Strasbourg, 17/11/2006 (Agence Europe) - On 16 November, the European Parliament adopted the report by Portuguese Socialist Ana Maria Gomes on the position of women in international politics by 377 votes to 77, with 31 abstentions. The report “deeply regrets that in spite of a large number of political statements and recommendation, programmes of actions adopted worldwide and specific legislation introduced at national level, inequality and gender discrimination and under representation of women in politics still persist in Europe and worldwide”. According to Inter-parliamentary Union figures, only 16.4% of parliamentarians worldwide are women: in the European Parliament, overall 30% of MEPs are women, but representation ranges from zero for Cyprus and Malta to 58% for Sweden. Such under-representation deprives Europe of “a precious human potential”, says Parliament, which congratulates heads of government who have employed objective and non-discriminatory criteria for selecting the members of their cabinets. (In her report, Ms Gomes refers to the equality policy of the Zapatero government which, in Spain, has led to “an exemplary government, comprising as many women as men”.) The report proposes measures at national, European and international levels, particularly to reconcile social, family and professional life, calls on European political parties to “promote balanced participation of both sexes on their lists of candidates”, and encourages the inclusion of female staff in EU and UN peacekeeping missions. (mg)