Changes from plenary report to adopted text

On the implementation of the methodology developed by the Commission

5. Notes that the methodology was used for the first time in the process of drafting the estimates for the EU budget for the financial year 2023, accompanied by a retroactive application to the budgets of the financial years 2021 and 2022;

6. Notes that, for the financial year 2021, at the time of the publication of the related Annual Management Performance Report and out of EUR 352 billion in commitments, 1 % of commitments had received a score of 2, 3 % had received a score of 1, 1 % had received a score of 0 and 95 % had received a score of 0*;

7. Notes that, for the financial year 2022, at the time of the publication of the related Annual Management Performance Report and out of EUR 321 billion in commitments, 2 % of commitments had received a score of 2, 9 % had received a score of 1, 16 % had received a score of 0 and 73 % had received a score of 0*;

8. Notes that, for the financial year 2023, at the time of the publication of the related Annual Management Performance Report and out of EUR 427 billion in commitments, 2 % of commitments had received a score of 2, 9 % had received a score of 1, 69 % had received a score of 0 and 20 % had received a score of 0*;

9. Notes that, for the financial year 2024, at the time of the publication of the related Annual Management Performance Report and out of EUR 195 billion in commitments, 3 % of commitments had received a score of 2, 17 % had received a score of 1, 65 % had received a score of 0 and 16 % had received a score of 0*, these scores being rounded up;

10. Understands that the decreasing share of commitments with a score of 0* over the years is the result of an improvement in the collection and availability of data, and the Commission’s reporting capacity, allowing its directorates-general to better measure the contribution of their programmes to gender equality at a more granular level;

11. Further understands that, due to the limited availability of data and capacity for reporting during the first financial years to which this methodology was applied, there is little added value in comparing numbers from one financial year to another based on the yearly results or in drawing insights from such comparisons;

19. Regrets that the ex post nature of the methodology renders it incapable of structurally influencing the design of policies at an ex ante stage or the collection and allocation of financial resources, which is essential to mainstreaming gender equality properly in EU programmes;

On the broader approach to gender mainstreaming in EU financial programmes

20. Notes that, beyond the gender mainstreaming methodology applied to the EU budget, certain EU programmes have gender equality mainstreamed in their legal bases while others do not;

21. Notes that while the Commission’s dual approach to gender mainstreaming, which is split between tracking the EU budget and establishing the objectives set out in the programmes’ legal bases, is a useful framework, this approach is fragmented and does not impact all programmes to the same extent, therefore reducing the coherence of the EU’s approach to gender equality;

Concluding remarks

22. Takes note of the Commission’s assessment of the implementation of gender mainstreaming in the EU budget and shares the view that for the remaining years of the 2021-2027 MFF, the priority should be to continue to evaluate programmes to better assess their contribution to gender equality and draw lessons on their implementation, making good use of enhanced gender-disaggregated data reporting in place since 2023; stresses the need for enhanced cooperation with all the Members States to harmonise methodologies and avoid any fragmentation in their approaches, and to improve data collection, aggregation and reporting;

23. Acknowledges that while the methodology developed by the Commission is a useful tool for assessing the EU budget’s contribution to gender equality, it faces limitations that constrain its capacity for a transformative effect; stresses the importance of ensuring data availability and the use of specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound (SMART) performance indicators in this regard;

24. Underlines that, as the EU budget is being affected by multiple crises and shifts in political priorities, it is essential for gender budgeting to be proportionately built into the core of the budgetary cycle of programmes ex ante, including in new priority areas, such as competitiveness, defence and preparedness;

25. Calls on the Commission to develop a fully fledged and comprehensive approach to gender budgeting and a specific and comprehensive methodology for the EU budget, to be fully operationalised as early as the start of the next programming period with a transformative potential enabled by its capacity to influence the entirety of the budgetary cycle and by tackling the issues identified in this resolution, so as to ensure the sound financial management of EU funds;

26. Stresses, that in addition to the MFF, any instrument adopted under Article 122 TFEU should also apply gender mainstreaming and budgeting provisions as appropriate, without altering programme objectives, eligibility or award criteria already set in sector-specific legislation, with a view to tracking the EU’s contribution to the promotion of gender equality across all funding instruments in a comprehensive and consistent manner;

27. Calls on the Commission to conduct systematic ex ante impact assessments that also analyse the specific impacts of EU policies and fiscal policy measures – including tax schemes and State aid programmes – on gender equality, in line with the Better Regulation Guidelines, with the aim of identifying and mitigating gender disparities; stresses that careful consideration should also be given to the social and economic impacts of improved gender equality while taking into account administrative costs to small and medium-sized enterprises;

33. Invites the Commission to explore the possibility of setting a quantitative target in the next programming period for a share of the EU budget that contributes to promoting gender equality (corresponding either to a score of 2 or 1 in the current methodology), noting that similar targets have proven useful in advancing the EU’s climate and biodiversity objectives;

34. Calls on the Commission and the Council to respect the provisions set out in the revised Financial Regulation during the negotiations on the next generation of programmes, namely that programmes and activities should, where feasible and appropriate, be implemented in accordance with the relevant sector-specific rules, taking into account the principle of gender equality and in accordance with an appropriate gender mainstreaming methodology;

35. Considers it crucial, in line with the revised Financial Regulation, to ensure that the next generation of programmes includes objectives that allow, where appropriate, for the collection of data disaggregated by gender and for the aggregation of such data across all relevant programmes; calls on the Commission to further develop and improve its methodology to track the EU budget’s contribution to gender equality, including through the systematic use of digital tools, such as artificial intelligence, to improve data collection, aggregation and cross-programme analysis;

36. Calls on all relevant actors, including the Council, the Commission, civil society organisations and other relevant partners, to strive to make gender budgeting a reality in the next programming period;

37. Calls on the Commission to allocate an increased share of EU external actions budget to interventions that contribute to gender equality and women’s empowerment and further dedicate 25 % of the EU’s external financing instruments in the upcoming MFF to promoting gender equality as a principal objective; further calls on the Commission to establish a dedicated fund to promote gender equality globally and to ensure that the actions it supports focus on access to sexual and reproductive health and rights, increasing women’s participation in decision-making, supporting local women-led non-governmental organisations and assisting local women human rights defenders;

38. Calls on the Commission to set clear objectives for the next MFF in terms of contributing to narrowing the gender pay and pension gaps, and addressing the issue of women’s poverty, including through improved childcare services;

39. Calls on the Commission to ensure that EU-funded programmes protect and promote women’s rights, with particular attention to access to public healthcare, childcare and sexual and reproductive health and rights;

40. Calls on EU institutions, in line with the principles of the Directive on Pay Transparency, to analyse and report on their possible gender pay gaps and to take appropriate measures where needed; reiterates its call on the EU institutions, bodies, offices and agencies to improve gender balance, especially at senior management level; invites the EU institutions, bodies, offices and agencies to conduct an analysis to identify areas within the HR cycle – from recruitment to access to promotions – where such improvements are most needed, and to explore the possibility of implementing further measures to achieve gender balance as soon as possible;

41. Recognises the persistent gender disparities in several sectors that are traditionally dominated by a single gender; calls on the Commission to apply gender budgeting to ensure and monitor non-discriminatory conditions to access necessary skills and education programmes for all genders, and to improve gender equality in these specific sectors with the aim of enhancing the competitiveness of the industry; calls for particular attention to women entrepreneurs, especially in small and medium sized enterprises and start-ups, including through specific monitoring within programmes, such as InvestEU and Horizon Europe; calls for stronger monitoring and reporting mechanisms to ensure funds genuinely benefit women and marginalised groups;