European & International News

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

European & International News
Egypt - Feminist activist speaks on impact of election results on women

Posted on 13 December 2011 |

[Global Fund for Women, Cairo, 13 December 2011] With the first round of Egypt’s parliamentary elections drawing to a close, we asked Mozn Hassan, who’s based in Cairo, for her feminist perspective and analysis on results to date.
Mozn, who will vote in the second round, is an Egyptian activist and executive director of grantee-partner, Nazra for Feminist Studies. Since the January uprisings, Egyptian women and girls have taken center stage in the country’s democratic revolution, challenging (...) Read more
European & International News
Parliament endorses EU-wide protection for crime victims

Posted on 13 December 2011 |

[European Parliament, Brussels, 13 December 2011] Crime victims who are granted protection from their aggressors in one EU Member State will be able to get similar protection if they move to another, under new rules adopted by Parliament on Tuesday. The European Protection Order aims to protect victims of, for instance, gender violence, harassment, abduction, stalking or attempted murder. Member States will have three years to transpose this directive into national law.
Measures to protect (...) Read more
European & International News
Launch of new Social Services Europe Network

Putting Social Services at the Heart of European Solidarity

Posted on 13 December 2011 |

[SOLIDAR, Brussels, 13 December 2011] Yesterday, a new European network, Social Services Europe, was launched to strengthen the profile and position of social services, and to promote the role of not-for-profit social service providers throughout Europe.
Social Services Europe brings together seven Europe-wide networks of not-for-profit providers of social and health care services who each have a track record in providing value-driven services for the most vulnerable in our societies. (...) Read more
European & International News
GEAR Campaign calls for sustainable funding for UN Women

Posted on 12 December 2011 |

[Brussels, 12 December 2011] In a Statement to the Executive Board of UN Women on 5-7 December, GEAR Campaign representative, Charlotte Bunch of the Center for Women’s Global Leadership (CWGL), called for increased and sustainable funding for the new UN’s women’s rights agency. The EWL was previously the European Coordinator of the GEAR campaign which culminated with the establishment of UN Women in July 2010. Read the full Statement below or download the PDF version here.
Madame Chairperson: (...) Read more
European & International News
Far from being harmless or ironic fun, lads’ mags could be legitimising hostile sexist attitudes, according to new research

Posted on 12 December 2011 |

[Brussels, 12 December 2011] According to new research from two UK universities, the language used in men’s magazines, far from being harmless or ironic fun, could be legitimising hostile sexist attitudes.
Psychologists from Middlesex University and the University of Surrey found that when presented with descriptions of women taken from lads’ mags, and comments about women made by convicted rapists, most people who took part in the study could not distinguish the source of the quotes.
The (...) Read more
European & International News
20 weeks of maternity leave with full pay difficult for the Member States, says Polish Presidency

Posted on 9 December 2011 |

[Brussels, 09 December 2011] The Polish EU Presidency has outlined the progress made in the last few months in the negotiations on the renewal of the maternity leave Directive. The Presidency concludes that it has become crystal clear that the period of 20 weeks of maternity leave with full pay is unacceptable to the Council.
The Polish Presidency had decided to focus the Council’s work on the Directive on the length of the maternity leave and the level of maternity allowance. In addition; (...) Read more
European & International News
Council adopts recommendations on reconciliation of work and family life

Posted on 9 December 2011 |

[Brussels, 09 December 2011] On 01 December, Employment and Social Affairs ministers adopted yet another set of recommendations on reconciliation of work and family life. Will these recommendations finally lead to concrete action and progress toward greater gender equality?
The Council Conclusions on ’Reconciliation of work and family life as a precondition for equal participation in the labour market’ call on the EU Member States to: step up measures to achieve the Barcelona childcare (...) Read more
European & International News
France and Spain make best progress on women on boards due to quotas

Posted on 9 December 2011 |

[Brussels, 09 December 2011] A recent report by Corporate Women Directors International on women on the boards of the 200 largest companies in the world shows that European countries which have adopted quotas to increase the number of women on corporate boards are moving ahead in changing the face of corporate leadership.
The report ranks France first for the fastest rate of increase, as it moved from 7.2% board directorships held by women in 2004 to 20.1% in 2011. Coming in second is (...) Read more
European & International News
Participation of women in protests reflects desire for change, says UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women

Posted on 8 December 2011 |

[United Nations, New York, 08 December 2011] The active participation of women in public protests witnessed in many parts of the world recently reflect their strong desire to promote social change, including a yearning for the rule of law and human rights, the United Nations independent expert on violence against women said today.
“Moments of political transition provide a unique opportunity to ensure that women participate equally in public life and that their rights in legal and social (...) Read more
European & International News
Protection for victim’s moving within the EU

Posted on 7 December 2011 |

[Brussels, 07 December 2011] At the December plenary session the Parliament will vote on the new European Protection Order. This week the FEMM and LIBE Committees endorsed the final text agreed with national governments. Once formally adopted, member states will have three years to transpose the new directive into national law.
The purpose of the new Protection Order is to give crime victims who are granted protection in one EU member state the ability to get similar protection if they (...) Read more