On the guidelines for the 2027 budget – Section III

PA_NonLegBud

OPINION

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

A. whereas gender equality is a core EU value and the EU is committed to promoting gender equality and gender mainstreaming in all its actions in accordance with Article 8 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union; whereas budgets are never gender-neutral and therefore need to be established with the clear objectives of gender equality and anti-discrimination and the goal of reaching everyone and addressing their specific needs;

B. whereas the European citizens’ initiative entitled ‘My Voice, My Choice: For Safe and Accessible Abortion’ called on the Commission to submit a proposal for financial support for Member States that would enable them to provide safe and legal termination of pregnancies for anyone in the EU who still lacks access to such services; whereas on 17 December 2025, Parliament adopted a resolution calling on the Commission to explore voluntary and solidarity-based solutions, supported by EU funding and without interfering with national laws and competences, to improve access to sexual and reproductive health and rights, including safe and legal abortion, for women in the EU; whereas it underlined, furthermore, that any follow-up to the initiative should be reflected in the EU’s budgetary planning, including through existing programmes such as EU4Health and in the context of preparations for future multiannual financial frameworks (MFFs);

C. whereas it has repeatedly called for the promotion and implementation of gender mainstreaming, gender budgeting and gender impact assessments across all EU policy areas; whereas it has repeatedly called for sufficient funding for the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), the Daphne and the Equality, Rights and Gender Equality strands of the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme, civil society organisations under the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe (NDICI) programme, the EU4Health programme, and the Employment and Social Innovation strand of the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+); whereas it has also repeatedly called for gender mainstreaming to be applied in the main EU funds, such as the funding allocated to Horizon Europe and the common agricultural policy, and the Cohesion Fund and NextGenerationEU;

D. whereas effective gender mainstreaming and gender budgeting depend not only on political commitments but also on adequate administrative capacity, expertise, training and analytical tools within the Commission; whereas insufficient staffing or a lack of gender expertise undermines the quality, consistency and credibility of gender impact assessments and the monitoring and evaluation of EU spending;

E. whereas the digital education action plan 2021-2027 will specifically seek to increase the inclusion of women in digital and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields of study and careers, including as entrepreneurs; whereas the future funding mechanisms should facilitate this increased inclusion of women and girls;

F. whereas according to the European Crime Prevention Network, the objectives of the Daphne programme were and remain relevant to the needs that it was set up to address, i.e. protecting children, young people and women from violence and preventing violence;

G. whereas the current geopolitical context is marked by increased instability, protracted conflicts and growing uncertainty in international cooperation and humanitarian funding, including as a result of recent developments in US foreign and domestic policies, which weaken global commitments to gender equality, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and the protection of women and girls in crisis situations;

H. whereas the persistent lack of affordable, accessible and high-quality childcare services across the EU remains a major barrier to women’s participation in the labour market and in decision-making processes, and to women’s career progression and their economic independence, and it contributes significantly to gender employment and pay gaps; whereas adequate investment in childcare and early childhood education constitutes a cost-effective social investment that supports families, enhances children’s development and strengthens long-term economic growth; whereas initiatives that empower women in leadership roles should be prioritised, with a focus on increasing women’s participation in decision-making processes;

I. whereas women and girls are disproportionately affected by armed conflicts, humanitarian crises, forced displacement and climate-related emergencies, and face increased risks of gender-based violence, limited access to sexual and reproductive health services, and barriers to education and economic participation; whereas gender-responsive humanitarian aid and external action are essential to ensure protection, resilience and respect for fundamental rights;

J. whereas addressing skills shortages and providing targeted support to women, so that they can enter industries with high growth potential, such as digital technology and green energy, and can take up leadership roles, could help accelerate European economic growth and reduce inequalities in the STEM sectors; whereas the MFF for 2028-2034 should tackle skills gaps for women across the EU;

K. whereas EIGE has been assigned additional tasks linked to the implementation and monitoring of newly adopted EU directives, for which the Commission has not proposed additional resources, including Directive (EU) 2022/2381 on improving gender balance among directors of listed companies, Directive (EU) 2023/970 on equal pay for equal work or work of equal value, Directive (EU) 2019/1158 on work-life balance for parents and carers, Council Directive (EU) 2024/1499 and Directive 2024/1500 on binding standards for equality bodies; whereas rising inflation and the increase in the correction coefficient for Lithuania have caused EIGE’s salary-related costs to rise; whereas the new Cybersecurity Regulation requires EIGE to strengthen its cybersecurity systems, including by appointing a cybersecurity officer; whereas EIGE remains among the lowest-funded EU decentralised agencies;

