EUROPEAN ELECTIONS PROGRAM 2024

1. Realising parity democracy and women's equal representation
2. Towards a feminist economic model
3. Ending violence against women and girls
4. Combatting human trafficking and prostitution
5. Guaranteeing women’s bodily autonomy
6. Strengthening women's participation in peacebuilding
7. Integrating gender equality in EU development and migration policies
8. Climate change is a feminist issue
9. Fighting racism and discrimination
10. Protecting and strengthening women's rights

1. Realising parity democracy and women's equal representation

WE CALL ON THE EU TO:

• Ensure parity democracy and women's equal representation.

• Ensure 50/50 representation of women and men in all EU decision-making bodies, including the EU "top jobs".

• Spell out the obligation for political parties to nominate both a woman and a man as lead candidates on EU election lists.

2. Towards a feminist economic model

WE CALL ON THE EU TO:

• Promote women's economic independence and invest to combat the feminization of poverty, which affects marginalized women, in particular.  

• Apply gender equality budgeting in the EU's multi-annual budget framework for 2027-2033.

• Integrate a gender perspective in financial, economic, employment and social policy in the EU.

3. Ending violence against women and girls

WE CALL ON THE EU TO:

• Adopt the Directive on violence against women and domestic violence, including its provision on sexual harassment in the workplace and a definition of rape based on consent.  

• Appoint an EU Coordinator for ending all forms of violence against women and girls.

• Include violence against women and girls to the list of cross-border crimes (so-called Eurocrimes) to ensure the adoption of a comprehensive framework legislation in the EU covering all forms of violence against women and girls.

 

4. Combatting human trafficking and prostitution

WE CALL ON THE EU TO:

• Recognize the link between human trafficking and prostitution and combat it by adopting the Equality Model at EU level - decriminalize people in prostitution, criminalize the buying and selling of people for sexual purposes, and provide support to avoid and leave prostitution.

• Ensure the continued mandate of a full-time Anti-Trafficking Coordinator to ensure the implementation of the Anti-Trafficking Directive.

• Ensure compliance with CEDAW* and its General Recommendation No. 38 on trafficking in women and girls in the context of global migration in all EU legislation. 

*UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women 

 

5. Guaranteeing women's bodily autonomy

WE CALL ON THE EU TO:

• Recognize Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), including the right to safe abortion, as a part of women's and girls' human rights.

• Include Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in the European Charter of Fundamental Rights.

• Strengthen the protection of violence against women with disabilities within the EU and include the criminalization of forced sterilization in the Directive on violence against women and domestic violence.

6. Strengthening women's participation in peacebuilding

WE CALL ON THE EU TO:

• Strengthen the EU's implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325, which addresses women, peace and security, in all EU's civilian peacekeeping and crisis management efforts.  

• Ensure that all EU responses to war and conflicts have a gender equality perspective.

• Ensure that women and women's rights organizations are included in the decision-making processes for peace negotiations, reconstruction and peace-building work. 

 

7. Integrating gender equality in EU development and migration policies

WE CALL ON THE EU TO:

• Guarantee a sustainable and humane migration and asylum policy in the EU that ensures that the rights of migrant and refugee women and children are protected.

• Strengthen gender equality in the EU's development aid policy and ensure that the proportion of EU aid that goes to local women's rights organizations increases.

• Strengthen efforts to reach the five percent goal of the EU's development projects that have gender equality as a main goal and that 85 percent of the projects should contribute to gender equality.   

8. Climate change is a feminist issue

WE CALL ON THE EU TO:

• Make women an integral part of the Green Transition.

• Apply gender mainstreaming and an intersectional perspective in EU climate policy and regulations.

• Ensure 50/50 representation of women and men in environmental negotiations, budget negotiations and in decision-making to achieve a green economy. 

9. Fighting racism and discrimination

WE CALL ON THE EU TO:

• Extend and strengthen the EU's action plan against racism (2020-2025) with proper follow-up and measurable targets and follow up that member states develop national plans and strategies against racism. 

• Adopt the Anti-Discrimination Directive, which would provide a comprehensive framework for combatting discrimination at EU level.

• Design a common EU policy to strengthen the human rights of LGBTQI people and take measures at EU level to combat discrimination and hate crimes against LGBTQI people in the EU member states.  

  
   

10. Protecting and strengthening women's rights

WE CALL ON THE EU TO:

• Adopt a Gender Equality Strategy 2.0 for 2025–2030 and include a budget in the strategy.

• Appoint an EU Commissioner with sole responsibility for Women’s Rights and Gender Equality.

• Actively support women's rights organizations, both through financial resources and safe spaces.