COMMITTEE ON WOMEN'S RIGHTS AND GENDER EQUALITY

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1 COMMITTEE ON WOMEN'S RIGHTS AND GENDER EQUALITY

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3 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. PROGRAMME NOTE ON THE NCEO BACKGROUND NOTE WORKING DOCUMENT ON GENDER MEANSTREAMING IN THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTIONS...35 European Parliament resolution on gender mainstreaming in the work of the committees European Parliament resolution on gender mainstreaming in the European Parliament ANNEX: LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

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5 Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality Celebration of the International Women's Day 2008 With the participation of the Network NCEO/CCEC of National Parliaments Seminar on "Gender mainstreaming in parliamentary work" Thursday, 6 March 2008 from to European Parliament, Hemicycle, rue Wiertz, Brussels Chair: Dr. Anna Záborská 1.PROGRAMME Welcome by Dr. Anna Záborská, Chair of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality Ms Marjeta Cotman, Minister of Labour, Family and Social Affairs, Republic of Slovenia (Council Presidency) Ms Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou, Vice-President of the European Parliament, Chair of the High-Level Group on Gender Equality and Diversity Mr Vladimír Špidla, Member of the European Commission responsible for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities DEBATE-STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS OF NATIONAL AND EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTS Lunch break CONTINUATION OF DEBATE-STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS OF NATIONAL AND EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTS Conclusions and closure 5/52

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7 2.NOTE ON THE NCEO 7/52

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9 THE NCEO Creation The Conference of the Parliamentary Committees responsible for the policy of Equal Opportunities between Women and Men in the Member States of the European Union and in the European Parliament (NCEO) met for the first time on 22 and 23 May This was an initiative of the Advisory committee for Equal Opportunities between Women and Men of the Belgian Senate, with the supported of the European Commission. This "network" of Parliamentary Committees was created in the light of the Intergovernmental Conference, which led to the Treaty of Maastricht. Its objective was to reinforce the right of women and of men to equality in the Treaties of the European Union. After a series of annual meetings which served to increase understanding on issues of common interest, the preparation of a draft Constitution by the European Convention offered an opportunity for the NCEO to pursue its initial objective of strengthening the equality provisions in the founding treaties of the European Union. The annual meeting on November 2002, under Danish presidency, took up this fundamental issue again in a "declaration" sent to all Conventionals. A meeting between members of the parliamentary committees concerned with some members of the Praesidium of the Convention which took place on 2 October 2002, prepared the ground. The initiative of this meeting was taken by the Committee on Women's Rights and Equal Opportunities of the European Parliament. Objectives of the network This network establishes a structural co-operation between the committees responsible for the policy of equal opportunities of women and of men (NCEO) in the national Parliaments of the Member States of the European Union and in the European Parliament. The objectives are: Improve communication, exchange of information and ideas, and common understanding between the members of the parliamentary committees in charge of women's rights Intensify the debate between elected experts on gender equality in the European Union Monitor European gender equality policy in parliamentary work. Meetings of the network The network of the NCEO, until now, has held annual meetings organised by the parliament of the country which holds the presidency of the Council in the second semester of each year. Extraordinary meetings can be convened, such as the one 9/52

10 organised this year in celebration of the International Women's Day, by the committee on women's rights and gender equality. The following meetings have been held: Helsinki, 31 October - 1 November 2006 Issues of the Conference: - women and globalisation - women in armed conflicts - rights of minorities The Hague, 4-5 November 2004 Issues of the Conference: - women's economic independence - women from immigrant groups and ethnic minorities - Brussels, 6 April European Parliament Extraordinary conference Issues of the conference: - women in the European elections - gender Equality in the draft Constitutional Treaty - gender Equality legislation outside the labour market Rome, November 2003 Issues of the Conference: - gender equality in the framework of the future European Constitutional Treaty. - gender equality in European elections - equal opportunity policies in an enlarged Europe: exchange of experiences. - Athens, 31 March in cooperation with the European Parliament (extraordinary meeting) Topic of the Conference: women and the European Convention 2002 Copenhagen, November 2002 Issues of the conference: - marginalization of women belonging to ethnic minorities - domestic violence against women - trafficking of women - the European Convention and gender equality 2001 Stockholm, October 2001 Issues of the conference: - mainstreaming of gender equality - pay differentials and wage discrimination - demography and low birth rates 10/52

11 2000 Berlin, November 2000 Issues of the conference: - gender equality: achievements and set backs - women in the public service and the private sector - review of the objectives, the functioning and the working methods of the NCEO 1999 Madrid, November 1999 Issues of the conference: - combining family life and political life 1998 Lisbon, October 1998 Issues of the conference: - participation of women in political decision-making - fifth action program on equal opportunities between men and women ( ) 1997 Brussels, May 1997 First annual conference Topic of the conference: the right to equality of women and men in the European Treaties For more information, please visit the website of the European Parliament's Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality: 11/52

