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 On Tuesday 24 June, the Polish Network of East-West Women (NEWW-Polska) launched a set of reports on gender equality in the European Commission's policies and in the ODA of new Member States. The launch included a press conference and a roundtable meeting facilitated by EEPA and Eurostep.
The speakers expressed deep concern about the situation of women in Eastern Europe. "Although gender equality is a fundamental principle of the European Union enshrined in the EC Treaty, Europe does not live up to its own standards and values", said Zofia Lapniewska of NEWW-Polska, who has coordinated the reports. "Neither the new Member States, having been scrutinised in this report, nor the EU assistance within the framework of ENP forcefully address discrimination against women." The reports find that development aid budgets administered by the new Member States and EU neighbouring countries neglect the principle of gender equality, which is enshrined in both the EC Treaty and the Millennium Development Goals. In the development cooperation of countries such as the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Hungary, the report finds that only a small number of projects focusing specifically on women were administered, despite the inclusion of gender as a "cross-cutting issue" in key policy documents. The series of reports also examines the situation in several former Soviet countries, including Ukraine, Armenia and Georgia, which receive funds from the EU under the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI). It was found that only a very small part of EU aid is targeted at improving the situation of women in these countries. The European Commission, represented by officials from the EuropeAid Cooperation Office and DG External Relations, representatives from the European Parliament and the Czech Permanent Representation to the EU were also present at the roundtable to respond to the findings of the reports. Source: |
