On Wednesday 5 March, the European Commission was initially due to present its roadmap for women’s rights, a text intended to serve as a “compass” for the future strategy for equality between men and women, starting this year.
This publication, scheduled to coincide with International Women’s Day, has been postponed until Friday 7 March. According to several sources, the postponement is due to internal discussions, particularly on the issue of sexual and reproductive rights.
According to our sources, the document covers a number of topics, including combating violence against women, equal pay and economic empowerment, equitable distribution of domestic tasks and care responsibilities, access to safe working conditions, gender-sensitive education, political representation and participation for women, a sustainable and safe living environment, as well as financial investment and institutional mechanisms to ensure these advances.
The inclusion of sexual and reproductive rights - including contraception and abortion, which were absent from the initial text - gave rise to intense discussions. A compromise is said to have been found by adding that the Commission will support and complement, in compliance with the Treaties, the actions of Member States in the area of sexual and reproductive health. This inclusion, supported by the Parliament’s progressive groups (Renew Europe, S&D, Greens/EFA, The Left), aims to preserve these rights in the face of backsliding at international level.
These demands were backed up by a letter sent to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on 24 February.
The signatory MEPs, mainly from the political groups mentioned, as well as Swedish MEP Arba Kokalari (EPP), are calling for the roadmap to respect previous commitments made by the EU, in particular the ministerial declaration on sexual and reproductive health adopted under the Spanish Presidency in 2023.
The MEPs want this ‘roadmap’ to be discussed at the European Parliament’s plenary session from 10 to 13 March. The European Commissioner for Equality, Hadja Lahbib, is also due to present it at the 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, from 10 to 21 March 2025 at the UN headquarters in New York, which will mark the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration.
The letter: https://aeur.eu/f/fr6 (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)