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13 3.BACKGROUND NOTE 13/52

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15 GENDER MAINSTREAMING IN EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT'S WORK BACKGROUND NOTE The initiative to intensify the integration of the gender dimension into the parliamentary work and the personnel policy was taken in the resolution of 13 March 2003 on "Gender mainstreaming in the European Parliament", based on the owninitiative report by the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (Rapporteur: Lissy Gröner, PSE). In the mentioned resolution, the Parliament committed itself to adopt and implement a policy plan for gender mainstreaming, based mainly on: - setting up a High-level Group on Gender Equality; - mainstreaming gender in the activities in the work of the other committees and delegations; - drawing up an annual report on gender mainstreaming in the EP committees' and delegations' work, prepared by the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality; - appointing a member (the Chair or a Vice-chair) responsible for implementing gender mainstreaming in the work of each committee/delegation; - prioritising areas or subjects where gender mainstreaming could be relevant. On 25 February 2004, the Bureau of the European Parliament adopted a decision establishing the High-Level Group on Gender Equality. On 12 November 2007, the Bureau modified the mandate and title of the High-Level Group, now called High Level Group on Gender Equality and Diversity. The High-Level Group has a role to encourage gender mainstreaming across Parliament's activities (both in process and in policies), and to integrate the gender dimension in the work of parliamentary committees. The Group is composed as follows: Chair: Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou (Vice-President of the European Parliament) Members: Luisa Morgantini (Vice-President of the European Parliament) Anna Záborská (Chair of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality) Gerardo Galeote (Chair of the Conference of Committee Chairmen) Astrid Lulling (Quaestor) Miguel Angel Martínez Martínez and Mario Mauro (Vice-Presidents of the European Parliament in charge of staff policy) Raimon Obiols i Germà (Chair of the Conference of Delegation Chairmen). On 22 December 2006, the Parliament adopted the first report on gender mainstreaming in the work of the committees, after a preparatory work started in October 2005 (Rapporteur: Anna Záborská, EPP-ED). The next report on gender mainstreaming will be prepared during 2008, and it will include the work of parliamentary delegations as well. In order to have a more efficient evaluation of the progress realised, the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality decided at the early stage to adopt a report every two years. 15/52

16 Methodology and role of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality The Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality is competent for the implementation and further development of gender mainstreaming in all policy sectors. In that perspective, the committee not only adopts gender-relevant opinions on legislative and non-legislative reports of other committees, but it also draws the attention to the specific situation of women in all policies or in various sectors, through the adoption of own-initiative reports (for example industry, rural areas, international politics or immigration). The methodology used by the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality in its gender mainstreaming work is a twin-track approach: - regular exchanges of views between the committee and Chairs o Vice-Chairs responsible for implementing gender mainstreaming in the work of each committee. This phase is useful both for the committee, that has a clear picture of the activities and the strategy to integrate the gender dimension in each committee's work, and for the Member responsible, who can gather political support to strengthen the mainstreaming activities in the respective policy field. A network has also been set-up to foster the exchange of views among all Chairs or Vice-chairs responsible for gender mainstreaming. - in order to obtain reliable data concerning the work of Parliament's committees a questionnaire is circulated among all the Members responsible for gender mainstreaming in each committee. The questionnaire is comprising four main parts: (1) the scope of the committee responsible; (2) the gender equality strategy and short and long-term objectives to be achieved; (3) implementation of the equality principle in the context of the committees' work, and (4) expert assessment of equality between men and women, and consultation and cooperation between the committee responsible and other departments inside and outside Parliament. The network of Chairs or Vice-Chairs responsible for gender mainstreaming, is supported by a network of administrators responsible for gender mainstreaming in each committee secretariat, whose tasks are mainly to prepare the exchange of views in the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality, to exchange best practices (drawing up of mission statements or action plans, gender impact assessment, cooperation on reports, etc.), to assess the needs for specific training in secretariats and to follow-up the gender-relevant activities in each committee. 16/52

17 4.WORKING DOCUMENT ON GENDER MEANSTREAMING IN THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 17/52

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19 EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality WORKING DOCUMENT on the integrated approach to equality between men and women in the work of the committees (INI/2005/2149) Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality Rapporteur: Anna Záborská EN DT\631204EN.doc PE v01-00 EN

20 In the general context of protecting and promoting the rights of the individual, Europe s national and supranational institutions are responsible for promoting equality between men and women and enabling both sexes to play a full role in society, for combating any attempts to undermine women s freedom and dignity (by combating - for example - violence against women and trafficking in human beings), for eliminating forms of discrimination based on sex and for promoting a balanced representation of men and women in public life. The dignity and the role of women are a constant topic of discussion both for individuals and for institutions and in recent years that topic has acquired particular prominence, with particular regard to the Community's cross-cutting Lisbon Strategy policies and in relation to the demographic challenge. In this wide and diverse context which is concerned mainly with protecting and promoting human rights, women contribute a specific value both on account of the essential nature of the human individual and on account of their femininity. Where fundamental rights are concerned the right to non-discrimination is currently guaranteed under EU law by means of Article 14 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR), which has been signed and ratified by all the EU Member States. At the moment that convention constitutes the sole legal basis for outlawing any form of discrimination within Europe and it enables the European Court of Human Rights to censure the countries which infringe those rights. However, imbalances between men and women are still a feature of all areas of public life. The integrated approach to equality between men and women is one of the strategies established in order to remedy this state of affairs. According to the Council of Europe definition (which is supported by all the Member States), the integrated approach involves (re)organising, improving, developing and assessing the decision-taking processes with a view to incorporating the prospect of equality between men and women into all areas and at all levels - a task to be undertaken by the individuals generally involved in implementing policies. The integrated approach to equality is not a replacement for specific policies designed to remedy states of affairs resulting from inequalities between the sexes; rather, it is to be viewed as a strategy complementary to traditional policies. The Commission has implemented a number of measures designed to promote equality between men and women - as demonstrated by the Green Paper on equality and nondiscrimination 1 - and each year it submits a report on the progress achieved in the incorporation of the equality dimension in strategic areas. In order to set its own political commitment within an institutional framework, Parliament has adopted a resolution on an integrated approach to equality between men and women in the work of Parliament. That resolution provides the starting point for this report 2. This working document has the merit of being the first Parliament document devoted to a specific assessment of the implementation of the integrated approach to equality between men and women in the political work of Parliament s committees. Three basic comments need to be made concerning substance, future prospects and the methodology employed. Firstly, the committee members cannot disguise the political and technical dynamic inherent in each topic with which they deal - a dynamic which depends both on the powers provided 1 Commission communication of 21 February 1996 entitled Incorporating equal opportunities for women and men into all Community policies and activities (COM(96) 67 final). 2 (P5_TA(2003)0098, para. 7. DT\631204EN.doc 2/15 PE v01-00 EN

21 for under the Rules of Procedure and on the members' interests. This internal dynamic also determines the attention paid to the specific challenge posed by the integrated approach to equality in Parliament s various committees and also the nature of the replies furnished by the vice-chairmen in connection with the assessment process. Parliament itself should ask itself a few questions in advance about the way in which it promotes an integrated approach. This should not under any circumstances result in a moral condemnation of individuals. The rapporteur nonetheless appeals to her colleagues goodwill and calls upon them to demonstrate creativity in devising and implementing strategies with a view to making the integrated approach a reality where such a policy aspect proves appropriate. The assessment initiated here will become operational as the committee members submit regular accounts concerning the implementation of the integrated approach to equality. Since the committees respond twice per legislative period to enquiries from the committee responsible, the integrated approach should become consolidated within the committee and consideration could be given to the idea of drawing up useful recommendations for each of those committees. This should be emphasised on account of the fact that the assessment must of necessity avoid making a comparison between, for example, DEVE, ITRE and CULT by virtue of their different powers and responsibilities laid down in the Rules of Procedure. Future assessment will highlight the way in which each committee strives to implement the integrated approach to equality in the context of its powers and responsibilities. Next, a word on the methodology employed. The chairman of the committee responsible has set out along a twin track. Firstly, she has regularly throughout the year invited the vice-chairmen in charge of the integrated approach within each committee to attend exchanges of views with members of the committee responsible. By virtue of its originality, this initiative has been welcomed by all the members concerned. Thanks are also due to the Director-General of internal policies for having responded to this concern within the committee secretariats, which often facilitated cooperation with the secretariat of the committee responsible. On 10 July 2006, all the vicechairmen were invited to attend an exchange of views with the committee responsible. The purpose of that exchange was threefold: firstly, familiarisation with the assessment of the integrated approach to equality in the context of parliamentary business; secondly, clarification of the questionnaire devised for the purpose; thirdly, joint adoption of the timetable to be applied. Secondly, in order to obtain reliable data concerning the work of Parliament's committees the rapporteur asked the vice-chairmen to answer a 25-question questionnaire comprising four main parts: (1) the scope of the committee responsible; (2) sex-equality strategy and shortand long-term objectives to be achieved; (3) implementation of the equality principle in the context of the committees' work; (4) expert assessment of equality between men and women, consultation and cooperation between the committee responsible and other departments inside and outside Parliament. By the time the working document was finalised, 19 out of 21 committees had responded to the request (AFCO, AFET, AGRI, BUDG, CULT, DEVE, ECON, EMPL, ENVI, IMCO, INTA, ITRE, JURI, LIBE, PECH, PETI, REGI, SEDE, TRAN). The annex to the working document contains a quantitative analysis of the replies obtained. What follows is a qualitative analysis of the four parts into which the questionnaire is divided. Traditionally, in order to consolidate the integrated approach to equality in the various political spheres the committee responsible uses the tool of opinions relating to the reports DT\631204EN.doc 3/15 PE v01-00 EN

