PN MEP Therese Comodini Cachia had called on the European Union to do more to protect fundamental human rights.

“The European Union is endowed with mechanisms that bind it to protect fundamental human rights and its institutions do not need any other mechanism to do so. But it does require more courage so as to be less coy in using those mechanisms which already empower it to take action, Dr Comodini Cachia said at the European Parliament in Strasbourg during a Plenary Debate on the situation of fundamental rights in the European Union.

Dr Comodini Cachia, a human rights lawyer by profession stated that protection of fundamental human rights is one of the basic values upon which the European Union is founded and that this value represents respect towards the person and towards that person´s dignity.

She called on leaders of Member States to refrain from using political rhetoric to justify their actions.

 "There is often an abyss between words and actions and within that abyss politicians tend to lose the moral high ground as well as the courage to take decisions in line with basic principles, without which they would be eating away at their citizens rights" reiterated the Maltese MEP, a member of the Human Rights Subcommittee (DROI) within the European Parliament.

Dr Comodini Cachia acknowledged that economic fragility, social pressures and emergency situations make political responsibility to respect human rights more onerous but stressed that moral insecurity and lack of political responsibility are often the true reasons behind violations.

Dr Comodini Cachia stressed that European citizens expect the European Institutions to take action to protect them from the adoption of practices of bad governance and of governance that violates the principles of accountability, transparency, social justice and solidarity often adopted by their own national governments.

This would strengthen people's resolve to stand up against the violation of their rights.

Therese Comodini Cachia is a member of the European People's Party (EPP) Group within the European Parliament.