European Commission Vice-President Reding meets the EWL and signs the Joint Declaration of the 50/50 Campaign
[Brussels, 16 January 2014] A delegation of the European Women’s Lobby (EWL), led by EWL President Viviane Teitelbaum, met with European Commission Vice-President Viviane Reding on Thursday 16 January 2014. On this occasion, Ms Reding signed the Joint Declaration “No Modern Democracy without Gender Equality”.
During the meeting, Viviane Teitelbaum presented to Ms Reding the issues of interest and concerns for women’s organisations in Europe today. She started by thanking the EC Vice-President for her commitment to gender equality and the diverse European actions she initiated, such as the Women’s Charter which engages all EU Commissioners to mainstream equality between women and men in their work, the directive on women on boards, or the legislative tools put forward to combat violence against women in the EU (European protection order, victims’ package, Daphne programme).
The EWL called on the European Commission to continue supporting European networks such as the EWL, in this context of austerity measures. The EWL would also like to see the EU Strategy for Equality between women and men being renewed in 2015. EWL President informed Ms Reding of the current campaigns of the EWL, especially EWL’s call for 2016 to be the EU Year to End Violence against Women, and the EWL campaign ’Together for a Europe free from Prostitution’.
While Ms Reding is leaving her post of Commissioner for Fundamental Rights in May, the EWL hopes that the new Commission will build on her example and make equality between women and men and women’s rights a priority for the next 5 years.