1. Calls for the effective and systematic implementation of gender mainstreaming at all stages of the budgetary process and across all programmes and funding; stresses the importance of gender budgeting as an effective tool to foster gender equality across the EU; stresses that all EU spending must support gender equality, that all EU programmes must include gender-related objectives, and that a gender perspective must be consistently integrated into the preparation, monitoring and evaluation of expenditure; calls, therefore, for a higher number of interventions to be awarded scores of 1 or 2 in their evaluation; underlines the importance of ensuring that such interventions are accompanied by appropriate monitoring and reporting, so that their contribution to gender equality objectives can be meaningfully assessed; calls for greater synergy between the instruments available to advance gender equality; reiterates the need for greater efforts to support the most vulnerable women, including women with disabilities, migrant women, and women from ethnic minorities and sexual minorities;

2. Stresses that cohesion policy funding must tackle the key challenges facing the EU, such as demographic change and depopulation, and must target the regions and people most in need; highlights, in particular, the importance of enhanced support to address the EU-wide housing crisis affecting millions of families, women and vulnerable young and elderly people who cannot fully enjoy their rights and often face discrimination;

3. Reiterates the need to further develop the Commission’s gender tracking methodology, which should not merely identify actions with a gender impact in some EU programmes but should also track the overall funding volume dedicated to gender equality in the EU budget; calls for the systematic and mandatory collection, reporting and evaluation of comparable gender-disaggregated data to enable mandatory gender impact assessments in all EU policy areas; stresses the importance of earmarking and stabilising specific funds and objectives for gender equality within the programmes in the next MFF, in order to ensure that the funds are properly tracked and to make gender equality a requirement and not just a consideration;

4. Reiterates its calls for faster progress in gender equality, including through the promotion of budgets and funds that advance gender equality, as well as for greater investment in the production of gender statistics; underlines that this is crucial for the EU amid crises, conflicts and backlashes against women’s rights and gender equality; stresses that gender equality must be a priority in the budgetary procedure, ensuring fair opportunities for all;

5. Acknowledges the crucial role of data, research and expertise in preparing, monitoring and evaluating the EU budget in line with gender equality objectives; highlights the key role of EIGE and reiterates the need for it to have adequate funding and staffing to meet increasing demands for technical assistance; stresses the need to increase its staffing levels, including by hiring at least five temporary agents and one contract agent (function group IV) as a cybersecurity officer, and the need for reinforced budgetary resources to comply with the Cybersecurity Regulation; underlines the importance of safeguarding EIGE’s independence and ensuring that its mandate, resources and expertise are strengthened in line with the growing political backlash against gender equality and women’s rights;

6. Notes that all EU agencies, including EIGE, are now obliged to use the Summa financial software, and that each agency must contribute EUR 200 000 for its acquisition, irrespective of its budget size; stresses that, for EIGE, one of the smallest agencies in terms of budget, this amount represents almost 15 % of its Title II budget; recalls that in 2024, EIGE had already paid EUR 125 000 for the software; further notes that an additional annual maintenance fee will also be required, which may constitute a disproportionate burden on smaller agencies; underlines, therefore, that future budget allocations must duly take this into account;

7. Calls for increased and specific funding for the prevention and combating of gender-based violence within the Daphne programme, and underlines the importance of allocating at least 5 % of the total EU budget to policies aimed at combating violence against women; calls for the EU to consider the Daphne programme as one of its tools for fighting gender-based violence, especially given its commendable efficiency, as demonstrated by impressive outputs and impacts compared to the modest resources allocated; recalls the requirement to allocate at least 40 % of the funds for the Equality, Rights and Gender Equality and the Daphne strands of the CERV programme to activities to prevent and combat all forms of gender-based violence at all levels, and to allocate at least 15 % to activities promoting women’s full enjoyment of rights, gender equality, including work-life balance, women’s empowerment and gender mainstreaming; stresses the importance of ensuring that such funding effectively reaches the targeted beneficiaries, including through the provision of safe accommodation, access to housing and comprehensive support services for women victims of violence; recalls that one in three women in the EU have experienced violence, and that the estimated economic cost of such violence across the EU is EUR 366 billion annually; calls for special attention to be given to women facing intersectional discrimination based on gender, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion, political opinion, minority status, property, birth, disability, age, and to LGBTIQ+ women;

