European & International News

International news globe All the latest news from the European Union, its member states, and beyond.

European & International News
Women asylum seekers: differences of treatment within the EU

A Comparative Research between nine EU Member States.

Posted on 7 June 2012 |

[Brussels, 07 June 2012] The EWL attended on Wednesday 30 May the Launch at the European Parliament of the Report entitled "Gender-related asylum claims in Europe: A comparative analysis of law, policies and practice focusing on women in nine EU Member States".
This new research report, published by Asylum Aid, France Terre d’Asile, the Spanish Commission for Refugees, the Italian Council for Refugees and the Hungarian Helsinki Committee looks in detail at the handling of gender-based (...) Read more
European & International News
Hungarian girls on every street corner

Posted on 6 June 2012 |

[Brussels, 06 June 2012] Hungarian journalist Dóra Ónody-Molnár has been awarded an EU journalist award for an article written on the situation of Hungarian women and girls in prostitution in Amsterdam and Zurich. The EWL and its members in Hungary (one of which, MONA, contributed to the winning article), are delighted to see Ms. Ónody-Molnár’s excellent work on the issue of prostitution duly recognised. This particular article is yet another good testimony of why the regulated system does not (...) Read more
European & International News
More than 70% of legislative constituencies in France have never had a woman representative

Posted on 6 June 2012 |

[Brussels, 06 June 2012] Ahead of legislative elections in France, the NGO ‘Osez le féminisme’ has published figures showing that since 1988 more than 70% of constituencies have never elected a woman to the National Assembly. Out of 577 legislative constituencies, more than 400 have never been represented by a woman over the last five terms; only eight have consistently had women representatives.
The current National Assembly is 81,5% male, which puts France in 18th place among the EU Member (...) Read more
European & International News
Germany looks to Norwegian gender quota success

Posted on 6 June 2012 |

[Brussels, 06 June 2012] The German newspaper, The Spiegel, on 29 May published an interesting analysis of the Norwegian experience of quotas for company boards, and its relevance to Germany, where similar measures are being considered. Journalist Anna Reimann traces the initial reactions to the law, its demonstrated impact and the widespread acceptance it now enjoys.
Norway’s Gender Quota - A Laboratory for the Advancement of Women
Hilde Tonne, executive vice president and head of (...) Read more
European & International News
New report highlights continued widespread discrimination and social exclusion faced by Roma in EU

Posted on 4 June 2012 |

[Brussels, 04 June 2012] A new joint report from the EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) highlights the continued plight of Roma people in EU countries.
Based on two surveys on the socioeconomic situation of Roma and non-Roma living nearby in 11 member states and in neighbouring European countries, the report shows that the situation of Roma in terms of employment, education, housing and health is on average worse than the situation of non-Roma living (...) Read more
European & International News
Spain - We decide! New Platform for the defence of sexual and reproductive rights (2012)

Posted on 4 June 2012 |

[Brussels, 04 June 2012] Women’s organissations in Spain have joined together to set up a platform for the defense of sexual and reproductive rights in Spain. The Platform is a broad political interest group reacting to the threat of reforming a legal Act which would restrict access to abortion.
The Platform has already worked on a draft that brings together web actions, content and argumentations to disseminate and publicise the claims of women’s organisations and professional associations, (...) Read more
European & International News
EU2020 Strategy: Gender Equality on a downwards slide?

Posted on 1 June 2012 |

The European Commission urges ten Member States to strengthen measures to increase women’s participation in the labour-market.
[Brussels, 1 June 2012] On Wednesday 30 May, the European Commission issued the second set of annual policy recommendations to Member States. These so called Country-Specific Recommendations are a response to the analysis of National Reform Programmes on how to improve socio-economic performance in order to reach the targets of the Europe 2020 Strategy for Smart, (...) Read more
European & International News
A 2020 Perspective for Women in Turkey: Motion for a European Parliment Resolution

Posted on 1 June 2012 |

[Brussels, 01 June 2012] The European Parliament on 22 May by a large majority adopted a Resolution calling for women’s rights in Turkey. The report passed at the Strasbourg plenary session with 590 votes in favour, 28 votes against, and 53 abstentions. Emine Bozkurt (NL, S&D) presented the report. Speaking to all MEPs, she noted that:
“As a candidate country Turkey is required to ensure gender equality, because there cannot be any accession to the EU without ensuring women’s rights.” (...) Read more
European & International News
New UK report finds girls as young as five worry about their body image

Posted on 31 May 2012 |

[Brussels, 30 May 2012] A new UK parlliamentary report has found that half the entire population suffers from negative body image and that girls as young as five routinely worry about their looks.
Negative body image is linked to eating disorders. There is a strong gender equality dimension to this health risk, with women representing between 75% and 90% of sufferers. Among those with eating disorders, 10% are anorexic and 40% are bulimic; the rest fall into the ‘Eating disorder not (...) Read more
European & International News
Selection processes bypass women executives

Posted on 29 May 2012 |

[Brussels, 29 May 2012] New research shows that the appointment of women to FTSE 350 listed non-executive director roles is being held back by selection processes which ultimately favour candidates with similar characteristics to existing male-dominated board members. The benefits of attracting a diverse board and in particular female directors are well documented and yet there is still a lack of diversity on many firm’s boards.
The research carried out by Cranfield School of Management is (...) Read more