On discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2024, Section I - European Parliament

OPINION

The Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality calls on the Committee on Budgetary Control, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following into its motion for a resolution:

A. whereas gender equality and the elimination of inequalities are core values of the EU as enshrined in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union; whereas the Union is committed to promoting gender equality in all its activities under Article 8 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, thereby establishing the principle of gender mainstreaming and gender budgeting;

B. whereas under Rule 249, the Bureau shall adopt a gender action plan to integrate a gender perspective into all Parliament’s activities;

C. whereas gender equality and women’s equal and meaningful participation in all policymaking are a precondition of a functioning democracy; whereas women currently hold 39 % of seats in Parliament, compared to 27 % in national parliaments worldwide; whereas women remain under-represented in decision-making; whereas the 2024 elections reversed previous gains, with 278 women elected, slightly less than in 2019, and the first decrease since 1979; whereas the gender balance among national delegations to Parliament varies significantly, indicating persistent inequalities across Member States;

D. whereas female politicians face higher levels of hate, harassment and intimidation than their male counterparts, especially when they are young and advocate for women’s rights and gender equality; whereas this often includes gender-based abuse and targeted gender disinformation – which is disinformation that deliberately targets women, especially those who are visible in public life – and threats to their safety; whereas these attacks create significant barriers to women’s equal participation in political life; whereas this hinders women’s participation in politics and thereby weakens our democracies by making them less representative;

E. whereas women are still under-represented in some committees and over-represented in others; whereas in Parliament women currently chair seven of the 24 standing committees and subcommittees, including some that are traditionally male-dominated; whereas of the 48 Parliament delegations, only 11 are chaired by women; whereas since 1979 there have been 31 Presidents of Parliament, only three of whom have been women; whereas the under-representation of women in leadership positions at the highest institutional level of the EU remains a matter of concern; whereas, seven of Parliament’s 14 Vice-Presidents are women, representing 50 % of these senior leadership positions;

F. whereas Parliament has not yet established paternity and parental leave for Members, despite taking the promising step of allowing proxy voting rights for female Members before and after childbirth;

G. whereas gender equality standards within Parliament should also apply to its staff; whereas inequalities in career progression, salary scales and job security for staff, accredited parliamentary assistants and trainees exist; whereas Parliament, as an autonomous institution and employer, is responsible for ensuring that its internal administration, staff policy, anti-harassment framework and working conditions effectively prevent and address discrimination and gender-based violence and promote gender equality;

H. whereas Parliament should also lead by example when it comes to gender equality; whereas, by way of example, Parliament’s participation in the global ‘Orange the World’ campaign, including the symbolic illumination of the parliament building and the display of orange flags, serves as one example of its commitment to ending gender-based violence, and to recognising the importance of raising public awareness and using Parliament as a platform against gender-based violence;

1. Welcomes the progress made on gender mainstreaming and budgeting and the adoption of the 2025 Gender Action Plan; calls for this action plan to be made public and swiftly implemented via its gender action plan roadmap and thoroughly assessed with regular reports monitoring the progress made; regrets that most of the measures included are formulated as principles without clear targets and obligations; urges consistent gender budgeting in Parliament’s budget and to incorporate a gender mainstreaming guide; welcomes the work of the Gender Mainstreaming Network in Parliament; further calls for strengthened gender mainstreaming across parliamentary committees; emphasises the importance of gender mainstreaming in the process of negotiating the new multiannual financial framework;

2. Reiterates its call for Parliament to request an audit to undertake a mapping of the current situation in terms of gender equality and make recommendations for both the political and the administrative sides of Parliament’s activities; highlights that this audit should cover all the areas and indicators developed in the European Institute for Gender Equality’s ‘Gender-sensitive parliaments toolkit’ and identify the rules that facilitate or block gender equality in each aspect analysed with the aim of informing the upcoming gender equality roadmap;

3. Calls on the President to evaluate the drop in the number of female Members in 2024 and fund campaigns encouraging women to enter EU politics; urges national parties to adopt gender-balanced measures, such as the alternate ordering of men and women on the list (zipping) and/or gender quotas, until parity is reached; calls on the Commission to strengthen the rules for ensuring gender-balance in political leadership roles; regrets the lack of quantitative and qualitative data on gender mainstreaming within the EU institutions beyond data on the number of women in different positions; calls, therefore, for the compiling of comprehensive gender-disaggregated statistics; commits to creating qualitative indicators on gender equality to improve gender-disaggregated data collection and continue improving gender equality;

