On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the implementation of the Beijing Platform and the inauguration of the new European Commission, EU Member States’ Ministers are preparing to hold a public debate on gender equality on Tuesday 10 December, the second day of the Employment and Social Policy Council (EPSCO). They are expected to adopt unanimously very consensual conclusions, including deleting any reference to LGBTQI, calling on the new Commission to present a strategy on gender equality.
Thus, Ministers will be invited by the Finnish Presidency of the Council of the EU to answer a series of questions structured around three main themes, focusing on the thematic priorities of European gender equality policies during the coming term of office and on how to integrate this same principle into the Union's future strategies and “key political processes”, including economic and budgetary ones. Virginija Langbakk, Director of the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), will participate in the debate.
As every year, in connection with the Beijing Platform (a UN declaration adopted in 1995 on equality between men and women), the responsible Ministers will be invited to adopt conclusions on gender equality in which they call for “explicitly setting gender equality as a political priority (...) and adopting a Communication setting out a stand-alone high-level EU gender equality strategy for the period post-2019” (point 28 of Conclusions 14254/19 on gender equality in economies).
This is the key point of the day, explain two diplomatic sources, the aim being to send a strong message to Ursula von der Leyen, the new President of the European Commission. And for good reason: the Juncker Commission, during its mandate, did not formally adopt a strategy on the subject. Only an internal working document had been adopted.
This time, the adoption of these conclusions would be consensual. Only Poland is expected to adopt a declaration recalling the reference to the European treaties in terms of gender equality. The objective is to have a “strict” European reading of the notion of sex, which must be confined to men and women. We are informed that transgender, transsexual and intersex people are out of the picture.
The issue of LGBTQI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex) provoked heated debate when the conclusions on gender and youth equality in digitisation were adopted last December. Hungary and Poland opposed any mention of LGBTQI. As the Austrian Presidency did not find the necessary unanimity for the conclusions, it adopted conclusions that were binding only on itself, thus considerably weakening the scope of the text (see EUROPE 12154/14). The Finnish Presidency has therefore been careful not to make any mention of LGBTQI.
The afternoon will be devoted to social and employment issues more generally. During the working lunch, Ministers will discuss the promotion of social and employment policies as part of the European Semester budget process. They will take stock of recent progress under the previous European Commission, including the social scoreboard and future challenges.
In the afternoon, Ministers will be invited to discuss the social achievements in the field of employment and industrial relations, before adopting conclusions on opening the labour market to all. These latter conclusions will aim to highlight the economic potential of persons referred to as vulnerable people (disabled persons, long-term unemployed, etc.) These subjects would be consensual and should not involve any substantive debate, we are told.
Health and pharmaceuticals. For once, the first day of the EPSCO Council, Monday 9 December, will be devoted to health. The responsible Ministers will focus in particular on the economy of wellbeing – a concept dear to the Finnish Presidency (see EUROPE 12358/15) – the EU’s pharmaceutical policy. No legislative dossiers or conclusions are on the agenda. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)