EUROPEAN WOMEN’S LOBBY
Report of activities
June 2010-June 2011
EWL General Assembly
18-19 June 2011
Cécile Gréboval
EWL Secretary General
GENERAL LOBBYING - WORK WITH EU INSTITUTIONS
European Parliament:
Daily input / contacts with MEPs on different topics
(maternity leave, poverty, immigration, violence, parity
etc.)
European Commission:
Meetings & contacts with commissioners or their
cabinets (Andor, Damanaki, Reding, Ashton)
Contributions to opinions of the EC Advisory
Committee on Equal Opportunities (media, violence, part
time work, integration of migrants, active ageing)
Council of ministers:
Contacts with the Belgian, Hungarian and Polish
Presidency
WORK WITH OTHER ACTORS (1)
European agencies:
European Gender Institute: contacts + contribution to work programme
and contacts with members of management Board + study on sexual
violence
Fundamental Rights Agency: ongoing contacts + contribution on work
on violence against women (survey) and multiple discrimination +
contribution to work programme
Civil society organisations:
Active membership and contribution to the work of Social Platform
Work with the Civil Society Contact Group in particular on the EU
budget
Active involvement in the NGO Coalition against Poverty (European year
2010) and on Active Ageing (European Year 2012)
WORK WITH OTHER ACTORS (2)
Civil society organisations (continued):
Bilateral work on some issues with NGOs (sexual rights, anti
discrimination, health, asylum, poverty, pensions, insurances etc)
Active participation in meetings of European networks members of the
European Integration Forum and Migration & Asylum Platform
Formed an NGO coalition on violence against women
International organisations:
Establishing contacts with UN Women in New York and Brussels office
Participation in UN CSW meeting 2011
Links and meetings with UN special rapporteurs
Monitoring adoption and ratification of Council of Europe Convention
on Violence against Women
FACILITATION OF MEMBERS’ POLICY WORK (1)
Facilitation of members’ involvement in European level
meetings (pay gap, poverty, families, violence against
women, immigration)
Weekly members mailings with calls for action
EWL Newsflash and European Women’s Voice
Participation in lobbying campaigns: maternity directive,
prostitution, asylum
FACILITATION OF MEMBERS’ POLICY WORK (2)
 Consultation on different themes: maternity & paternity
leave, EU 2020, family policies, quotas, public
procurement, violence against women, pensions and
more!
 Lobbying kits and model letters: asylum, convention on
violence against women, future EU funding, EU 2020
 Board thematic seminars on EU advocacy (October 2010 )
and on Roma Women (February 2011)
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN - VAW
EWL lobbying for an EU policy framework on VAW:
 EWL contribution to the EC consultation + lobbying in EP
 Press releases and letters to EU Commissioners, Trio Presidency
(incl. with Social Platform), EP questions and reports
 Creation of an NGO coalition for an EU Year and an EU strategy
EWL lobbying on the Council of Europe Convention:
 Participation to CAHVIO meetings
 EWL lobbying kit + actions at national level
 EWL call to members for ratification
EWL Observatory on violence against women (+Serbian national
Observatory on VAW)
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
EIGE study:
 EWL to provide a study on sexual violence
 Involvement of experts of the EWL Observatory
EWL and Women, Peace and Security:
 Events and partnership with NGOs in Oct. 2010 (10 years 1325)
EWL and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR):
 Mobilisation on Council of Europe report on conscientious
objection
 Mobilisation on the events in Hungary: midwife, constitution
 Brainstorming with NGOs, EP meetings and collaboration
PROSTITUTION AND TRAFFICKING
EWL lobbying on trafficking in human beings at EU level:
 EWL contribution to the new directive adopted March 2011
 EWL press release on appointment of EU Anti-Trafficking Coordinator
and on EU Anti-Trafficking Day
 Participation to EC consultation of experts
EWL campaign ‘Together for a Europe free from prostitution’:
 Working seminar (Dec. 2010) with members
 Campaign material: webpage, clip, PPT, logo, postcard
 European lobbying: meeting MEPs,
 participation to conferences
LOBBYING EFFORTS ON THE PROPOSED
MATERNITY LEAVE DIRECTIVE
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Worked closely with members of the
European Parliament to ensure a new
directive reflects our interests
Link with Social Platform and COFACE
EWL model lobbying letter to send to
their MEPs in English and French
07.10.2010 Last EWL lobbying letter
to all MEPs
Successful vote in EP plenary on 20
October 2010!
2011: Efforts to unblock directive in
Council: national lobbying needed!
EUROPEAN YEAR FOR COMBATTING
POVERTY AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION
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Steering group member of a coalition of
like-minded NGOs striving to address
poverty and social exclusion in Europe
Participation in hearing at the EP on
women’s poverty 28.09.2010
Links and policy work with MEPs and
other decision-makers
Human Ring against poverty around the
European Parliament 19.11.2010
Follow up = European Poverty Platform
EWL WORK ON EU 20/20 STRATEGY
= Be involved in the shaping & implementation
of the EU socio-economic framework!