4. Calls for stricter rules to combat and prevent gender hate speech and gender disinformation; notes with regret the high rates of harassment against accredited parliamentary assistants, including sexual harassment; reiterates that a zero-tolerance policy against harassment is needed to protect the well-being of staff and is a duty of any employer; calls for targeted emotional and legal support for accredited parliamentary assistants, staff, trainees and Members confronted with harassment, intimidation and hate; calls for a strengthened framework for filing complaints and timely handling of harassment disputes; calls for an independent mechanism and external audit against harassment; demands that Parliament’s Bureau continues reforming Parliament’s rules on harassment by bringing in external and independent experts and an external audit to the Advisory Committee on Harassment and its Prevention in the Workplace and to enlarge the pool of psychologists and support mechanisms that victims can access;

5. Stresses that women Members who are racialised, young, feminist, LGBTIQ+ or from minority backgrounds face disproportionate levels of digital and political violence and require targeted protective measures;

6. Calls on the committees to strive for better gender balance, including in the composition of leadership positions; calls on the President and the Bureau to ensure horizontal representation and gender balance throughout all plenary proceedings, across committees and delegations; calls on groups to take gender into consideration, and enforce gender quotas, for the appointment of coordinators, rapporteurs, shadow rapporteurs and the distribution of speaking time; requests that measures to tackle horizontal inequalities be put in place to ensure gender balance in different committees; encourages the inclusion of more men in the FEMM Committee, including those actively supporting gender equality as allies, to foster shared responsibility and take up the mantle of promoting equality in practice for women and girls and to put an end to the gendered concentration of portfolios;

7. Requests that steps be taken to ensure a ‘women-friendly’ working environment by changing androcentric working practices and combating harassment;

8. Welcomes the position on proxy voting for female Members before and after giving birth; calls for proxy voting to be extended to all new parents and for equal and non-transferable maternity, paternity and parental leave to be established for Members;

9. Welcomes Parliament’s commitment to equality and applauds its support for key policy issues such as proxy voting rights for female Members before and after giving birth; calls for efforts to ensure a better work-life balance for staff to be prioritised and further strengthened, and for measures to implement the right to disconnect to be put in place;

10. Notes with regret the high rates of harassment – including sexual harassment – against accredited parliamentary assistants; calls for a strengthened framework for filing complaints and timely handling of harassment disputes;

11. Calls on the Bureau and the Secretary-General to present gender-disaggregated data on staffing, senior and middle management posts, contract types, telework and flexible working arrangements, as well as anti-harassment measures and complaint outcomes within Parliament’s administration, with a view to identifying and correcting inequalities; calls for the establishment of clear, time-bound targets for achieving gender balance at all management levels within Parliament’s administration, including directors-general and heads of unit;

12. Acknowledges that Parliament serves as a platform for exhibitions and public events addressing gender equality such as mental health issues, fostering dialogue, awareness, and inclusive representation across the institution and with the wider public; notes in that regard the organisation of a coronation ceremony honouring women battling cancer; calls on the President to exercise caution over the funding of initiatives that run counter to the values of the European Union; welcomes the use of the Parliament as a platform for raising awareness of gender-based violence and domestic violence, stresses the importance of the EU’s and Parliament’s missions contributing to the promotion of gender equality, including those that provide support, protection, and essential services to women and girls who are victims of sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict situations; welcomes the Parliament’s initiatives on Gender Equality Week and International Women’s Day;

13. Stresses the importance of the availability of women’s menstrual products to support Members and staff; calls for improved accessibility within Parliament for disabled Members, staff and visitors – with particular attention to women and girls – including to all public areas.

ANNEX: DECLARATION OF INPUT

The rapporteur for opinion declares under her exclusive responsibility that she did not include in her opinion input from interest representatives falling within the scope of the Interinstitutional Agreement on a mandatory transparency register, or from representatives of public authorities of third countries, including their diplomatic missions and embassies, to be listed in this Annex pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure.

INFORMATION ON ADOPTION BY THE COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION