European Union

Alice Weidel, who raises her two sons with a Sri Lankan-born woman, is an unlikely public face for a male-dominated, anti-immigration party

The agreed text makes the Paris Agreement an "essential element" of the trade deal, an inclusion Brussels has been trying to secure for years.

Written by Gemma Patterson.

The European Parliament’s Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) is organising the fifth European Gender Equality Week from 9 to 13 December 2024. Events on the agenda cover how Parliament works to combat gender inequality within different policy sectors and different demographics. This year the week has a special focus on tackling gender inequality in the digital world. Women face growing danger in the digital space, driven by the spread of harmful technologies, disinformation and new forms of online abuse.

Gender equality in the EU is a long-established policy. Increasingly, however, a minority of actors oppose certain aspects, often perceiving gender equality as a zero-sum game that disempowers men. This raises the possibility that there is a need to clarify that EU policies benefit men as well, particularly through tools and data addressing health and education. For example, some EU countries face some of the world’s largest gender gaps in life expectancy and disparities exist between male and female students at post-secondary level. No country or region in the world has yet achieved all the UN sustainable development goals on gender equality.

The week begins with an exchange of views on gender mainstreaming in the EU budget, in conjunction with Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control (CONT). The EU adopted gender mainstreaming as its official approach to gender equality in 1997. Priorities were set in the EU’s gender equality strategy to achieve this, for instance by ending gender-based violence, and addressing the pay and pension gaps, gender balance in decision making positions at work and the gender care gap. However, despite these efforts, much change still needs to happen and Parliament is keen to advance legislation for a more just society for everyone. The European Parliament has previously advocated for binding gender provisions that should ensure trade agreements promote equality and empower women effectively.

Please accept YouTube cookies to play this video. By accepting you will be accessing content from YouTube, a service provided by an external third party.

YouTube privacy policy

If you accept this notice, your choice will be saved and the page will refresh.

Accept YouTube Content

Beyond women’s roles in the workplace, it is essential to look at their broader participation in employment and focus on breaking down the barriers that hold them back. EU directives require Member States to establish equality bodies to support victims of discrimination and to combat inequality. Vague rules have caused disparities, with some bodies working with limited resources, independence or mandates. New legislation adopted in May 2024 seeks to strengthen the equality bodies, ensuring they are better equipped to address continued sex discrimination in employment.

Please accept YouTube cookies to play this video. By accepting you will be accessing content from YouTube, a service provided by an external third party.

YouTube privacy policy

If you accept this notice, your choice will be saved and the page will refresh.

Accept YouTube Content

Although they form half the population, women remain under-represented in politics across the EU, despite the clear benefits of gender balance for society and governance. Political parties and media play dual roles as both obstacles and enablers of women’s political participation,  while those women who do succeed in a securing a seat are likely to be held to a higher level of scrutiny and criticism than their male counterparts. Only 39 % of elected Members in the 2024 elections to the European Parliament were women. One seldom-discussed barrier to more women entering politics is gendered violence. This takes multiple forms, from physical attacks to psychological and symbolic abuse, including sexual and sexist comments, online hate speech and sexual harassment.

Violence against women remains prevalent and omnipresent. One in three women in the EU have experienced physical violence, according to a recent survey. Gender-based violence against women encompasses physical, sexual, psychological or economic violence and can take many forms, including harassment, stalking, rape, female genital mutilation, domestic violence and femicide. The violence takes place within the family and intimate relationships, in the workplace, in public spaces and online. Currently, national protection is inconsistent and gaps persist in EU measures to combat this serious violation of rights and barrier to equality. In May 2024, the EU adopted a directive setting minimum standards to criminalise certain forms of such violence, enhance victim support, and improve prevention. Member States now have 3 years to implement these crucial measures.

Digital technologies have both amplified and repressed women’s rights. The digital world has empowered women to connect, share their experiences, and raise awareness about issues such as abuse, as seen with movements like #MeToo. At the same time, it has given abusers and misogynists new tools to amplify harmful content on an unprecedented scale. Recognising the harm of digital violence, the EU has implemented legislation to tackle it, this includes the Directive on Combating Violence against Women, which criminalises serious forms of cyberviolence, and the Digital Services Act, which mandates the removal of harmful content, content that disproportionately affects women. The internet has also become a central tool in facilitating human trafficking, enabling traffickers to recruit, control, and exploit victims through digital means. Europol highlights that adult females in EU Member States are the primary victims of online human trafficking, practices often referred to as ‘cyber slavery’, creating a new set of dangerous circumstances and ways for women to be exploited.

Further reading

• Topical Digest November 2024

"Concrete commitments to halt deforestation by 2030” is one of the key changes made to the agreement, the Commission said.

She was due to stop in Paris on her way back from Montevideo, Uruguay – but decided against it last-minute.

It is no surprise the president is vulnerable and isolated – he may need to turn to Notre Dame for some divine grace.

A joint report alleges that Hungarian intelligence searched EU officials' hotel rooms, and stole data from laptops.

Irish fishermen say they are victims of the new reduction in quotas negotiated with Norway for 2025.

Despite Macron's opposition, the EU rejects US and Chinese protectionism, opting to boost global trade instead.

The ruling means the first round of the presidential elections will have to be re-run.

Representatives from Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Latvia, the Netherlands and Slovenia stated that they were not in favour of consolidation.

The EU-Mercosur agreement will create one of the largest free-trade areas in the world, with tariffs removed for key EU exporting industries.

Committee and political groups meetings

Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

After the French government was toppled in a vote of no confidence, President Emmanuel Macron has rejected calls for his resignation. In an address to the nation, he said he would fulfil his mandate until the end of his term of office in 2027 and appoint a new prime minister to form a 'government of the general interest'. Commentators discuss what should be done to stabilise the country.

Five years ago, images of the burning Notre-Dame Cathedral went around the world. The cause of the fire has still not been established. Now the cathedral, a key Parisian landmark, will reopen on the weekend. The embattled French President Emmanuel Macron, will give a speech in the presence of numerous heads of state and government. The press takes stock.