European Parliament backs EU’s Roadmap for Women’s Rights - Renew demands action for women, not promises

The European Parliament has today endorsed the EU’s new Roadmap for Women’s Rights and its declaration of principles for a gender-equal society. First proposed by the European Commission on 7 March, the declaration defines the key principles for achieving gender equality in Europe: women must have protection from violence both online and offline, full access to quality healthcare, including sexual and reproductive health services, financial independence through equal pay and opportunities, and genuine representation in public life, forming the foundation for the EU’s next gender equality strategy. This declaration reinstates firmly EU principles for a gender-equal society as the core of its values.

For Renew Europe, the endorsement of this declaration must be the starting point for change, not the end of the debate. The challenge now is for the Commission to turn principles into policies that women can feel in their daily lives. With women’s rights increasingly under pressure worldwide, from rollbacks on reproductive freedom to shrinking civic space, the EU’s renewed commitment comes at a critical moment for its global leadership on equality. It also sends a clear message to the world: Europe will lead by example in defending women’s rights and freedoms everywhere.

"This declaration sets out the principles needed to end the inequalities women still face, but principles alone will not change lives. Renew Europe will keep pressing the Commission until women see real change in their wallets, in their safety, and in decision-making. Because right now, women earn on average 13 % less than men, they hold just 33 % of seats in national parliaments, and one in three has faced violence. That reality costs our societies an estimated €289 billion every year,” said MEP Abir Al-Sahlani (Centerpartiet/Sweden), Shadow Rapporteur and Renew Coordinator for the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality.

Renew Europe will hold the Commission to account as the declaration moves toward inter-institutional endorsement ahead of 16 October. Equality cannot remain an aspiration. It must be enforced, visible and lived.