Paving the Way for an Equality-Centred Policy Cycle

Brussels, 11 July 2024—The European Union was founded on the principles of equality and non-discrimination. Yet too many people continue to face discrimination and inequality across the Union, including intersectional and multiple forms of discrimination in all aspects of their lives.[1] In the current climate, it is now imperative that the EU institutions strengthen their resolve to take meaningful and urgent action to address this reality.

As European Union leaders decide on their priorities for the 2024-2029 cycle, we call on them to ensure that equality and non-discrimination are included as central priorities in the EU work programme for the next five years. Only by centring equality and protection from discrimination in this way can the EU truly respond to the key concerns of people living in the Union.

The equality and non-discrimination agenda was afforded increased visibility and action during the last five years as a result of the ambitious “Union of Equality” agenda and the appointment of the first Commissioner for Equality. This led to unprecedented progress in efforts to advance equality and non-discrimination across EU policy making. Progress included the adoption of important initiatives such as the Directive on violence against women, inaugural Gender Equality and LGBTIQ Equality Strategies, an Anti-Racism Action Plan, a Green Paper on Ageing, an Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion, a Strategy to strengthen the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in the EU, as well as the renewal of the Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the EU Roma strategic framework.

At this critical juncture, it is vital that the EU continue to prioritize efforts to guarantee the founding values of equality and non-discrimination, to advance the entire package which comprises the Union of Equality, and to ensure an intersectional approach to this agenda. Failure to do so would seriously jeopardise progress in this area and mark a very dangerous step backward.  

To this end we call on EU leadership to take the following steps:

• Appoint a Commissioner for Equality and Fundamental Rights, ensuring the mandate has the power to renew and deepen the Union of Equality agenda and nominating a candidate with a demonstrated commitment to equality;
• Strengthen the Union of Equality agenda by introducing new strategies to address grounds not already covered, mainstreaming all strategies across policy areas and renewing and building-out existing equality strategies, such as the Gender Equality Strategy, LGBTIQ Equality Strategy, the EU Anti-Racism Action Plan, the Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion, the EU Strategy on the rights of persons with disabilities and the Roma strategic framework;
• Ensure the next EU budget includes robust funding streams for civil society organisations working on equality and non-discrimination;
• Ensure equality and non-discrimination objectives are also core components of EU priorities in the sphere of international cooperation, external and humanitarian action;
• Maintain the current status of the Parliament’s Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality and refrain from weakening its mandate;
• Establish a Council configuration dedicated to equality in the EU and ensure concrete commitments towards implementation of equality strategies by member states;
• Establish a new Directorate-General for Equality and Fundamental Rights thereby strengthening the Commission’s ability to design and monitor equality and non-discrimination laws and policies;
• Renew and upgrade the mandates of the Commission Coordinators working on equality, ensuring a focus on intersectionality during this term;
• Entrust the Commission Task Force on Equality with a strong mandate and ensure it works transparently and in close consultation and cooperation with civil society organizations and networks.

As 147 civil society organisations with significant expertise on equality, and as representatives of groups at increased risk of discrimination across the EU, we issue this call as a testament to our solidarity with each other, and urge EU leaders to ensure that the people most affected by EU policies and legislation on equality and non-discrimination are always involved in their development and implementation.