22 drawn up by other parliamentary committees. Many opinions are adopted which are concerned with ensuring that the gender dimension is taken into account in Parliament's reports and resolutions. In the course of the sixth parliamentary term the FEMM committee issued 47 opinions intended mainly for the EMPL, LIBE and CULT committees. Ten opinions are currently being drawn up. We have carried out an analysis of the impact which those opinions have had on the vote in the committees responsible and on the vote in plenary, with varying results. Sixteen of the 38 resolutions adopted in plenary incorporate over half of the FEMM committee's amendments. In 10 resolutions, between 25 and 50% of the FEMM conclusions/amendments appear in the final text. Three FEMM opinions have been incorporated wholesale into resolutions and in two cases the FEMM opinion has been entirely rejected. With a view to further consolidating the incorporation of the integrated approach of equality into each report, the rapporteur from the committee responsible is always invited to attend the exchanges of views or examinations of opinions within the FEMM committee. However, the rapporteur rarely takes part. One explanation could be a lack of time or the fact that meetings of the committee responsible and of the committee asked for an opinion are held at the same time. Another problem concerns observance of Rules 46(3) and 46(6) of the Rules of Procedure which relate to the timetable and emphasise the need for the committees asked for their opinions to be given an opportunity to prepare their opinion in good time. Rule 46(6) stipulates that the chairman and draftsman of the committees asked for their opinion shall be invited to take part in an advisory capacity in meetings of the committee responsible, insofar as these relate to the matter of common concern. If those rules were applied systematically the FEMM committee's opinions would no doubt have greater impact. A. Scope [questions 5, 6 and 7] Fifteen committees state that within their respective committee, matters relating to the integrated approach to equality are always or sometimes important, whereas three committees state that such issues are never or only rarely important. In the light of the powers and responsibilities of the various committees as laid down in the Rules of Procedure, the following key sectors where the gender dimension is relevant are as follows: AFCO: European political parties, institutional reform; AFET: equality in the drawing-up of reports and opinions, observance of the quotas for the allocation of experts invited to public hearings, discussion of the equality dimension with experts; AGRI: rural development, the common agricultural policy and forests; BUDG: 'gender budgeting' as a very important topic across the board; CULT: education, youth, culture, information society, media, sport; DEVE: socio-economic dimension of cooperation policy, humanitarian aid, human rights; ECON: Lisbon Strategy, major economic-policy guidelines, integrated growth and employment guidelines; taxation; competition, services of general interest; insurance, pensions; EMPL: all areas for which the committee is responsible, with particular reference to working conditions and discrimination on the employment market and the various aspects of discrimination on the employment market (race, health, age, sex); DT\631204EN.doc 4/15 PE v01-00 EN

23 ENVI: all areas relating to public health, (HIV/AIDS, breast cancer), protection of the environment (use of pesticides, waste management, etc); IMCO: consumer protection; INTA: aspects of development; ITRE: Research, industry and SMEs; LIBE: trafficking in human beings, action to combat discrimination, minorities, Gender Institute, integration; PECH: coastal fishing, aquaculture and the processing industry, management and marketing, structural policy in the fisheries and aquaculture sector; REGI: the various EU structural funds concerned with regional development, assessment of the impact which other Community policies on the economy and social cohesion; SEDE: ESDP missions (in particular: civilian and military crisis management): staff policy and the conduct of staff deployed amongst the local population; mines/ordnance; disarmament, demobilisation and the reintegration process in post-conflict countries; TRAN: public transport, road safety, urban transport and tourist travel; Twelve committees give examples of cases in which they have already introduced the integrated approach to equality in their work: AFCO: Reports on European political parties and on the rules applying to Members in the event of maternity or paternity; AFET: on the forefront in promoting gender equality and women's rights in international affairs, regularly including related provisions in its reports; improvements achieved in funding for related initiatives in the foreign policy area; AGRI: 'Report on women in rural areas of the EU in the light of the mid-term review of the common agricultural policy' (2002/2241(INI)); 'Report on Strategic Guidelines for Rural Development' (A6-0023/2006) BUDG: revision of budget lines within the annual budgetary procedure in 1997, in line with the exigencies of equal treatment of men and women; FEMM amendments to the resolution on the draft general budget 2006 (A6-0309/2005, par. 37); ECON: reports on GOPES and Lisbon EMPL: legislative - Directive on working time; opinions on dossiers of particular importance as far as gender issues are concerned, e.g. the recast directive on equal treatment. non-legislative - employment guidelines and the report on the social policy agenda ENVI: coordinators will discuss possibly selecting one dossier for a test case. IMCO: Directive on services INTA: report on trade and poverty reduction; LIBE: the Gender Institute; PECH: European Fisheries Fund (rapporteur: David Casa - A6-0217/2006), report entitled 'Women's networks: fisheries, agriculture and diversification' (A6-0341/2005, and a public hearing; SEDE: AFET opinion (prepared by SEDE) for the FEMM report on the situation of women in armed conflicts and their role in reconstruction and the democratic process in countries after a conflict (2005/2215(INI), discussions about the staffing of the EU Border Assistance Mission in Rafah, EUPOL COPPS in Palestinian territories, the EU Aceh Monitoring Mission and the ESDP mission to DR Congo; TRAN: in the framework of amendments on the reports and opinions of the Committee. DT\631204EN.doc 5/15 PE v01-00 EN

