Zita Gurmai's blog

I welcome the fact that Commissioner Reding spoke at the European Parliament’s Women Committee (FEMM) last week. She was there to give an overview of the Gender Equality priorities of the European Commission for the year 2013. This shows that she is open to developing good coordination with the European Parliament on gender equality issues, which is crucial for the advancement of women’s rights in the European Union (EU).

1 April is an important day for European Democracy; the European Citizens Initiative is now officially in force. As co-rapporteur for the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) I have worked hard with my colleagues to ensure that this innovative tool would be as accessible and user-friendly as possible.

Today, on 2 March 2012 we “celebrate” the European Equal Pay Day (EEPD). This day is an opportunity to recall that gender pay gap is still 17% in the European Union today. Even if the principle of equal pay for equal work was enshrined in the Treaty of Rome in 1957, the reality is altogether different. My message today for European Equal Pay Day is to raise awareness and to mark the countdown to International Women’s Day on 8 March (see below for list of events).

In last week’s blog, I asked whether EU Commissioner Viviane Reding is in favour of gender quotas for executive boards. I had high hopes, but the meeting of the EPSCO Council which took place on 17 February 2012 proved the EU is far from achieving European legislation on the issue.