On Monday 6 December, EU social affairs ministers took stock of two of the legislative dossiers that have been stuck in the hands of the Member States for several years: the so-called ‘Women on Boards’ directive (see EUROPE 12575/19, 12578/26), presented in 2012, and the directive on the implementation of the principle of equal treatment (see EUROPE 12740/19), presented in 2008.
On the first directive - which aims to introduce a 40% requirement for women on company boards - EU Commissioner for Equality Helena Dalli noted that some countries previously opposed to the project, such as Germany, the Netherlands and Ireland, were now more willing to negotiate on the issue.
“Despite the good examples and best practices in several Member States, it is disappointing that this does not translate into a common approach at EU level”, she told a press conference.
Like the chair of the European Parliament’s FEMM Committee before her (see EUROPE 12823/17), Helena Dalli has therefore called on France - which will hold the EU Council Presidency from 1 January next year - to take up the issue.
“We also encouraged the French Presidency to continue the work on the equal treatment directive”, she said.
Under the Slovenian Presidency, delegations were mainly asked to comment on three main outstanding issues concerning this directive: the question of subsidiarity, the provisions on disability and those on legal certainty.
On the basis of the responses provided, Ljubljana concluded that “further in-depth work” would be needed before the required unanimity could be reached.
Very few delegations took the floor on this subject on Monday during the dedicated debate. Italy and Portugal in particular reiterated their commitment to this directive and in turn encouraged the French Presidency to do its utmost to achieve progress.
To consult the work carried out under the Slovenian Presidency: https://bit.ly/3xZBFjn (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)