24 B. Strategy concerning gender mainstreaming [questions 8, 9] Thirteen of Parliament's committees have neither discussed nor adopted a strategy on the gender dimension in the sectors concerned. AFCO, AFET, AGRI and PECH have, however, discussed a strategy and REGI had adopted one (see Annex 2). So far, no committee has established specific targets for implementing a strategy. However, REGI is expecting to develop a long-term strategy following the implementation of the pilot scheme in agreement with FEMM. The chairman of ECON has asked all the political groups to appoint a person responsible for gender mainstreaming, so that they can jointly draw up a blueprint for a strategy to be submitted to the coordinators. TRAN has launched an initial debate. C. Implementation of gender mainstreaming [Questions 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15] Most of the committees have set future topics. AFET: a. Opinion on trafficking (Report of LIBE), b. Reform in the Arab world (Hearing and INI Report), c. Political and economic reform in neighbouring countries (passim); AGRI: Report on Strategic Guidelines for Rural Development (A6-0023/2006) to be used 'expo facto': lessons learned; BUDG: Report on budget 2007 (i.e. for all sections) and report on budgets for the following years; DEVE: Opinion on Roadmap to FEMM; ECON: (a) Integrated guidelines for growth and employment (b) services of general interest state aid and public contracts (c) Lisbon (d) pensions; EMPL: a Reports on: Decent work for all, portability of pensions, posting of workers, opinion on the Roadmap for equality, Action Plan for disabled people, b. Studies on the costs of childcare, healthcare financing, active labour market policies; ENVI: Thematic strategy on pesticides (possible additional themes but still to be discussed by coordinators); IMCO: Possible future themes: "Review of consumer acquis" or opinion on an own-initiative report on "Promoting healthy diets and physical activity: a European dimension for the prevention of overweight, obesity and chronic diseases"; ITRE: Women and science; JURI: Report: Corporate Social Responsibility; LIBE: a. Trafficking in human beings, b. Anti-discrimination / Minorities/ Gender Institute, c. Integration; PECH: Conference on innovations in the fisheries sector, with particular emphasis on the role of women, organised by the Commission. REGI: Own-initiative report on "The role and effectiveness of cohesion policy in reducing disparities in the poorest regions of the EU"; SEDE: a. Follow-up on implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 by EU member States to be discussed in SEDE; b. Public Hearing on Lessons to be drawn from ESDP operations, both civilian and military (9 October 2006), possibly followed by an owninitiative report; c. Discussions related to the staffing of specific ESDP missions such as the DT\631204EN.doc 6/15 PE v01-00 EN

25 forthcoming ESDP mission to the DR Congo and the EU Police Mission in Kosovo; d. Draft report of AFET (prepared by SEDE) on the implementation of the European Security Strategy in the context of the ESDP (2006/2033(INI)); e. Small arms and Light Weapons and gender; f. Code of conduct for staff deployed under ESDP Missions. TRAN: a. Study "Woman and transport" b. Mid-term review of the White Paper on transport policy; c. Road safety; d. Tourism; AFCO: Difficult to assess as depending on the further development of the Constitutional process and EP Rules of Procedure; However, most of the committees replied that they had not yet implemented the integrated approach to quality between men and women. They have neither checked the availability of data/statistics broken down by sex, nor defined appropriate indicators, nor analysed the distribution of budget resources for each of their areas of action from the point of view of equality between men and women, nor given any consideration to the various methods to be used. D. Expertise, consultation and cooperation on the gender dimension [Questions 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 a, 20 b, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26] Eight of Parliament's committees have consulted experts, NGOs and/or other organisations working in the gender field, whereas 10 have not yet engaged in such consultation. On the other hand, 14 committees have already taken advantage of Parliament's internal expertise. In this connection, it should, however, be pointed out that expertise and consultation mainly involve cooperation between the committees and the FEMM committee. Most of the committees have not yet asked the Commission to assess the impact of an issue on equality between the sexes. Fifteen committees have said that cooperation between their committee and FEMM is regular or sporadic. Most of the committees replied that FEMM draftsmen are always invited to attend meetings of the committee responsible when the report is being discussed (pursuant to Rule 46(6) of the Rules of Procedure). However, only three committees have said that their rapporteurs are generally involved in the consideration of FEMM opinions. Lastly, sixteen committees have said that they regard cooperation between their committee's secretariat and the FEMM secretariat (close contact, joint drawing up of timetables, drawing up of voting lists, etc.) as either regular or sporadic. As regards expertise regarding gender issues within the secretariats, two think that their expertise is fairly good, 12 that it is in the process of being developed and three that it is nonexistent. Nonetheless, 11 committees are greatly interested in a training course within their secretariat. In this connection, AGRI (for example) has suggested that there should also be training for the committee members. Even though 16 committees consider that incorporating gender issues will improve the results of legislative and non-legislative political work and will therefore contribute to better DT\631204EN.doc 7/15 PE v01-00 EN

26 lawmaking (only one committee holds the opposite opinion), 17 committees say that they find no or very little time and resources for the performance of such a task. The questionnaire contained an option for making miscellaneous comments. Many committees act mainly in this area on the basis of information and suggestions from other committees - the FEMM Committee and the committees responsible (e.g. BUDG). Some committees find that the questionnaire is useful for the future development of gender equality as part of their work. However, they are asking for clarification of what FEMM is expecting from them (e.g. ENVI). Other committees say that the figures do not reflect the reality of the contribution made by women within the committees. It is also suggested that incorporating the gender aspect into reports and opinions will mean that the length of texts will have to be revised. The use of expertise is increasing, as is the demand for additional funds, training, a manual concerning sources to be consulted and statistics available, and so on. DT\631204EN.doc 8/15 PE v01-00 EN