1. A Scuola Per Conoscerci, Italy
2. ACCEPT LGBTI Cyprus
3. ACCEPT Romania
4. ACT Alliance EU
5. AESCO (América, España, Solidaridad y Cooperación) 
6. Agapanto, Italy
7. AGE Platform Europe
8. Agedo Nazionale, Italy
9. Aidos (Italian Association for Women in Development)
10. ALFI – Associazione Lesbica Femminista Italiana, Italy
11. AlfiLune, Italy
12. Amnesty International
13. Amref Health Africa – Italy
14. Anemos Dimiourgias – Greece
15. ANTAMA (Greece)
16. Anti-Discrimination Centre Memorial Brussels
17. APRe! Associação de Aposentados, Pensionistas e Reformados (Portugal)
18. ARCIGAY LGBTQIA+ Association, Italy
19. ASKV Refugee Support
20. Asociación de Investigación y Especialización sobre Temas Iberoamericanos – AIETI (Spain)
21. Asociación Por Ti Mujer
22. Association Bagdam Espace Lesbian – France
23. Association Legebitra, Slovenia
24. Association Libellula ITALIA APS, Italy
25. Association Liberas – Italy
26. Association for Monitoring Equal Rights / Eşit Haklar İçin İzleme Derneği (Turkey)
27. ASTRA Network
28. ATDAL Over 40 (Italy)
29. Austrian Disability Council
30. Austrian Family Planning Association (OGF)
31. Autism-Europe
32. Avaaz
33. Avocats Sans Frontières
34. Belgian Disability Forum (BDF)
35. Brain Injured and families European Federation (BIF)
36. Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft der Seniorenorganisationen (BAGSO, the German National Association of Senior Citizens’ Organisations)
37. çavaria, Belgium
38. Center for Gender Rights and Equality DIOTIMA
39. Center for Reproductive Rights
40. Certi Diritti, Italy
41. Circolo di Cultura Omosessuale ” Mario Mieli”, Italy
42. Civil Rights Defenders
43. COC Nederland
44. Cologne Counselling – Germany
45. Confederación Sindical de Comisiones Obreras (CCOO)
46. Dachverband Lesben und Alter e.V. – Germany
47. Danish Family Planning Association
48. Deutscher Behindertenrat (DBR)
49. Disability Federation of Ireland (DFI)
50. Disabled Peoples’ International European Region (DPI Europe)
51. Doctors of the World Spain
52. EDGE, Italy
53. EMAIZE Sexologia Zentroa – Centro Sexológico
54. End FGM EU
55. Epen, El Parto es Nuestro
56. Equipop
57. EuroCentralAsian Lesbian* Community (EL*C)
58. European Blind Union (EBU)
59. European Disability Forum
60. European Dyslexia Association
61. European Federation of Hard of Hearing People
62. European Network Against Racism (ENAR)
63. European Roma Grassroots Organisations Network (ERGO Network)
64. European Sex Workers’ Rights Alliance (ESWA)
65. European Women’s Lobby
66. Famiglie Arcobaleno APS, Italy
67. Federación de Mujeres Progresistas
68. Fédération Laïque de Centres de Planning Familial (FLCPF)
69. Foundation for Women and Family Planning (FEDERA)
70. French Family Planning / le Planning Familial
71. Fundación Aspacia
72. GAMS Belgium (Groupe pour l’Abolition des Mutilations Sexuelles féminines)
73. Gaynet – Formazione e Comunicazione sui temi Lgbti, Italy
74. GenderLens, Italy
75. General Commission for Justice and Peace of Spain
76. GLAS Foundation, Bulgaria
77. Haurralde Fundazioa 
78. HelpAge International
79. HelpAge International Spain
80. Human Rights Watch
81. IGLYO
82. ILGA-Europe
83. Iniciatíva Inakosť, Slovakia
84. International Commission of Jurists
85. International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN)
86. International Disability and Development Consortium (IDDC)
87. International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
88. International Federation of Persons with Physical Disabilities (FIMITIC)
89. International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights
90. International Planned Parenthood Federation European Network (IPPF EN)
91. IntersexEsiste, Italy
92. Irish Family Planning Association
93. Jovesólides
94. Kif Kif vzw
95. KISA
96. Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation
97. La Coordinadora de Organizaciones para el Desarrollo (Spain)
98. La Strada International
99. Labrisz Lesbian Association – Hungary
100. LesbenRing e.V. – Germany
101. Lesbian Magazine and Program Organizing Association – Hungary
102. Lesbian Organisation Rijeka – LORI – Croatia
103. LesWorking – Spain
104. LGBT komiteen – The LGBT Committee, Denmark
105. Light for the World
106. LSVD, the Lesbian and Gay Federation, Germany
107. LUNES LILAS
108. Malta Federation of Organisations Persons with Disability (MFOPD)
109. Malta LGBTIQ Rights Movement (MGRM)
110. medicusmundi
111. Mujeres Jóvenes de la Región de Murcia: 8 de marzo (MUJOMUR)
112. Mujeres Supervivientes de Sevilla
113. NET.Collect – Germany
114. Nőkért Egyesület / Association for Women, Hungary 
115. Nothern Ireland Council for Racial Equality (NICRE)
116. OII Europe
117. Older Women’s Network
118. PA.SY.D.Y. Pensioners Union (Cyprus)
119. Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM)
120. Polish Women’s Strike
121. Possibile LGBTI+, Italy
122. PRISME – Fédération wallonne LGBTQIA+, Belgium
123. pro familia Bundesverband
124. Quaker Council for European Affairs
125. Queer Base – Welcome & Support for LGBTIQ Refugees – Austria
126. Queer Sisterhood Cluj – Romania
127. Quore, Italy
128. Rainbow Families Croatia
129. Red de Mujeres Latinoamericanas y del Caribe – España
130. Rete Genitori Rainbow, Italy
131. RFSL, Sweden
132. Rutgers
133. Save the Children
134. SB Overseas
135. Sdružení pro integraci a migraci (SIMI) / Association for Integration and Migration
136. SEDRA-Federación Planificación Familiar
137. Sensoa
138. Society for Education on Contraception and Sexuality – SECS
139. SolidarityNow
140. Stichting LOS, Netherlands
141. Terre des Femmes
142. TGEU – Transgender Europe
143. Toutes des Femmes -France
144. Turun Valkonauha ry, Finland
145. Women Against Violence Europe – WAVE Network
146. Zavod Moja mavrica – Slovenia
147. Zavod Transfeministična Iniciativa TransAkcija – Slovenia

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MEDIA CONTACT: Mihela Kralj, Senior Communications Manager for Europe, Center for Reproductive Rights: [email protected]

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[1] Throughout the text, “equality and non-discrimination” is to be understood as encompassing equality and non-discrimination in the enjoyment of the full range of human rights, including all civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights.