The importance of the European elections – women candidates take the floor in The Hague
A modern and genuine democracy requires gender equality
[Brussels, 2 May 2014] On 25 April 2014, the European Women’s Lobby attended an event in the context of the coming European elections, organised by the EWL Dutch Member Nederlandse Vrouwenraad and the Vereniging voor Vrouwenbelangen, a Dutch women’s rights organisation at the House of Europe in the Hague.
Six Dutch women candidates for the elections of May 2014 elaborated on their passion for politics, the core issues of their parties for these elections and especially on what they want to achieve for women in Europe. Among them Güliz Tomruk, mentee of the EWL Political Mentoring Network.
To place the debate in a broader perspective, Willemien Ruygrok, Dutch expert in the field of European and women’s issues, shed light on the development of European Union gender policies and what Europe has achieved for women in the meantime.
Elvira Buijink, Communications Officer at the EWL, presented the 50/50 campaign; the Joint Declaration and its prominent supporters, 50/50 events and the EWL Lobbying kit on the campaign.
Via the demands of this 50/50 campaign the European Women’s Lobby seeks to tackle the under-representation of women in EU decision-making which constitutes a serious democratic deficit and undermines the legitimacy of the contemporary democratic ideal of the European Union.
- Each Member State nominates one female and one male candidate for to the College of Commissioners and for all top jobs in the EU institutions;
- The Member States and Council of the EU to promote and ensure gender parity in the executive board and top positions of the European Central Bank;
- The political groups in the European Parliament nominate one female and one male candidate for President of the European parliament, and ensure gender parity in the nomination of chairpersons within Committees, as well as in the composition of the Bureaus;
- The European political parties to promote and ensure gender representation in their decision-making bodies and promote women candidates for decision-making positions in the European Parliament;
- National political parties compose their electoral lists in such a way as to ensure gender parity in outcome at the 2014 European Elections;
- The European Council puts women in decision-making high on the political agenda.
The candidate MEPs spoke out their support for the 50/50 campaign and the need for a true gender balance in all European institutions.
Find an extended article on the event on the website of Dutch EWL Member de Nederlandse Vrouwenraad
Pictures by Foroogh Daneshmand