27 ANNEX I COMMITTEE ON WOMEN'S RIGHTS AND GENDER EQUALITY Annual report on the integrated approach to equality between men and women in the committees work INI/2005/2149 (Rapporteur: Anna Záborská) Quantitative summary: summary of replies 1 We have received replies from 19 of the 21 committees with which we made contact: AFCO, AFET, AGRI, BUDG, CULT, DEVE, ECON, EMPL, ENVI, IMCO, INTA, ITRE, JURI, LIBE, PECH, PETI, REGI, SEDE, TRAN. COMMITTEE AFCO AFET AGRI BUDG CONT CULT DEVE DROI ECON Ignasi Guardans Cambó ALDE Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne ALDE Friedrich-Wilhelm Graefe zu Baringdorf VERTS/ALE Jan Mulder ALDE Petr Duchoň PPE-DE Pál Schmitt PPE-DE Danutė Budreikaitė ALDE Charles Tannock PPE-DE Pervenche Berès PSE CHAIRMAN OR VICE-CHAIRMAN RESPONSIBLE 1 This table contains information concerning questions of a quantitative nature. Questions 5 and 10 and the qualitative aspects are dealt with in the working document. DT\631204EN.doc 9/15 PE v01-00 EN

28 COMMITTEE EMPL ENVI INTA IMCO ITRE JURI LIBE PECH PETI REGI SEDE TRAN CHAIRMAN OR VICE-CHAIRMAN RESPONSIBLE Jan Andersson PSE Satu Hassi VERTS/ALE Giulietto Chiesa PPE-DE Arlene McCARTHY, Chairwoman (assisted by other Committee members on the basis of rotation between the Political Groups) Britta Thomsen PSE Katalin Lévai PSE Marie-Line Reynaud PSE Rosa Miguélez Ramos PSE Michael Cashman PSE Elspeth Attwooll ALDE Ana Maria Gomes PSE Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou PPE-DE DT\631204EN.doc 10/15 PE v01-00 EN

29 A. Scope 3. Is the committee more involved in legislative work (codecision, opinions), or essentially in nonlegislative work (own-initiative reports)? 4. Are questions relating to the integrated approach to equality between men and women more important in the case of legislative work or in the case of non-legislative work? 6. Within your committee, matters relating to the integrated approach to equality between men and women are: 7. Has your committee already implemented the integrated approach to equality between men and women in its legislative and/or non-legislative work? 14 legislative work 12 legislative work 3 always important 12 yes 12 sometimes important 10 non-legislative work 12 non-legislative work 3 rarely/never important 5 no B. Strategy on equality between men and women, your committee s short- and long-term aims 8. Has your committee discussed and/or adopted a strategy concerning the male/female equality dimension in the various sectors with which the committee is concerned? 9. Has your committee set specific objectives intended in the short and the long term to bring such a strategy into effect? 13 We have neither discussed nor adopted a strategy 1 yes 4 We have discussed a strategy 1 We have adopted a strategy 17 no C. Introduction of gender mainstreaming 11. Has your committee checked the availability of data/statistics broken down by sex? 4 yes 12. Has your committee defined appropriate indicators? 1 yes 13. Has your committee analysed the allocation of budget resources for each of its spheres of 1 activity from the point of view of equality between men and women? yes 14. Has your committee selected a topic which is of significant interest from the point of view of 9 equality between men and women? yes 15. Have you thought about the various methods to be employed with a view to implementing the integrated approach to equality between men and women? 3 yes 4 no 14 no 16 no 15 no 4 under discussion 14 no DT\631204EN.doc 11/15 PE v01-00 EN

30 D. Expertise, consultation and cooperation on the gender dimension 16. Has your committee consulted experts, NGOs and/or other organisations working in the field of equality between men and women? 17. Has your committee asked the Commission to assess the impact of a dossier on equality between men and women? 18. Has your committee taken advantage of Parliament s internal expertise, in particular within the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality and its secretariat, the thematic department, the Legal Service or the Library? 19. How do you regard cooperation between your committee and the Committee on Women's 7 Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM)? regular 20. When the FEMM committee draws up opinions on your reports (pursuant to Rule 46 of Parliament s Rules of Procedure) (a) are FEMM draftsmen invited to attend meetings of the committee responsible when the 11 report is being discussed? yes (b) do your rapporteurs generally take part in the consideration of FEMM committee opinions? 3 yes 21. How do you regard cooperation between your committee s secretariat and the FEMM 6 committee secretariat (regular contact, joint drafting of timetables, drawing up of voting lists, etc.)? regular 22. How do you regard the expertise on gender issues within your committee s secretariat? 2 good 23. In your opinion should training be provided for your committee/secretariat on the integrated 13 approach to equality between men and women? yes 24. Has your committee the time and the resources to undertake additional work relating to the 2 incorporation of equality between men and women into the committee's policies? yes 25. Do you consider that incorporating issues relating to equality between men and women within 12 your committee will improve the outcome of legislative and non-legislative political work (will yes contribute to better lawmaking)? 8 yes 4 yes 13 yes 8 sporadic 5 no 7 no 10 sporadic 12 under development 3 no 10 no 1 no 10 no 14 no 5 no 2 non-existent 4 don t know 6 don t know 2 non-existent 3 non-existent 2 perhaps 7 perhaps 4 perhaps DT\631204EN.doc 12/15 PE v01-00 EN

