesses to people that are close to the government.
It is a visibly strong idea that we believe Slovaks can get together, and we are giving hope. And I think this is very important, especially in these times. This is also where I’m coming from. We are quite positive people, I have to say. We are ready, we have energy, and I think we show it. And this is what I suppose is also attracting voters.
Ricardo Silvestre: I’m going to go into details now, but I’m quite sure our listeners are interested because it has something to do with the European Union project. I was at the ALDE party congress in Estoril, and one of the members of Progressive Slovakia was there. We were talking about what have been some good practices regarding reaching the electorate. One is what you just said, which is to have more people-centred conversations: Asking “What do you need?” and not just coming from the top and saying, “Oh, everything is fine, isn’t it”. No, it isn’t. But it also had to do with the fear of leaving the European Union. I just came from a conference in Hungary where I said that a couple of times during a panel, “Why don’t you challenge Orbán to suggest that Hungarian people leave the European Union? Let’s see what happens.” Tell me a little bit about that. What is your position?
Lucia Yar: I think we’re using strongly the example of Brexit because it didn’t happen from one day to another. It was mostly about undermining the European Union as such, from tiny things – a lot of disinformation, a lot of misinterpretations, a lot of lies. And when you put these all together, it just creates certain emotions in people: “Okay, if all these things are happening, why are we actually staying here?”
Slovakia is currently a net beneficiary of European money, so we can still understand, we are getting financed, it is important. But, in case the European Union grows, and we get countries from the Western Balkans or even Ukraine into the European Union, Slovakia will turn into a contributor. And then, how will we explain to people what are the benefits? Currently, it seems that the European Union is just a piggyback for us to get money from, and this is not how it’s supposed to be. So, we need to not only explain this but also remind people that it is the unity that makes us stronger.
If we had to deal with major troubles – such as ecological issues or digitalization – with only our own market and different rules compared to the European market, we simply would not survive. I think people, deep inside understand it, we just want to make sure that nobody undermines this understanding.
Ricardo Silvestre: And even security, which is something I know you care about. Of course, naturally, it’s not an organization like NATO, but we are moving toward being more security-focused European Union.
Lucia Yar: Exactly.
Ricardo Silvestre: It’s very interesting what you just mentioned because, in Poland, they went through exactly the same thing. I was talking with some Polish friends, and they were saying that PiS, at the time, was exactly saying the same thing: “The moment we have to start paying for the European Union, we’ll start thinking about leaving.” And the Polish people were like, “No, that’s not going to happen.”
Lucia Yar: But then, imagine if someone says, “Okay, we want to have a referendum.” I don’t know how it would end up. Would people freak out?
Ricardo Silvestre: Yes, that’s a thought experiment. Let’s hope that it doesn’t get to that.
Lucia Yar: Yes, exactly. But let’s not push it in that direction. There are all kinds of forces, crazy forces, from here and there. They just start to put wood on the fire, and it can explode at times, exactly how it happened in the United Kingdom. And we really cannot afford it.
Ricardo Silvestre: I’m sure that if it comes to be, you’ll be one of the people convincing Slovakians not to make that terrible mistake. Now, getting a little more into the work you do here at the European Parliament and something I know you care about, which is women’s rights and gender equality. Actually, we just had the confirmations of Hadja Lahbib, where she goes into questions of preparedness, crisis management, and equality. Tell me, where are we on that? How much is there still to be done? How much of your time here at the European Parliament is focused on gender equality, something we do care about a lot?
Lucia Yar: I find equality issues to be an extremely horizontal topic. I think many Renew Europe members in the European Parliament feel the same way. They also understand that we need to bring these ideas into different committees. I am part of the Gender Equality Committee, but I also work in the Budget Committee, the Foreign Affairs Committee, and the Rule of Law and Human Rights Committee. In all these areas, I try to bring the principles of gender equality into the conversation. For example, in the Budget Committee, I deal with gender budgeting, which is an interesting topic.
My main topic here in the European Parliament is security, and I was in the past also an expert on defence and international security. I’m also talking about regional security, because coming from the region where I’m coming from, people are feeling that security a little bit differently than people for instance in Portugal, right? Not just because of Ukraine, but also because of how far economically the region is, but also security on the individual level.
And if we are not able to ensure the security across the people, all kinds of people, then what we are doing, why do we give more rights to the others? Or why are we taking some from the others? It is an important topic to me also because of feeling how much of backlash we get. And if you look at the statistics, yes, there was a gender movement and Me Too Movement two-three years ago for when it became a little bit more emotional for everyone. We kind of saw it these times much strongly. Now when people are dealing with the basic security issues because of war, basic security issue because of food prices and housing prices, then the topic of equalities is put aside.
Statistics are showing us this, people are clicking on these things much, much less. And I think we need to keep up that fire, because it a baseline to me. If I don’t see you as an equal to me, how am I going to see you? And the European Union simply needs to have this view as a bedrock of whatever it is doing in budget, even in defence.
I was asking the commissioner, and people were angry with me, why am I asking the Commissioner for Defence? I asked him about how he intends to implement gender mainstreaming into defence. Yes, all the questions were exhausting. I could say I was at the very end, and I just didn’t want to ask the same thing that he heard before. But when I put it on social networks, I got a major backlash. Why are you talking about this?
