European & International News

International news globe All the latest news from the European Union, its member states, and beyond.

European & International News
European Commission refers the Netherlands to the Court for failing to protect parental leave rights

Posted on 1 February 2013 |

[Brussels, 01 February 2013] Last week, the European Commission refered the Netherlands to the Court of Justice of the European Union for an insufficient protection of new parents when they return to work. Dutch legislation is still not in compliance with the Directive 2006/54/EC of 5 July 2006 on the implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in matters of employment and occupation (recast).
In 2007 and 2009, the European Commission (...) Read more
European & International News
57th session of the CSW: priority theme will be the elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls

Posted on 31 January 2013 |

[Brussels, 31 January 2013] The fifty-seventh session of the Commission on the Status of Women will take place at United Nations Headquarters in New York from 4 to 15 March 2013.
This 2013 session will deal with the priority theme of the elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls.
In November 2012, EWL released a written statementcalling for strong conclusions demanding comprehensive strategies from every actors.
More information about the 57th session of (...) Read more
European & International News
Regulatory pressure gets the ball rolling: Share of women on company boards up to 15.8% in Europe

Posted on 31 January 2013 |

[Brussels, 25 January 2013] Today the Commission released mid-term figures on the share of women on boards in publicly listed companies. The new figures show an increase in the number of women on boards to 15.8%, up from 13.7% in January 2012. This breaks down into an average of 17% of non-executive board members (up from 15% in January 2012) and 10% of executive board members (up from 8.9%). An increase in the share of women on boards has been recorded in all but three EU countries (...) Read more
European & International News
EU internal commitments to women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights need to match external, MEPs hear

Posted on 25 January 2013 |

[Brussels, 25 January 2013] Members of the European Parliament heard on 23 January that EU countries need to match their commitment to women’s sexual and reproductive health in internal policies with their external demands.
In a Public Hearing organised by the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, MEPs and panelists called for a more incisive role of the EU in fostering the sharing of best practices and law harmonisation among Member States in the field of sexual and reproductive (...) Read more
European & International News
Belgium - Women’s organisations establish a Feminist Socio-Economic Platform

Posted on 25 January 2013 |

[Brussels, 25 January 2013] The Feminist Socio-Economic Platform was set up by a board alliance of 21 French-speaking and Dutch-speaking women’s organisations to draw attention to the impact of the government’s economic policies on women and gender equality. Increasingly budgetary decisions are being made to reduce public deficits, putting extensive pressure on governments to revise their budgetary policies, all which is happening in the absence of a gender equality framework.
The (...) Read more
European & International News
Women just 17% of delegates at Davos as Reding discusses need for quotas

Posted on 25 January 2013 |

[Brussels, 25 January 2013] Women’s economic decision-making power has caught the headlines again this week. As the world’s most influential leaders from business, government and academia converge at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, women make up just 17% of the delegates, the same as last year. Although quotas exist to encourage organisations to include women amongst their delegation (they must include one woman for every four men), the conference once again highlights the (...) Read more
European & International News
Gender-sensitive asylum policies crucial for protection of women’s human rights, MEPs hear

Posted on 23 January 2013 |

[Brussels, 23 January 2013] On monday 21 January, the GENSEN report "Gender-related asylum claims in Europe: A comparative analysis of law, policies and practice focusing on women in nine EU Member States" was presented to the EP Femm Committee.
This report, which was released in may 2012, provides a comparative analysis of laws, procedures, reception and detention conditions of asylum-seekers in nine EU countries (France, Belgium, Hungary, Italia, Malta, Romania, Spain, Sweden and (...) Read more
European & International News
Croatia and Portugal sign Council of Europe Convention on violence against women

Posted on 22 January 2013 |

[Brussels, 22 January 2013] Croatia has become the 26th country to sign the Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, the first international convention which creates a comprehensive legal framework and approach to combat violence against women.
In Portugal, the president of the Portuguese Republic has signed the ratification of the Convention (See Official Journal of 21 January 2013) which is nearly the final step to the ratification.
The (...) Read more
European & International News
European Economic and Social Committee welcomes gender dimension of the EU strategy on trafficking

Posted on 11 January 2013 |

[Brussels, 10 January 2013] The European Economic and Social committee (EESC) has adopted its opinion on the EU Strategy towards the Eradication of Trafficking in Human Beings 2012–2016. The European Women’s Lobby (EWL) welcomes this opinion, which calls for strong and coordinated action to end trafficking for sexual exploitation.
In its opinion, the EESC stresses on the need to financially support victim support associations, as "this strategy cannot be applied without active support from (...) Read more
European & International News
The Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union unveils its priorities

Posted on 11 January 2013 |

[Brussels, 11 January 2013] On 01 January 2013, Ireland took over the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU). The new presidency will focus on securing stability, ensuring that ithis can lead to jobs and growth.
The core principles that will guide Ireland in its six-month term are: People-centered recovery, designed to last Investment in job-friendly growth and in Europe’s resources Europe and the world: a win-win engagement with our partners
The pressing priority is (...) Read more