31 26. Please indicate the composition of your committee: Committee: number of female members (full members and substitutes): number of male members (full members and substitutes): total % AFCO ,5 AFET ,2 AGRI ,9 BUDG ,4 CULT ,5 DEVE ,8 ECON ,7 EMPL ,9 ENVI ,1 IMCO ,4 INTA ,7 ITRE ,5 JURI LIBE ,2 PECH ,2 PETI ,7 REGI ,1 SEDE ,7 TRAN DT\631204EN.doc 13/15 PE v01-00 EN

32 ANNEX 2 COMMITTEE ON REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Mission Statement on Promoting Gender Equality in the work of the Committee The European Parliament's Committee on Regional Development undertakes to promote gender equality through: 1. In its internal workings by a) asking the political groups to ensure in so far as reasonably practicable: i) that women are represented on the committee in a proportion reflecting the proportion of women in the Parliament, ii) that this proportion is equally reflected in the nominations for members of the Presidency and appointments of Co-ordinators to the Committee, b) asking its Bureau to ensure the gender balance on the Committee is adequately reflected in the distribution of its Reports and Opinions, c) checking on the application of the principles of equal opportunities in respect of appointments to its Secretariat, 2. In its external workings by a) incorporation into its workings on a regular basis of gender related investigations in the course of its legislative or own initiative Reports and/or of own initiative reports specifically concerned with gender equality in the field of Regional Development, b) close monitoring of the effects of mainstreaming gender equality in the use of structural funding. DT\631204EN.doc 14/15 PE v01-00 EN

33 ANNEX 3 Proportion of women and men participating in SEDE delegations 1 January July 2006 (situation as of 30 June 2006) Place of Delegation: Date: Women Men Together: % of women in delegations: % of men in delegations: Sarajevo - AFET+SEDE* 5-7 April 2005 Madrid - SEDE September 2005 Mexico - SEDE Oct 2005 London 7-8 November 2005 Berlin November 2005 Paris - WEU - SEDE 5-7 December 2005 Paris - WEU- SEDE June 2005 Helsinki - SEDE 7-10 February 2006 Kosovo - AFET+SEDE+DSEE* New York- AFET+SEDE+DEVE Potsdam -SEDE June June July % 75% % 80% % 100% % 100% % 100% % 100% % 100% % 67% % 100% % 67% % 67% Together % 81% * Mixed delegation with other EP committees and delegations, only SEDE members counted DT\631204EN.doc 15/15 PE v01-00 EN

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35 5.RESOLUTIONS 35/52

36 36/52

37 European Parliament resolution on gender mainstreaming in the work of the committees (2005/2149(INI)) RAPPORTEUR: Anna ZÁBORSKÁ (EPP-ED) Adopted in Plenary: 18 January 2007 The European Parliament, having regard to Article 2, Article 3(2), Article 13 and Article 141(4) of the EC Treaty, having regard to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the revised European Social Charter and the caselaw of the European Court of Human Rights, having regard to the work of the Council of Europe's Directorate for Human Rights, and in particular of the Council of Europe's Steering Committee for Equality between Women and Men, having regard to the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing in September 1995, the Declaration and the Platform for Action adopted in Beijing and the documents adopted at the subsequent United Nations Beijing +5 and Beijing +10 special sessions on further actions and initiatives to implement the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action, adopted respectively on 9 June 2000 and 11 March 2005, having regard to Directive 2002/73/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 September 2002 amending Council Directive 76/207/EEC on the implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women as regards access to employment, vocational training and promotion, and working conditions 1, having regard to its resolution of 13 March 2003 on gender mainstreaming in the European Parliament 2, having regard to the working document of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality on gender mainstreaming in the work of the committees, drawn up further to the analysis of the replies to the questionnaire sent to the chairmen and vice-chairmen responsible for gender mainstreaming, appointed by the 22 parliamentary committees, having regard to Rule 45 of its Rules of Procedure, having regard to the report of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (A6-0478/2006), 1 OJ L 269, , p OJ C 61 E, , p /52