8. Calls for dedicated budgetary allocations under the EU4Health programme to support research into gender-specific health conditions, including those pertaining to sexual and reproductive health and rights, menopause, endometriosis and fibroids, and healthcare related to gender transition, alongside the provision of accessible and affordable healthcare and cross-border services to ensure the provision of safe and legal abortion for all; stresses that all women in the EU must enjoy equal access to all health services;

9. Calls on the Commission to examine the core mission of organisations that are granted EU funds, so as not to grant any funding to any organisation that undermines or degrades gender equality or supports the backlash against gender equality and women’s rights, and to withdraw any funding currently held by such organisations; highlights the importance of EU instruments, including the NDICI, and their innovative use in this regard; stresses the need to ensure that all EU funds reach their intended recipients; urges the Commission to ensure that EU funding is not contributing to the rolling back of human rights, democratic backsliding, the promotion of homophobia, racism, xenophobia and transphobia, attacks on LGBTQI+ families or restrictions on access to abortion;

10. Calls on the Commission to increase the budget allocation for civil society organisations that promote women’s and LGBTIQ+ rights, and sexual and reproductive health and rights, and for those seeking justice and equal rights and opportunities for all individuals in Europe and beyond, including in conflict areas, especially smaller grassroots organisations such as local organisations fighting for gender equality, in order to guarantee the best possible impact on women’s rights and gender equality;

11. Recalls that labour market participation is significantly lower among both women and men with disabilities compared to those without; calls for appropriate measures to address this issue;

12. Stresses that effective gender mainstreaming requires sufficient administrative capacity within the Commission; calls on the Commission to ensure adequate staffing, training and guidance across all relevant Directorates-General and to strengthen structured cooperation with EIGE, as the EU’s reference body for gender equality data, indicators and methodologies;

13. Calls on the Commission to ensure adequate and ring-fenced support for gender-responsive humanitarian aid and external action, including for the prevention of and response to gender-based violence, access to sexual and reproductive health services in crisis settings, and protection measures for women and girls; calls for transparent reporting on the implementation of gender equality objectives in external spending, including reporting on the share of actions with gender equality as a significant or principal objective and the measurable results achieved;

14. Stresses the importance of equal labour market participation in all sectors; calls for more policies that support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and take gender equality into consideration; calls on the Commission to consider introducing a competitiveness and SME check as well gender impact assessment to ensure that policies work better for women working in the private sector, including women entrepreneurs; calls for a reinforced Single Market Enforcement Taskforce that would take into account the importance of promoting women-led businesses by ensuring that women can easily access and realise their entrepreneurial potential within the single market; calls for the EU to ensure a level playing field for women entrepreneurs fighting fragmentation in the single market and for the future MFF revision to take this into consideration;

15. Recalls its resolution of 17 December 2025 responding to the European citizens’ initiative entitled ‘My Voice, My Choice’; calls on the Commission to ensure adequate budgetary preparedness for the implementation of the voluntary opt-in mechanism, to strengthen access to sexual and reproductive health and rights; calls on the Commission to make full use of existing health policy instruments to support Member States in this; stresses that any follow-up action should be reflected in budgetary planning beyond 2027, including in preparations for the next MFF;

16. Stresses the importance of using European structural and investment funds such as the ESF+ to promote gender equality; stresses specifically the need for sustained and targeted investment in affordable, accessible and high-quality childcare and early childhood education and care services as a prerequisite for gender equality, work-life balance and greater participation of women in the labour market; calls on the Commission to ensure that such investments are adequately supported and prioritised across the EU’s main spending programmes, in particular under the ESF+ and regional development funds;

17. Calls for better provisions in the EU budget to support women who, at present, have limited opportunities for exchange with others and for competence development, for example, through mentoring programmes or professional networks from all sectors of the European economy;

18. Calls on the Commission to place greater emphasis on upskilling women and girls, including older women, which, in turn, will help reduce gender gaps in skills development and ensure that women are equipped to boost productivity and contribute to the EU’s overall economic growth.

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

Date adopted

26.2.2026

Result of final vote

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–:

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20

6

0

FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL BY THE COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION

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