Arenberg room, Egmont Palace, Brussels. © EU
Practical information
Date
26 - 27 February 2024
Address
Brussels, Belgium
This meeting is being held at a pivotal moment just before the end of the current mandate of the European Parliament, as well as the approaching end of the term of office of the von der Leyen’s Commission with the first Commissioner specifically mandated with an equality portfolio. Despite the many advances made towards gender equality, significant gaps remain in the EU. Additionally, Europe is facing multiple and interwoven crises. The economic and social outcomes of the Covid-19 pandemic, the effects of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, and the impact of climate change all have strong and multidimensional effects on the lives of European citizens, especially women and girls. These effects are not gender neutral.
To address these multiple challenges, strengthened dialogue between Ministers and State Secretaries responsible for Gender Equality is needed. This will allow EU member states to debate at the highest level how we can better work to bring a new and stronger dynamic to the future of gender equality in the EU, to safeguard the progress made so far and to build on that progress to advance further together.
Programme
Ministers will be invited to reflect on the successes and lessons learned of the current European gender equality mandate and on how to accelerate progress on gender equality in the EU in the years ahead.
Participants will include the Belgian Prime Minister, the EU Gender Equality Ministers, the Commissioner for Equality, a representative of the EU Parliament, the Women’s European Lobby and the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE).
The meeting would take place all day on 27 February in Brussels. The official programme would start on 26 February with a welcome dinner at the BELvue Museum. In addition, ministers from the current trio of the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU (Spain, Belgium and Hungary) as the incoming trio (Poland, Denmark and Cyprus) will be invited to a working lunch on 26 February to discuss their respective priorities and to visit one of the Belgium's centers for victims of sexual assault.