38 A. whereas the majority of committees always or sometimes attach some importance to gender mainstreaming, whilst a minority of committees rarely or never take an interest in the matter, B. whereas equality between men and women is a fundamental principle of Community law and, in accordance with Article 2 of the Treaty, is one of the tasks to be promoted by the Community, C. whereas Article 3(2) of the Treaty lays down the principle of gender mainstreaming by stating that in all its activities the Community should aim to eliminate inequalities, and to promote equality, between men and women, D. having regard to the process set in motion in 2005 by its Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality and the work of the High-Level Group on Gender Equality, E. whereas a chairman/chairwoman or vice-chairman/chairwoman responsible for implementing gender mainstreaming in the work of his or her parliamentary committee has actively participated in each meeting of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality, F. having regard to the continuous increase in the percentage of female Members of the European Parliament, from 17.5% in 1979 to 30.33% in 2004, G. whereas, within its administration, women are under-represented in positions of responsibility in bodies which are responsible for taking political decisions, H. whereas only two women have been appointed as director-general of one of its eight directorates-general, whereas the lack of applications from women for posts as director-general is a matter for regret, and whereas women should therefore be encouraged to give serious thought to applying for senior posts in its administration, I. whereas, even though the majority of committees express views in favour of gender mainstreaming, most committees have established their future political priorities without including any mainstreaming strategy, J. whereas until now no committee has laid down any practical objectives for implementing a mainstreaming strategy, K. whereas half the committees consider that their expertise is currently being built up, and the same proportion of committees are greatly interested in gender mainstreaming training in their secretariats, L. whereas political and administrative cooperation between the other parliamentary committees and the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality ranges from regular to sporadic, M. whereas, in accordance with Rule 46(6) of its Rules of Procedure, the majority of committees regularly invite the draftspersons of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality to attend meetings of the committee responsible when the report concerned is being discussed, 38/52

39 N. whereas, with a view to improving lawmaking, a majority of committees are in favour of incorporating gender mainstreaming issues and half of them have already taken advantage of consultations with gender equality experts, Assessment of gender mainstreaming 1. Stresses that the calls for gender equality must be translated into a practical approach which does not set women against men; 2. Stresses that gender mainstreaming will lead to positive developments for both women and men; 3. Points out that gender mainstreaming involves the (re)organisation, improvement, development and evaluation of policy processes, so that a gender equality perspective is incorporated into all policies at all levels and at all stages by the actors normally involved in policy-making; 4. Stresses that gender mainstreaming cannot replace specific policies which aim to redress situations resulting from gender inequality, and underlines that specific gender equality policies and gender mainstreaming are dual and complementary strategies and must go hand in hand if the goal of gender equality is to be achieved; 5. Thanks the Austrian and Finnish Presidencies for having stressed in the Council of Ministers the importance of men in the implementation of gender mainstreaming; 6. Points out that mainstreaming involves ensuring that equal treatment for men and women and attention to the goal of gender equality are central to all activities policy development, research, advocacy/dialogue, legislation, resource allocation, and planning, implementation and monitoring of programmes and projects; 7. Undertakes to adopt and apply within its administration a gender mainstreaming strategy with specific targets in Community policies, and assigns to the committee responsible the task of developing that strategy by the end of the current legislative term at the latest; 8. Calls on the High-Level Group on Gender Equality to continue to encourage and promote this process overall, starting with the information regularly provided by the committees and by the chairwoman of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality, and to encourage Member States to pursue a similar policy; 9. Stresses the important role the political groups can play to encourage and support women and make it possible for them to participate fully in public life by implementing and evaluating gender mainstreaming in their programmes and activities and by encouraging women to become more involved in European Parliament elections and national elections; 10. Congratulates the parliamentary committees which have put gender mainstreaming into practice in their work, and calls on the other committees to 39/52

40 do likewise; 11. Encourages the Secretary-General to continue the training of officials in gender mainstreaming; 12. Takes note of the fact that the Directorate-General for Internal Policies has the highest percentage of female administrators, and invites all Parliament's directors-general to put into practice EU legislation on equal treatment of men and women in employment matters; 13. Calls for each committee secretariat in the directorates of the DGs for internal and external policies to include an official who is specially trained in gender mainstreaming and to encourage networking amongst those officials, under the coordination of the secretariat of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality, with a view to conducting regular exchanges on best practices; 14. Regrets the fact that the Staff Regulations of officials of the European Communities do not make provision for adequate measures to enable officials to make a genuine choice in terms of obtaining a work-life balance; 15. Calls for gender mainstreaming to be taken into account when vacancies are advertised in the EU institutions; Future of the implementation of gender mainstreaming 16. Stresses the importance of employing specific terminology and definitions which comply with international standards when terms are used in relation to gender mainstreaming; 17. Stresses the need for the parliamentary committees to be provided with appropriate tools to gain a sound understanding of gender mainstreaming, such as indicators, data and statistics broken down by gender, and for the budgetary resources to be allocated from a gender equality viewpoint, in such a way as to encourage the committees to take advantage of in-house expertise (secretariat of the relevant committee, policy department, library, etc.) and external expertise in other local, regional, national and supranational institutions, be they public or private, in small, medium-sized and large companies and in universities working in the area of gender equality; 18. Calls on the chairwoman of the committee responsible to keep the Conference of Committee Chairmen regularly informed so that it may assess the progress made; 19. Stresses that the implementation of gender mainstreaming should take account of the specific features of each parliamentary committee; calls for the assessments to be carried out every two years under the auspices of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality, on the basis of the questionnaire submitted to the chairmen and vice-chairmen responsible for gender mainstreaming in the 22 parliamentary committees, and including any shortcomings in the work of the committees and delegations as well as the 40/52