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MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION (2020/2896(RSP))

On the need for a dedicated Council configuration on gender equality

B-9-2020-0402

on behalf of the Renew Group · Rapporteur: Irène Tolleret, Samira Rafaela, Karen Melchior, María Soraya Rodríguez Ramos, Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, Sylvie Brunet, Radka Maxová, Susana Solís Pérez, Nathalie Loiseau, Sophia in ’t Veld

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Parliament calls for a dedicated Council configuration on gender equality so that ministers and secretaries of state in charge of gender equality have a formal forum to meet, legislate and exchange best practices. It says such a configuration would strengthen gender mainstreaming, dialogue and cooperation between member states, and help unblock the Istanbul Convention, the Women on Boards Directive and the Anti-Discrimination Directive. It asks the Council and the European Council to establish this configuration, with the European Council acting by qualified majority to amend the list of Council configurations.

Key points

  1. Parliament regrets that ministers and secretaries of state in charge of gender equality have no dedicated institutional forum to meet, discuss, legislate, take decisions and exchange best practices.
  2. It stresses that gathering them in one dedicated, formal forum would deliver common measures and legislation and ensure gender equality is discussed at the highest political level, taking account of distinct forms of discrimination.
  3. It affirms that a specific Council configuration on gender equality would strengthen gender mainstreaming in EU legislation, dialogue and cooperation between member states, and an intersectional approach.
  4. It underlines that such a configuration would help unblock negotiations on the Istanbul Convention, the Women on Boards Directive and the Anti-Discrimination Directive, and boost work on adding gender-based violence to the list of Eurocrimes and a future directive on gender-based violence.
  5. It calls on the Council and the European Council to establish a Council configuration on gender equality to facilitate gender mainstreaming across all EU policies and legislation.
  6. It calls on the European Council to act by qualified majority and amend the list of configurations in which the Council meets, in accordance with Article 236 of the TFEU and Article 2(1) of the Council's Rules of Procedure.

Who is affected

  • Ministers and secretaries of state in charge of gender equality in member states, who would gain a dedicated formal forum.
  • The Council and the European Council, which are asked to establish the new configuration and amend the list of Council configurations.
  • Women facing discrimination, including racialised women, women belonging to ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, older women, women with disabilities, Roma women, LBTI women, refugee and migrant women, and women at risk of social exclusion.

Legal basis: Articles 2 and 3(3) of the Treaty on European Union and Articles 8, 10, 19, 153(1)(i), 157 and 236 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.