WRITTEN QUESTION E-1937/00 by Christopher Heaton-Harris (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Budget Item A-3037.
Date: 2000-06-16
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: budget, credit, equal treatment, financial control, interest group, position of women, woman

C 81 E/114

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

13.3.2001

(2001/C 81 E/136)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1937/00

by Christopher Heaton-Harris (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(16 June 2000)

Subject: Budget Item A-3037

€ 600 000 is allocated to the European Women(cid:146)s Lobby from Item A-3037. Could the Commission
indicate the aims and objectives of this organisation and the selection procedure used for this item?

Does the Commission set specific targets for the Women(cid:146)s Lobby, and how is the use of these funds
monitored?

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(28 July 2000)

The European Women(cid:146)s Lobby (EWL) was founded in 1990 in order to put pressure on European policy-
makers to advance the status of women in society. The idea was to bring the maximum number of
women(cid:146)s associations together under one umbrella. Today, the EWL has more than 2 700 women(cid:146)s
organisations as members either directly or indirectly through national umbrella organisations in the
15 Member States or European non governmental organizations (NGOs).

In 1996, the EWL created the European centre on violence against women with an independent mandate
to collect statistics, lobby for anti-violence policies, and inform women, policy-makers and the general
public about violence.

The EWL is an observer in the advisory committee on equal opportunities in the Commission and the
elected co-ordinator for all the European NGOs for the Beijing+5 process (follow-up to the 1995 World
conference on women)

The EWL has conducted several successful campaigns, for example, on the integration of mainstreaming
into the EC Treaty, the reinforcement of equality provisions, and the inclusion of an equal opportunities
pillar in the European employment guidelines. It also ran two election campaigns for women in the
European Parliament, at national level, with the co-ordination in Brussels.

(cid:145)Young women(cid:146)s project (cid:129)
The EWL runs a number of projects, such as:
Training and empowerment of young women on European policies and in particular on gender(cid:146); (cid:145)Women
and Health: Study on particular health issues of concern to women with recommendations for the
European level(cid:146) and the (cid:145)Database on women(cid:146)s organisations in Eastern and Central Europe(cid:146).

(cid:145)Agenda 2000 for Women(cid:146);

The budgetary authority takes the decision on the allocation of
The Commission implements this decision.

funds under budget

line A-3037.

The EWL submits its proposed annual work programme to the Commission for approval. Once approved,
the annual contract between the Commission and the EWL.
the work programme forms part of
The contract
terms and conditions applicable to European Community
operating grant agreements, so it is covered by the general rules on financial controls.

is governed by the general

Payment is made in three instalments: an advance payment; an interim payment following the acceptance
by the Commission of an interim report and financial statement; and a final payment following the
acceptance by the Commission of a final report and financial statement.