The deputy ambassadors of the EU Member States (Coreper 1) endorsed, on Wednesday 31 May, conclusions on gender mainstreaming and gender budgeting. The text remains close to its previous versions (see EUROPE 13145/24).
On the one hand, it calls on Member States to establish institutional mechanisms to promote gender equality in all areas. However, in its final copy, the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU withdrew certain explicit references to gender mainstreaming in national budgets, while maintaining it where EU funds are concerned. Each country is responsible for managing its own budget.
In addition, a significant proportion of the conclusions is dedicated to the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). For example, Sweden calls on the European Commission “to strengthen the efforts of the integration of a gender equality perspective in the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the RRF” as well as in “the drafting of potential future crisis response packages”. Based on an analysis of gender inequalities at the time of Covid-19 by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) (https://aeur.eu/f/74w ), the text stresses that crisis management can help to reduce long-term inequalities, if they are taken into account.
Similarly, Stockholm is asking the Commission to take gender equality considerations into account when drawing up the Multiannual Financial Framework and other EU funds.
The inclusion of a gender dimension in European policies and budgets was one of the central themes of the Swedish Presidency in terms of gender equality (see EUROPE 13107/12). The text will be submitted to EU ministers at the ‘Employment and Social Policy’ Council (EPSCO) on 12 June.
To see the conclusions: https://aeur.eu/f/75e (Original version in French by Hélène Seynaeve)