European & International News

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

European & International News
UK - David Cameron won’t rule out gender quotas for boardrooms

Posted on 9 February 2012 |

[BBC, London, 09 February 2012] David Cameron, the UK Prime Minister, has said he will not "rule out quotas" as a way of getting more women into top executive jobs.
At a summit in Sweden, the PM said he wanted to "accelerate" the increase in women on the boards of top UK firms, preferably without resorting to quotas.
A government-commissioned report urged top firms to more than double the number of women on boards by 2015.
Research suggests the proportion of female directors at FTSE 100 (...) Read more
European & International News
Mapping study on female genital mutilation in Europe on its way

Posted on 7 February 2012 |

[EIGE, Vilnius, 06 February 2012] Female genital mutilation (FGM) has gained considerable attention in Europe during recent years. 180.000 women in Europe are estimated to undergo or face the danger of this harmful procedure every year. The reasons for practicing female genital mutilation (FGM) often are based a mix of cultural, social and religious factors. The European Parliament resolution of 24 March 2009 on combating FGM in the EU clearly states that any form of FGM “can under no (...) Read more
European & International News
UN Women completes one year, Bachelet reveals action plan for equality

Posted on 6 February 2012 |

[UN Women, New York, 06 February 2012] At a press conference in New York on 02 February, UN Women Executive Director Michelle Bachelet reported on the first year of operations of UN Women and called for greater commitment and action for women and gender equality, as political and economic upheaval threaten progress on women’s rights. The European Women’s Lobby was an active member of the global GEAR Campaign that was instrumental in the creation of the new UN women’s entity.
With austerity (...) Read more
European & International News
European Parliament: Women should play a more prominent role in peace negotiations

Posted on 2 February 2012 |

[European Parliament, 02 February 2012] EU support in peace processes should be made conditional on women participating in negotiations. That is one of the conclusions of a report on women’s situation in war by Romanian Liberal Norica Nicolai. The report proposes several measures to help reinforce the position of women in war-torn countries and to reduce sexual violence against them. The report will be voted on Thursday.
It calls for the EU and member states to actively increase the number (...) Read more
European & International News
Close links between church and schools in Europe may violate human rights

Posted on 2 February 2012 |

[Brussels, 01 February 2012] On 01 February 2012, the European Parliament Platform for Secularism in Politics (EPPSP) organised a meeting on the Relationship between Church and Education in Europe.
The European Parliament Platform for Secularism in Politics (EPPSP) is a forum for Members of the European Parliament and civil society, and it works to give a voice to secularism in Europe.
The meeting was hosted by Ms Sophie in ‘t Veld, Chair of the EPPSP and Member of the ALDE group in the (...) Read more
European & International News
More Europeans work in care - EU need to focus on ’white jobs’

Posted on 2 February 2012 |

[Brussels, 02 February 2012] More Europeans are working in care, and the demand for elderly care services is increasing, due to demographic ageing, greater gender equality, changing family ties and demand for higher-quality services. Although ’white’ jobs in health, care and social services have potential to create jobs in Europe, until now political attention has focus on ’green’ jobs.
The OECD estimates that the demand for care workers will double or triple between now and 2050. At the same (...) Read more
European & International News
World Economic Forum - If women are the way forward, where are they?

Posted on 2 February 2012 |

[Brussels, 02 February 2012] The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, organised 25-29 January 2012 in Davos, that brought together top business leaders and selected intellectuals was a male gathering despite the efforts to increase women’s representation.
A new quota system demands that the largest members send one woman for every four men. Nevertheless, just 17% of the 2,500 delegates were female. About 80 percent of the WEF’s so-called strategic partner companies brought (...) Read more
European & International News
News from the August 12 Campaign: UK Queen’s Counsel writes to President Obama

Posted on 1 February 2012 |

[Brussels, 01 February 2012] On 01 February 2012, 40 members of Queen’s Counsel (U.K.) took part in the August 12 Campaign and wrote to President Obama, asking him to lift the abortion restrictions currently imposed on all humanitarian aid for girls and women raped in armed conflict. Many international and European organisations have sent letters to President Obama in the context of the campaign, including the EWL, urging him to take action on this discriminatory treatment of women rape (...) Read more
European & International News
Call for action to end violence against women: MEPs perform Vagina Monologues

Posted on 27 January 2012 |

[V-Day, 27 January 2012] V-Day, a global activist movement to end violence against women and girls, will organise a special performance of ’The Vagina Monologues’ in the European Parliament on 06 March 2012.
V-Day cordially invites you to this call to action to end violence against women and girls.
Please join Eve Ensler and Members of the European Parliament for the very special performance of the vagina monologues, starring
Sirpa Pietikäinen (EPP, Finland)
Franziska Brantner (Greens, (...) Read more
European & International News
Future EU budget need to support women’s rights and gender equality, say experts and MEPs

Posted on 27 January 2012 |

[Brussels, 26 January 2012] Gender-budgeting methods can be applied to the EU budget, but a gender equality perspective is absent from the Commission’s proposals for the EU multi-annual financial framework 2014-2020, reveals a study unveiled at the European Parliament. The study, commissioned by the Women’s Rights Committee with the view of feeding into the EP’s discussions on the next MFF and its financial instruments, was discussed in a workshop on 26 January.
The study confirms the (...) Read more