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European Women's Lobby

October 2007

Seminar on Advancing Migrants Women’s Rights in the European Union

The Seminar was held in Bulgaria on 26 October 2007 on the eve of the EWL General Assembly and in the context of a project, which started in Januarys 2007. It brought together representatives of EWL member organisations and migrant women activists paricipants in  the EWL project. Together, they looked at strategies to advance the rights of migrant women at national and European level and explored ways to strengthen capacity building of national migrant women’s NGOs, the role of women’s organisations in supporting migrant women’s agenda and the need for migrant women’s NGOs to mobilise at European level. For more information please contact Maria Collins (collins@womenlobby.org) at EWL secretariat.

Reform Treaty of the European Union approved at Lisbon

Heads of State and Government adopted the new treaty during the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) meeting in Lisbon on October 18-19. It is expected to be formally signed at the December summit and ratified by Member States throughout the next year. The Reform Treaty will maintain the progress related to equality between women and men achieved earlier for the EU Constitution that was finally not ratified. The European Charter of Fundamental Rights was solemnly declared and attributed the same legal status as the treaties. Human rights NGOs throughout the EU noted with regret that the United Kingdom and Poland chose to “opt out” (not see it as binding in their respect) regarding the Charter, and keep urging these two Member States to reconsider their position. Both state and civil society Member State actors now have the task of ensuring that the ratification process is smooth and quick.

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http://www.womenlobby.org:80/site/1abstract.asp?DocID=2012&v1ID=&RevID=&namePage=&pageParent=&DocID_sousmenu=&parentCat=18

EWL letter to the Intergovernmental Conference on the Reform Treaty 2007

Brussels, 29th August, 2007

Your Excellency,
Dear President,

 Intergovernmental Conference on the Reform Treaty

I am writing to you on behalf of the European Women’s Lobby (EWL), the largest coalition of women’s NGOs in the European Union representing more than 4000 women’s organisations concerning the current Intergovernmental Conference.

EWL welcomes the fact that negotiations on the text of the Reform Treaty (RT) further developing the institutional and legal mechanisms of the European Union are taking place in the framework of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC). However, EWL would like to stress that the transparency of the work of the IGC is fundamental for civil society to be able to follow the process and voice its views on the EU future political and legal framework.

Therefore we call on the Portuguese Presidency and all Member States to ensure accessibility of all relevant IGC documents and to enable an open discussion with civil society.

We are also pleased to see that the provisions related to equality between women and men contained in the draft Constitutional Treaty will be retained in the draft Reform Treaty, notably in relation to:

- Equality between women and men as part of the Union’s values and as an objective of the European Union (originally Art. I-2 and Art. I-3 of the draft Constitutional Treaty – Articles 2 and 3 in the IGC working document CIG 1/07 dated 23.07.2007)

- The commitment to mainstream gender into all EU activities as a horizontal principle (Art. III-116 of the draft Constitutional Treaty, which will become  Article 8 “In all its activities, the Community shall aim to eliminate inequalities, and to promote equality, between men and women”, under the Chapter “Provisions having general application” – Point 21 page 48 in the IGC working document CIG 1/07 dated 23.07.2007)

- The need to combat discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation. (Art. III-118 of the Constitutional Treaty, which will become Article 10: “In defining and implementing its policies and activities, the Union shall aim to combat discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation.” – Point 23 page 48 in the IGC working document CIG 1/07 dated 23.07.2007).

- The fight against trafficking and sexual exploitation of women and girls:

-- Art. III-267 paragraph 2d and Art. III-271 (1) of the Constitutional Treaty which will become Article 69b,2(d): “1. The Union shall develop a common immigration policy aimed at ensuring, at all stages, the efficient management of migration flows, fair treatment of third-country nationals residing legally in Member States, and the prevention of, and enhanced measures to combat, illegal immigration and trafficking in human beings. 2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, the European Parliament and the Council, acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, shall adopt measures in the following areas: (…)(d) combating trafficking in persons, in particular women and children”. - Page 61 in the IGC working document CIG 1/07 dated 23.07.2007,

-- and Art. III-271 (1) of the Constitutional Treaty which will become Article 69f,1§2: “1. The European Parliament and the Council may, by means of directives adopted in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, establish minimum rules concerning the definition of criminal offences and sanctions in the areas of particularly serious crime with a cross-border dimension resulting from the nature or impact of such offences or from a special need to combat them on a common basis. These areas of crime are the following: terrorism, trafficking in human beings and sexual exploitation of women and children, (…).”

- The provision on non-discriminatory application of humanitarian aid: Art. III-321 (2) of the Const. Treaty which will become Article 188j§2: ”2. Humanitarian aid operations shall be conducted in compliance with the principles of international law and with the principles of impartiality, neutrality and non-discrimination.”

- The Declaration N°13 on the fight against domestic violence: page 50 of document CIG 3/07 dated 23.07.2007.

EWL also very much welcomes the fact that the Presidency Conclusions 11177/07 give a clear mandate to the IGC to preserve the Charter of Fundamental Rights as having a legally binding value in relation with the Reform Treaty. We urge those countries considering opting out of the binding nature of the Charter to revise their opinion. The European Charter of Fundamental Rights enshrines basic human rights in accordance with the values of the European Union and existing international commitments. These rights must be equally accessible to all women and men in the European Union regardless of the country they live in.

However, EWL is concerned about the decision to relegate the obligation to apply equal treatment in the provision of services of public interest (Art. III-122 of the Const. Treaty) to a Protocol attached to the Reform Treaty (Annex I. point 19. i) and footnote 12. of the Presidency Conclusions 11177/07). Services of general economic interest affect women’s lives to a great extent, and we believe that the article calling for equal treatment in this area should be placed in the main text.

Understanding that the draft RT presented by the Portuguese Presidency on July 23, 2007 is open for further debates, we call on you to make sure the achievements highlighted above will be kept by the current IGC. Equality between women and men is defined by the current Treaty as one of the missions of the EU and is one of the fundamental drivers of economic, social, and democratic development. In order to keep the EU close to European women, it is essential that strong agreed provisions in this respect are maintained in the new Treaty. The drafting of the Reform Treaty is a unique opportunity to demonstrate an unequivocal commitment to strengthen democracy in Europe and to contribute to the realisation of equality between women and men in Europe. We trust that you will incorporate fully this critical commitment.

Should you need further information, please do not hesitate to contact the EWL Secretariat.

Yours faithfully,

Kirsti Kolthoff - President of the European Women’s Lobby

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