 Contribution submitted in December 2009
but Strategy proposed in March 2010
doesn’t include gender equality aspects
 Statement “Economic policy governance
without a women’s rights’ perspective
undermines the inclusive objectives of the
Europe 2020 Strategy” (March 2011)
 Briefing on the implementation of the EU
2020 Strategy for members (March 2011)
 Model letter for members to be involved in
process of National Reform Programmes
ANTI-DISCRIMINATION
 Ongoing monitoring and Strategic thinking
around the negotiations within the Council of
the new anti-discrimination directive with the
other anti-discrimination networks and the
Social Platform
 Vote of EP Report on Social Integration of
Ethnic minority women to which EWL had
contributed (September 2010)
 Follow-up of the new EU disability strategy
 Lobbying initiatives around the EU Roma
Strategy as well as a statement of Concern on
the Expulsion of Roma from France.
 Conference on Roma Women in the EU,
Budapest, April 2011
MIGRATION, INTEGRATION, ASYLUM
 EWL-ENoMW Joint Contribution to the Second European Agenda on
Integration submitted to the EC (31.08.2010)
 EWL-Asylum Aid and ILGA-Europe joint table of amendments on the EC
recast qualification directive on asylum (September 2010)
 European Parliament Public hearing with Médecins du Monde, PICUM and
EAPN on "Preventing undocumented women and children from accessing
healthcare: Fostering Health Inequalities in Europe“ + joint multistakeholder meeting on the Social Pillar of the EU 2020 Strategy and
Undocumented Migrants, 8 December 2010
 Contribution to the Draft opinion on the gender dimension of integration of
migrants of the Advisory Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women
and Men (February-April 2011)
 Joint lobby action to “engender” the European Asylum Support Office with
ILGA-Europe and Amnesty International- End FGM Campaign (June 2011).
Projects “Equal Rights. Equal
Voices. Migrant Women in the
European Union”
Facilitation of networking among migrant women’s organisations,
which led to the launch of the European Network of Migrant Women
on 18th June 2010
Contribution to the participation of migrant women’s organisations
in EU-level and international meetings.
Joint work on the impact of family reunion legislation and policies
on migrant women’s lives (EPIM project September 2010-December
2011): organisation of a strategic meeting in March 2011 in Dublin,
presentation to other NGOs at the Fundamental Rights Platform in
Vienna, April 2011; Interventions at MIPEX events; Statement on the
occasion of the international day of families.
INTERNATIONAL
GEAR Campaign:
 Global network of 307 NGOs- EWL active participation
 Success: United Nations General Assembly decision to
create UN Women: July 2010
 Appointment of Michelle Bachelet (former president of
Chile) as head of UN Women
 EWL linking with UN Women
New UN mechanism on eliminating discrimination against
women created on 01.10.2010 (in the context of Human
Rights Council) – supported by the EWL
Participation in CSW 2011 (22.02-04.03 2011) :
Theme: “Access and participation of women and girls to
education, training, science and technology”.
Communication
EWL@20 activities
 EWL Photo Competition 2010:
‘My Word: Visions of Feminism
in the 21st Century’
 FEM21 magazine
 High-profile evening event:
talkaoke, exhibition, theatre
performances, band,
interactive corner, reception
 Exhibitions: Brussels (x3) +
Cyprus
Communication
 New website + weekly newsletters
 European Women’s Voice
 Social media (4000 fans on facebook + 600
followers on twitter)
 Communications tools for EWL Campaign
‘Together for a Europe Free from Prostitution’
 Members’ briefing on EWL communications
tools
 EWL Report 2010-2011 -> Please input!
Internal /Governance issues
 New Strategic Plan 2011-2015 adopted October
2010
Working groups and Committees:
 Membership Committee: started membership
review >> better understanding and involvement
of the whole membership
 Working group on governance and structures
Started reflection on structures
 Financial issues working group
 Committees on issues groups and emergency
motions to prepare the General Assembly
FINANCIAL MATTERS (1)
Progress Programme – European
Commission funding:
 3-year application: Submission of
Proposal under PROGRESS
Programme 2011-2012-2013 –
VP/2010/012, Area 3 Gender Equality
 Application for 2011 funding
(December 2010)
 Full reporting for 2010 (March 2011)
 Interim reporting for 2011 (June 2011)
FINANCIAL MATTERS (2)
 Successful Fundraising:
 Novo Foundation – Prostitution and
trafficking (2010-2012)
 Oxfam Novib – CoE Convention on
VAW (2010)
 EPIM funding – Migrant women’s
rights (2011)
 Different ongoing funding
applications
 Monitoring of Accounts
 Execution of Budget
 Preparation of Budget 2011
THANK YOU FOR YOUR
ATTENTION!