But gender equality is important everywhere. Even in the army, if we don’t have the uniforms that are fitting, we just don’t have a prerogative for saving people, women, whoever in the battleground, if we don’t put away sexism from training, it is influencing everybody, all the soldiers. So, there are many, many gender elements in every single area that we are dealing with. And once, and this is what happened to me, once I put this gender glasses on my face, I just cannot put it off. If I come to the meeting room, there are all these men at our Budget Committee. I’m the only woman. I could just not stop noticing this. And I think people should also see it.
Ricardo Silvestre: But for example, to have the president of the European Commission saying, no, we need gender equality in the commissioners, and we must have it. I won’t give up on that. So those are some positive steps.
Lucia Yar: Very quickly, can I just react on this? Especially with the Hadja Lahbib because I talked to her. We were talking just the two of us. And she was saying, yeah, a lot of people are telling me that I only was nominated because I’m a woman. And I said, yes, exactly. I mean, you have this unique experience. This is a good thing. We have statistics, and we know there are all kinds of studies on it, that if at the table of decision makers there is much more diverse group of people, if there are women at the table, the decisions are more sustainable, they last longer, they are much better. People that are influenced by these decisions are much happier with the solutions. The peace is kept longer if women are also deciding on it. So, if we have these statistics, why don’t we put women at the table? And so, yes, those women were picked also because they had such extra experience that the other men simply didn’t have.
Ricardo Silvestre: And there’s got to be a normalisation of that equality. So what you were saying, and we’re saying the same thing, which is even if you have to impose, it then becomes normal and then when becomes normal, then it’s not weird anymore. It’s not just like, oh, we have women at the table. And then other people will say, well, of course we do, of course, yes, exactly.
Well, I have a couple more minutes with you, but I really want to go into this because I do know that you care about security and particularly European security. And as we were recording this, of course, we don’t know yet what will come from the United States. We’ll try not to get too much into that. But tell us also from your position, what are the steps that we’re taking to be more secure?
Lucia Yar: I think the idea of pulling and sharing what we are trying to do in the European Union when it comes to defence, security and our armies, this is an important part. I believe that this seemed to be the only way. Once we decide and once we work closely with NATO and we really support the European leg of NATO, just it simply cannot be bad.
And I am strong believer of the fact that once we invest in our defence, it is going to be much, much cheaper than if we would have to face Russian army at the border or inside the European Union. So this investment into preparedness, into self-defence is simply extremely needed. And I see that there is the sentiment across the European Union, we just need to figure out how to do it.
And I would also be happy to discuss own resources of the European Union in order to really pump up these ideas within the EU.
Ricardo Silvestre: And this also could be, and you and I, we are very pro European Union, our listeners know that from both of. I think that is also could be a rallying call for the idea of the European Union. And you’re just talking about Brexit, what that meant for people like you and I that care about the European Union project. But this cloud that could all of a sudden 2025 starts drifting into Europe, I hope that will make European Union stronger and some people will be very aware that we need to be together.
Lucia Yar: And we simply need to find topics where we can unite and keep us stronger. If defence is going to be one of these topics, great for us. I also want to say that because of this optimism or pessimism that is coming and fighting within the EU, I think even in the history, I mean, the world has been always saved by optimists. When are the pessimists saving anything? Why to be angry or pessimistic that Trump is going to ruin the European Union or there is going to be war? We have the means, we have the ideas, we just need to work on it.
Ricardo Silvestre: I amvery happy to have you also as the Vice President of the European Liberal Forum. Tell us, what is the motivation apart from your work that you have in European Parliament, but for our listeners that are more associated with the think tank – political foundation family.
Lucia Yar: When you asked me at the beginning, what am I missing from my previous work, this was exactly some element because I am coming from this journalism/think tank land and I was really thinking how to stick to it, how can still I work on that? And the European Liberal Forum just kind of appeared. I knew their work, of course, but I was very glad to get this opportunity to see how we can go a bit deeper and maybe to influence the work, also from the Eastern European side. I’m looking forward to work with everybody. We’re just starting it, putting people together and I’m very curious what we can do together.
I know how it is because I was on the other side. I know how sometimes think tankers feel, that’s a butterfly effect. We are just writing all kinds of stuff, we have meetings and not many people read these books and not many people come to these meetings. But no, everything is so, so important.
I see it from here, from my office, every time I get an email, every time I get this brochure, every time I see that book. The effort that is put into these ideas, it’s incredibly valuable and it really has an influence. I think the European liberals should also have strong forum where the ideas would be brewing and we would bring some liberal solutions, for the problems that we have today.
Ricardo Silvestre: So keep looking for that joint policy paper between me and MEP Lucia Yar where we’re going to solve the whole thing. You and I are going to write about democracy, journalism, security, and transatlantic relations. And this was amazing. Thank you so much for giving me some of your time.
But before you go, tell people where they can follow you online. Traditional things would be fine, I guess. Instagram is what we are working on mostly most of Progressive Slovakia. So I would also suggest those: Twitter, Facebook, and supposedly LinkedIn, but it’s kind of dying, I see. So all there.
Ricardo Silvestre: I’m going to put all these links on the podcast show notes. I’ve been talking with MEP Lucia Yar. Lucia, this was a delight. Thank you so much for talking to me.
Lucia Yar: Thank you very much for having me. It was really a pleasure.