‘The guidelines initiative was intended to illustrate the diversity of European culture and to show the inclusive nature of the Commission. However, the published version of the guidelines is not functional for this purpose. It is not a mature document and does not meet our quality standards. So I withdraw it and we will work on this document again ». This was declared by the EU Commissioner for Equality Helena Dalli, supervisor of the indications for external and internal EU communication who, in these hours, have raised various controversies, starting with the references to Christmas.
The “sovereign” trench
What did these infamous guidelines contain? Better “happy holidays” than “merry Christmas”. Via all gender references. Never assume a person’s sexual orientation. Don’t address the audience with the classic “ladies and gentlemen”. The European Union, with the internal document for the communication of the community institutions, drew up a sort of new linguistic decalogue in the sign of respect for any diversity. But the sovereign storm breaks out on the new guidelines. In Italy and in the rest of the continent. “Europe erases our Christian roots” was the trench raised by Lega and Fdi. While in Strasbourg the blue Antonio Tajani immediately forwarded a written question to the Commission to ask to change the indications.
The Brussels version
Brussels immediately defended itself: «We do not prohibit or discourage the use of the word Christmas, of course. Celebrating Christmas and using Christian names and symbols are part of the rich European heritage, ”explained sources from the European executive. But now the controversy was everywhere. The thirty-page document has an unequivocal title: “Union of Equality”. It read: “Everyone in the EU has the right to be treated equally” without references to “gender, ethnicity, race, religion, disability and sexual orientation. The words and images we use in our daily communication convey a message about who we are and who we are not, ”was the thesis of the guidelines. A thesis with different practical implications that the EU executive, in the document, divided by sectors.
What the EU Decalogue provided
In terms of gender, neutral nouns and pronouns were “preferable”. Rather than “he” or “she” (he or she), it is better to use a more generic “they”. Furthermore, never greet an audience with «ladies and gentlemen» but simply introduce yourself with «dear colleagues». And if you were addressing a woman it would have been wrong to assume her marital status: Ms. “In any textual or audiovisual content, diversity must be ensured” and in “any panel the gender balance ”, the guidelines still read. Which also addressed the issue of disability and age. Saying “elderly” can be offensive, better to use “older population”, was the invitation of Palazzo Berlaymont. And rather than writing or saying that a person “is disabled”, it was preferable to say that a person “has a disability”. As for the subject of sexual orientation, never say “a gay” but rather “a gay person”. Use the formula “a lesbian couple” and not “two lesbians”. Even in the representation of a family, words such as “husband”, “wife”, “father” or “mother” do not reflect the inclusive language desired by the EU. The address remained that of neutrality.