EWL News

News typewritter Latest news from the European Women’s Lobby in Brussels

EWL News
Surrogacy: a global trade in women’s bodies

Sweden’s leading feminist lobby regards surrogate motherhood as a revival of serfdom for women

Posted on 31 October 2014 |

[Article of the Swedish Women’s Lobby, published in MercatorNet on 27 October 2014] The Swedish Women’s Lobby strongly opposes surrogate motherhood. Our position is that surrogacy is a trade with women’s bodies and children, as well as a threat to women’s basic human rights and bodily integrity.
Surrogacy is presently not legal in Sweden. However there is no legislation that regulates the fact that Swedish citizens use surrogate mothers abroad, and that their children have been brought to (...) Read more
EWL News
"Positive change for women and girls!": Inspiring conference Feminism in London! (25 October 2014)

Posted on 30 October 2014 |

[Brussels, 30 October 2014] The European Women’s Lobby (EWL) has actively participated to the annual conference Feminism in London (Eaves), Ifeoma Eze from [Femage World->http://www.femageworld.org, and Rachel Moran and Tanja Rahm from [SPACE International->http://spaceinternational.ie, explained how the sex industry exploits all forms of vulnerabilities and oppressions: sexist, classist, racist, including North/South oppression and discrimination against minority women. "The terminology (...) Read more
EWL News
Zagreb conference on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence

Posted on 28 October 2014 |

[Brussels, 28 October 2014] Over the past ten years, 300 women in Croatia have been killed by their husbands, partners, sons or other family members and although the trend is falling, 11 were killed last year and three in the first six months of this year, a conference in parliament heard on Tuesday.
The conference, which took place in Zagreb on the 21th of October 2014, was organised by the NGO “Centre for Women War Victims – ROSA”, member of the EWL Croatian Lobby, in cooperation with the (...) Read more
EWL News
DELIVER NOW!

Posted on 23 October 2014 |

[Strasbourg 21 October 2014]
Gathering outside the European Parliament (EP) in Strasbourg on the day of the 4th anniversary of the EP’s adoption of the Maternity Leave Directive, the European Women’s Lobby (EWL) made it clear that women in Europe will not wait another four years for equal maternity rights at a time when working conditions are becoming more precarious and women are facing more discrimination when pregnant and/or returning to work following child birth.
Calling on the EU (...) Read more
EWL News
A never-ending story: the composition of the European Commission again reveals its mainly male face

Groundhog years - The lack of gender parity in EU institutions – Back to the future

Posted on 22 October 2014 |

[Brussels, 22 October 2014] The proposed European Commission (EC) has just been approved by the European Parliament (EP) in Strasbourg. The current Commission consists of only nine women out of 28 which is no progress in comparison to the outgoing Barroso Commission.
“Before Jean-Claude Juncker was appointed president of the EC, he promised a modern and a female Commission. Unfortunately, this Commission is miles away from being a female Commission and is clearly not a mirror of European (...) Read more
EWL News
Launch of EWL Beijing+20 report in Lisbon, 10 October 2014

Posted on 17 October 2014 |

[Brussels, 14 October 2014] The launch of EWL Beijing+20 report through quotes of guests and participants.
Read EWL Beijing+20 report here. See some photos here, by Maya Angelou Sisterhood, by Melin W
Video message of UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka:
Presentation of the main outcomes of EWL Beijing+20 report by Pierrette Pape, EWL Policy Officer and Project Coordinator.
Teresa Morais, Portuguese Secretary of State of Parliamentary Affairs and Equality:
"Portugal will (...) Read more
EWL News
European Women’s Lobby phenomenal members meet in Lisbon

Viviane Teitelbaum re-elected as EWL President

Posted on 17 October 2014 |

[Brussels, 16 October 2014] Last week, over 130 members of the European Women’s Lobby (EWL) met in Lisbon during an Annual Meeting to discuss future strategies and elect a new Board of Administration and Executive Committee.
Strategy post 2015 – Call for a feminist Europe
Previous to the Annual Meeting the EWL launched its report ‘From Words to Action’ a review of the European Union’s activities 20 years after the commitments made at the Beijing Platform for Action of 1995.
With that tool in (...) Read more
EWL News
EWL on the road for a Feminist Europe

Posted on 17 October 2014 |

[Brussels, 17 October 2014] Next week the European Women’s Lobby goes to Strasbourg. On the programme:
20.10 // Feminist Meet and Greet Party
21.10 // Breakfast Training on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality for MEPs.
21.10 // Demonstration for the Maternity Leave Directive
21.10 // EIGE-EWL event on Beijing+20
Follow us on Twitter @EuropeanWomen #EWLontheroad Read more
EWL News
Participez à notre manifestation à l’occasion du 4ème anniversaire de la Directive Maternité! Mardi 21 Octobre, 14:00 - 15:00, Parlement européen, Strasbourg

Posted on 17 October 2014 |

[Bruxelles, 14 Octobre 2014] Il y a 4 ans, le 20 Octobre 2010, le Parlement européen a adopté en première lecture sa position sur la nouvelle directive européenne sur le congé maternité. Cependant, le blocage de cette proposition au Conseil de l’Union européenne et l’excuse de la crise économique et financière ont mené la Commission européenne en juin 2014 à menacer de retirer ce texte au nom de la « bonne gestion » du processus législatif.
Nous vous invitons à faire entendre votre voix pour s’assurer (...) Read more
EWL News
EWL calls for targets to address the feminisation of poverty and to include a gender dimension in macro-economic policies

Posted on 17 October 2014 |

[Brussels, 17/10/2014] On International Day of Eradication of Poverty, the European Women’s Lobby (EWL) stresses the urgency to address women’s poverty and calls for specific targets to meet the EU2020 headline target, which aims to lift 20 million people out of poverty by 2020. Since 2012, poverty rates in the EU have risen by six million, and in the absence of urgent action, including gender and social impact assessments of macro-economic policies, these figures are likely to rise.
At a (...) Read more