Meeting of the Network of Parliamentary Committees on Gender Equality between Women and Men in the European Union

On behalf of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality of the European Parliament and its delegation participating in today’s meeting, I would like to warmly welcome our colleagues from all over Europe to Greece and to this session, here in the city that once protected a woman, Athena, the goddess of wisdom, so that we may be inspired and discuss how to build a peaceful and democratic Europe. I also welcome the delegations of the European Women’s Lobby and the European Women Lawyers’ Association. Thank you for coming from so far to take part in this important meeting.

I would also like to express my gratitude to my Greek colleagues and friends, and especially to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. George Papandreou, and to the General Secretary for Gender Equality, Ms. Effie Bekou, for their invaluable support in organizing this extraordinary meeting of the Network, which is taking place thanks to their collaboration and generous hospitality.

During the regular annual meeting in Copenhagen last November, our delegation from the European Parliament proposed this extraordinary meeting because we were concerned that there were no willing ears for the proposals of women in the Constitutional Assembly for the Future of Europe, which, according to its original schedule, will conclude its work at the end of June. For this reason, we considered it essential to meet in the meantime in another attempt to raise the Assembly’s awareness on gender issues and to ensure that our demands are accepted.

Today, the international situation commands all our attention. The war in Iraq has led to an unprecedented state of confusion and undermining of balances in international relations. At the same time, this serious situation demands our attention and political intervention. That is why we chose to publicly express our concern with the “Athens Declaration for Peace,” in a place of particular symbolic significance, at the Parthenon, the temple of the goddess Athena, where even Lysistrata, in the name of the women of Athens, threatened those who did not stop the war.

As the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality of the European Parliament, we have repeatedly stated that the effective exercise of women’s rights and an enhanced gender equality policy would immediately enable Europe to intervene in international issues in a more cohesive and peaceful manner. I believe this is absolutely true: gender equality, meaning the balance of men and women in decision-making and negotiation centers, would lead to the implementation of a diplomacy that would include feminine characteristics and balance the one-sided, male-oriented diplomacy of military power.

I hope that the “Women’s Declaration for Peace” will help us in our struggle to ensure that the voices of women are heard more, that it becomes clear that women are no longer on the margins, that they are not excluded from negotiations and diplomatic solutions to conflicts, and that they can take on leadership roles in decision-making centers.

We also eagerly await the decisions of the Council regarding the proposal adopted by our Committee during a public discussion on the Middle East, on March 17, 2003, in Brussels, in the presence of the President of the Council, Mr. Giorgos Papandreou, for the creation of an International Women’s Council, where some of us will certainly participate.

Allow me now to review our efforts so far to exert influence on the Convention on the Future of Europe.

In 2002, our Committee organized two special meetings at the European Parliament, on May 22 and October 2, on this topic. In addition to the members of the national parliaments responsible for gender equality, all members of the Convention were invited, as well as representatives from NGOs and civil society, experts, and Commission representatives, who expressed their wholehearted support for the initiatives we undertook. The conclusions of the meetings were summarized in specific requests to the Convention, which I sent to President Giscard d’Estaing, and brought to the attention of all members of the Convention. The message we sent was clear: gender equality should have a prominent place in the Convention and in the future Constitution.

The reaction from the members of the male-dominated Convention was equally disappointing and concerning. With surprise and concern, we saw that in the draft of the Constitutional Treaty published on October 28, 2002, there was no reference whatsoever to gender issues. We feared that what we had achieved for gender equality in the current Treaty, which should of course be further strengthened in the future Treaty, would not only not be maintained but could even be at risk of being lost.

Under these circumstances, our Committee felt the need to respond strongly and immediately. We decided to form a working group that prepared a related declaration, which was accepted at the Network meeting in Copenhagen on November 22 and 23, with a small modification.

Based on the Copenhagen Declaration, the working group presented specific requests to the members of the Assembly in early December to be included in the draft of the Constitutional Treaty. Then, when we received the first 16 Articles, we proposed specific amendments in early February. Overall, gender equality is still not sufficiently prominent in the drafts of the Constitutional Treaty that we have seen so far. Consequently, we must intensify our efforts to influence the shaping of the draft. I will now mention the issues that are of major importance to us.

• Equality, including gender equality, should be enshrined in the values of the Union.

• The acquis communautaire in gender equality policy, both in law and in competences, should be maintained and strengthened.

• In the constitutional structure, the Charter of Fundamental Rights should be attached as a Protocol and not incorporated into the Constitutional Treaty itself, as the Charter falls short of the acquis communautaire on gender equality.

• The fight against violence and trafficking, which are serious issues in the Union and primarily affect women and children, should be included in the Union’s objectives. Furthermore, violence and trafficking should be mentioned in the Union’s policies, particularly in Internal Security and in External Actions (external dimension of Security).

• An article of direct application should prohibit any discrimination based on gender and require equal rights for men and women. It should also explicitly state the obligation to reduce gender inequalities, including in the decision-making process. Another article should ensure the protection of maternity and paternity as well as the compatibility of family and professional life.

• The gender mainstreaming strategy should be integrated into all areas of policy, at all levels, at all stages, and by all policy actors.

• Issues concerning gender equality should never be considered as “complementary actions,” but as part of the Union’s shared competence.

• The Constitutional Treaty should be drafted in gender-neutral language.

• Finally, in view of the 2004 European elections, I would like to emphasize the fundamental need for a balanced representation of men and women in all decision-making bodies of the Union, and this should be part of the principle of participatory democracy in the future Treaty.

All these issues are included in the draft of the Declaration of our meeting today. I will leave the members of the Assembly who are here today, Ms. Marietta Giannakou, Lone Dybkjaer, Maria Berger, and Eleni Mavrou, to give their comments on the preliminary text of the Declaration. I look forward to everyone’s participation in the ensuing discussion and hope that our work will conclude with the adoption of the “Athens Declaration” on the Future of Europe, Women’s Rights, and Gender Equality.