The informal agreement reached by Parliament and Council negotiators on Tuesday includes measures to prevent rape, tougher rules on cyber violence, and better support for victims. For the first time, there will be EU-wide rules on the criminalisation of certain forms of gender-based violence and better access to justice, protection and prevention. Member states will … Read more
Frances Fitzgerald (EPP, Ireland), Evin Incir (S&D, Sweden), Chair of the Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Committee Robert Biedroń (S&D, Poland) and Chair of the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee Juan Fernando López Aguilar (S&D, Spain) will inform the media and answers journalists’ questions following the fifth inter-institutional meeting with the Commission and … Read more
Belgium holds the Presidency of the Council until June 2024 included. Economic and Monetary Affairs Protecting taxpayers and their purchasing power while restoring citizens’ trust in financial institutions would be the overarching priority, Finance Minister Vincent Van Peteghem told MEPs on 22 January. He said the economic governance review, deepening the capital markets union, reaching … Read more
The informal agreement reached by Parliament and Council on Tuesday night will expand the scope of the current directive to include forced marriage, illegal adoption, exploitation of surrogacy and better support for victims. It will also: – make sure anti-trafficking and asylum authorities coordinate their activities so that victims of trafficking, who are also in … Read more
On Wednesday, the committees on Civil Liberties and Women’s Rights approved changes to a proposed directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence. A consent-based definition of rape Building on the Commission’s proposal for a criminal definition of rape based on the absence of consent, MEPs seek to add fear and intimidation to the … Read more
The mandate prepared by the Civil Liberties and Women’s Rights committees includes a consent-based definition of rape, tougher rules on cyber violence, and better support for victims. It also asks for: case-by-case assessments for consent; a longer list of aggravating circumstances for offences, including those resulting in the death or suicide of dependants, crimes against … Read more
Spain holds the Presidency of the Council until December 2023 included. Committee on Culture and Education On 7 September, acting Minister for Education and Vocational Training Pilar Alegría said the presidency will focus on educational responses to support Ukraine, ambitious implementation of the European Education area, promoting STEM professions among women and the contribution of … Read more
The report on prostitution in the EU, its cross-border implications and impact on gender equality and women’s rights was adopted by MEPs with 234 votes in favour, 175 against and 122 abstentions. It underlines that the asymmetry between national rules on prostitution within the EU, given its cross-border nature, leads to more victims of trafficking … Read more
To combat human trafficking, which affects at least 7000 victims in Europe each year, new proposals would give EU law enforcement agencies new tools to dismantle criminal organisations by adding new categories of crimes, including forced marriage and illegal adoption, into the existing EU framework, and improve reporting and statistics to create a better understanding … Read more
The mandate for negotiations with the Council would expand the scope of the current directive to include forced marriage, illegal adoption and better support for victims. Lead MEPs Malin Björk (The Left, Sweden) and Eugenia Rodríguez Palop (The Left, Spain) will answer journalists’ questions on the Parliament’s position on the proposed revision of the rules. … Read more
