European & International News

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

European & International News
Find out what is coming next: International events on violence against women and girls

16 days of activism to end violence against women and girls 2017

Posted on 15 November 2017 |

[Brussels, 15 November 2017] The European Women’s Lobby (EWL) is pleased to outline some of the international events on violence against women happening in the coming weeks, organised by EWL members or in which EWL representatives will be taking part.
On the 20th of November the 3rd Annual Colloquium on fundamental rights, organised by the European Commission will take place in Brussels organised by the European Commission. This years’ focus will be on “Women’s rights in turbulent times” and (...) Read more
European & International News
2017 Annual Colloquium on Fundamental Rights

Posted on 14 November 2017 |

[Brussels, 14 November, Communication from DG Justice, European Commission] The 2017 Annual Colloquium on Fundamental Rights will take place in Brussels on 20 and 21 November. This year’s focus will be on "Women’s rights in turbulent times". The objective of the Annual Colloquium is to improve mutual cooperation and greater political engagement for the promotion and protection of key fundamental rights in the EU.
This year’s Colloquium will be a forum in which political decision-makers in the (...) Read more
European & International News
European Social Summit // November 17

OUR EUROPE: Civil society & the future of the EU

Posted on 10 November 2017 |

[Brussels, 10 November 2017] Together with the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, Sweden’s Prime Minister Stefan Löfven will host a Social Summit.
Follow the Summit via #SocialSummit17
Visual: Social Platform & European Youth Forum Social Media Camapign Read more
European & International News
Women of Europe Awards 2017

Posted on 10 November 2017 |

[Brussels, 10 November 2017] The Women of Europe Awards are organised by the European Movement International and the European Women’s Lobby, building upon the national awards of several National European Movement Councils. The awards are handed out annually to honour women striving to advance the European project in their professional or private capacity.
The role of women in the European project remains largely unrecognised, and the awards highlight the contribution of women in promoting (...) Read more
European & International News
Women in power: Major inequalities remain across Europe

Council of Europe report shows

Posted on 6 November 2017 |

[Brussels, 6 November 2017] The Council of Europe recently published a report on balanced participation of women and men in political and public decision-making.
The report shows that European countries are still struggling to achieve gender balance in public decision-making, according to a new report from the Council of Europe. The report looks at progress made by 46 countries towards the goal set by the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers in 2003 of having at least 40% of both men (...) Read more
European & International News
The European Parliament adopts a strong report on the EU accession to the Istanbul Convention

Posted on 29 September 2017 |

[Brussels, 29 September 2017] The European Women’s Lobby welcomes the adoption of a key European Parliament resolution on the EU accession to the Istanbul Convention where we marked 20 years of action by the EWL’s Observatory on violence against women and girls. The two EP rapporteurs, Ms Corazza Bildt (EPP, Sweden, FEMM Committee) and Ms Christine Revault D’Allonnes Bonnefoy (S&D, France, LIBE Committee), took part at the event and explained their key political vision for a Europe where (...) Read more
European & International News
EWL joins 5.2 Global Partnership and calls for a strong gender dimension in the new Global Action Plan to end trafficking

Posted on 18 September 2017 |

[Brussels, 18 September 2017] On September 27 and 28, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly and Member States will review the Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons (launched in 2010) and issue a Political Declaration outlining the way forward in the fight against trafficking.
In its definition of exploitation, the 2010 Action Plan defines includes "the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or (...) Read more
European & International News
New CEDAW General Recommendation 35 prioritises gender-based violence against women

Posted on 15 September 2017 |

[Brussels, 15 September 2017] In July 2017, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee) adopted a new General Recommendation, which builds on a previous key document, General Recommendation 19.
General Recommendation 35 updates the previous text, and provides a strong reference and tool for advocacy action for women’s organisations. Taking stock of the developments of the last 25 years, GR 35 reaffirms the UN commitment to a world free from violence (...) Read more
European & International News
Joint EU Trio Declaration on Equality between Women & Men

Posted on 23 August 2017 |

[19 August 2017] One month ago, on 19 July 2017, the current presidency, Estonia, together with future presidencies - Bulgaria (latter part of 2017) and Austria (first semester 2018) adopted a joint trio Declaration on Equality between Women and Men in which they commit to placing gender equality high on the EU’s political agenda, including in discussions on the Future of Europe and the future EU’s Multi-Annual Financial Framework (MFF). For more details on the meeting, click here.
The Trio (...) Read more
European & International News
EU signs the Istanbul Convention and commits to end violence against women and girls

Posted on 14 June 2017 |

[Strasboug, 13 June 2017] Today, the EU sent a very strong political message on its commitment to end violence against women and girls by signing the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, the Istanbul Convention. The Maltese Presidency and the European Commission, represented by Ms. Věra Jourová, Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, signed the Istanbul Convention on behalf of the EU in Strasbourg.
The (...) Read more