Eurocommissaris Füle: versterken rol van vrouwen in Zuid Mediterrane landen (en)

Civil Society Forum, in Brussels

4 September 2013

Ladies and gentlemen,

I am delighted to have this opportunity to speak with you today and would like to thank you most sincerely for this invitation.

Next week, Euromed Ministers will gather in Paris for the third ministerial meeting dedicated to women in seven years. This underlines the importance of the subject as does your presence here today.

The Southern Neighbourhood does not provoke many optimistic headlines in the global media today. The catalogue of deaths, destruction, outrages, and abuses owes more to the darker ages of history rather than the hopeful outlook inspired by the brave uprisings from January 2011.

As many European countries have also learned, there are many deviations and disappointments on the road to democracy. Sometimes it would be easy to allow despair to take over, and yet, as Martin Luther King said: "We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope."

Turning to the subject of today's forum, let me start with three remarks:

First, women continue to be at the forefront of the protest movements that have shaken the region since 2011, demanding freedom, equality and justice. They have paid a high price for their involvement. The reported catalogue of rapes, abuses and punishments, often carried out in public, are an obscenity that cannot be tolerated by any society.

Second, women must be able to play their full part in building the futures of their countries. Women's participation in public, political and economic life, on an equal basis with men, is one of the primary values at the heart of the Arab spring.

Third, in the southern Mediterranean region women have voiced their need for support to help them capitalise on opportunities arising from the Arab Spring. This includes the opening of spaces that would enable them to fully contribute to shaping the future of their countries. Central to these efforts is supporting the political, social and economic empowerment of women in the region, particularly the most poor and marginalised, to move out of poverty and provide for themselves and their families.

Although the situation of women differs among the countries in the region, there are some common problems including:

a high level of violence and discrimination against women;

significant gender pay gaps; and

very low representation of women in political and economic life.

While many of the countries have nominal equality laws, the enforcement of and compliance with these laws are often ineffective.

The challenge is to secure and maintain women’s participation in political processes in the Southern Mediterranean. It is vital that steps are taken to establish equal rights between men and women as the very foundation of democratic societies.

Let me stress here that the European Union has responded to the regional changes by reinforcing its support and cooperation in improving, not only women´s participation in social and political life, but also at empowering them economically.

You will no doubt have read our various joint communications that followed in the wake of the Arab uprisings and noted the importance we attach to gender equality in our programmes and the central role gender aspects will play in underpinning that support.

Our total specific support for gender issues in the Southern Mediterranean region at the moment amoun ts to almost €91 million, out of which around €73 million are implemented at bilateral level and €17 million at regional level.

Allow me now to highlight just a few concrete examples of support we are providing to improve the situation of women in the region:

In Morocco, a €45 million support programme on "Promotion of equality between men and women" aims at supporting Government's policies and contributing to the practical implementation of the principles of women's rights and equal treatment which were included in the Moroccan constitution in July 2011. The programme addresses legal reforms to implement these principles as well as practical measures to ensure protection of women.

In Egypt, despite the difficulties suffered by civil society organisations there are 9 grants totalling more than €3 million which represents 23% of the on-going support to Egyptian civil society. Through this package, the European Union is working directly with civil society organisations addressing the political, religious, cultural and social obstacles that hamper women’s full enjoyment of their rights. In addition, the European Union Delegation recently signed a €4 million project aimed at reinforcing women's rights and which will be implemented by UN Women.

Our thematic programmes on gender issues manage 9 regional grants totalling almost €7 million dealing with:

promoting women´s rights;

promoting gender equality in transitional justice-related policies; and

increasing respect for women´s rights and gender equality.

The Civil Society Facility has devoted €33 million to the South Mediterranean since 2011. This programme focuses on developing the capacities and skills of youth and women to enable them become effective players in decision-making process and policy dialogues.

There is also a new €8.2 million regional programme with an 85% co-financing by the EU aimed at empowering women politically and economically, as well as at enhancing regional knowledge on women´s rights, which is currently being implemented by UN Women across the region.

These are just a few examples of current European Union support. You, no doubt, will have other suggestions after your deliberations here in Brussels. And we look forward to hearing them in Paris next week when you make your presentation to the Ministerial meeting.

Among the findings from a recent evaluation of the European Union's support to the two neighbourhoods were specific recommendations concerning our relations with civil society. These underline the need to build a new dialogue in the south, to create mechanisms to improve representativeness and communication of civil society organisations. This is what I have tasked my services to do, and I am happy to report that they are making good progress and consulting with you along the way.

And I look forward to welcoming you back to Brussels early next year when we can jointly launch this initiative at a major civil society forum.

But back to today's forum; you probably have already analysed the European Union's response to events in the region and critically examined our support, particularly the support to the most vulnerable of sectors. This is your role, and our responsibility is not just to take note of your findings, but where possible, to act on them.

This time we are discussing the role of women. We will come together again soon under similar formats to discuss aspects of trade, energy, transport as well as other sectors.

With your involvement and our support, we can help accelerate the necessary political, legal and social reforms that will ensure a balanced and equitable development of the region. A successful transition to sustainable democracy in the South Mediterranean is a priority for the European Union, as I am sure it is for you.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We cannot ignore what is happening in our closest neighbourhood. Nor can we ignore that the people there look to Europe as a source of support and inspiration for reforms. That is why it is so important for us to maintain our engagement in the Neighbourhood, an engagement that must embrace all sectors of society.

Thank you for your attention.