Equality between women and men is one the missions of the European Community and has been an important European policy for several decades; a large body of EC law also exists in this area. The European Constitutional Treaty reinforces further gender equality in several ways.
The evaluation made by the European Women’s Lobby of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action after 10 years showed some progress for women’s rights in the EU but also many weaknesses, particularly in terms of the allocation of human and financial resources to enable the effective implementation of the gender mainstreaming strategy in European policies. The creation of a new European Gender Equality Institute presents an opportunity to reinforce the effectiveness of the EU gender equality policies and programmes. It is therefore crucial that the tasks, functions and budget of the Gender Institute are adapted to the general aim of achieving gender equality in the European Union and completes existing strategies and bodies. DOWNLOAD THE FULL DOCUMENT: EWL position paper European gender institute EN
