2001/51/EC: Council Decision of 20 December 2000 establishing a Programme relating to the Community framework strategy on gender equality (2001-2005)
Date: 2000-12-20
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EU Member State, EU programme, action programme, gender equality

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COUNCIL DECISION

of 20 December 2000

establishing a Programme relating to the Community framework strategy on gender equality
(2001-2005)

(2001/51/EC)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Article 13 thereof,

(5)

The Council, in its Conclusions of 22 October 1999 has
stressed the importance of a new action programme to
promote equality for women and men.

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),

(6)

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (2),

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee (3),

Having regard to the opinion of
Regions (4),

the Committee of

the

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

The principle of equal treatment for women and men is
a fundamental principle of Community law and the
Directives and other acts adopted in keeping with it have
in improving the situation of
played a major part
women.

Experience of action at Community level has shown that
promoting gender equality in practice calls for a combi-
nation of measures and, in particular, of legislation and
practical action designed to reinforce one another.
Experience has also shown that Community work in this
area should be continued, combining integration of the
gender dimension with specific action. In addition it has
shown the importance of the role of men in achieving
equality between the sexes.

The persistence of
structural, gender-based discrim-
ination, double - and often multiple-discrimination faced
by many women and persistent gender inequality justify
the continuation and strengthening of Community
action in the field and the adoption of new methods and
approaches.

The European Parliament,
in its Resolution on the
interim report of the Commission on the implementa-
tion of the medium-term Community action programme
on equal opportunities for men and women (1996-
2000) (5), has called on the Commission to submit a
proposal for a fifth action programme.

(1) OJ C 337 E, 28.11.2000, p. 196.
(2) Opinion delivered on 15 November 2000 (not yet published in the

(3) Opinion delivered on 28 November 2000 (not yet published in the

Official Journal).

Official Journal).

(4) Opinion delivered on 23 October 2000 (not yet published in the

Official Journal).

(5) OJ C 279, 1.10.1999, p. 88.

The Fourth World Conference on Women held in
Beijing on 15 September 1995 adopted a Declaration
and a Platform for Action calling on governments, the
international community and civil society to take stra-
tegic action to eliminate both discrimination against
women and the barriers to gender equality. The final
document to emerge from the follow-up meeting and
the evaluation made at the UN/General Assembly in
New York from 5 to 9 June 2000 (Beijing + 5)
confirmed the Declaration and Platform for Action and
strengthened the latter in certain areas. They also reaf-
firmed the need for its speedy and complete imple-
mentation.

All Member States and applicant countries have signed
and ratified the UN/Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

The European Council, meeting in Lisbon on 23 and 24
March 2000 and at Santa Maria da Feira on 19 and 20
June 2000, called on the Commission and the Member
States to further all aspects of equal opportunities in
employment policies, for example by reducing occupa-
tional segregation and making it easier to reconcile
working and family life, in particular by setting a new
benchmark for improved childcare provision. It also set
quantitative objectives,
alia, with regard to
inter
increasing the number of women in employment from
an average of 51 % today to more than 60 % by 2010.

(7)

(8)

(9)

In its Resolution of 29 June 2000 (6)
the Council
stressed the importance of a balanced participation by
women and men in family and working life.

(10)

The new Community framework strategy for gender
equality embraces all activities of the Community which
in accordance with Article 3(2) of the Treaty aim to
eliminate inequalities, and to promote equality, between
men and women. This Decision provides the structure
for the horizontal and coordinating activities necessary
to ensure coherence and to develop synergies with
regard to the implementation of the Community frame-
work strategy.

(6) OJ C 218, 31.7.2000, p. 5.

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(11)

the Commission,

In order to reinforce the added value of Community
action,
in cooperation with the
Member States, should ensure, at all levels, the coher-
ence and complementarity of actions implemented in
the framework of
this Decision and other relevant
Community policies, instruments and actions, in partic-
ular
coordinated employment
strategy, social policy, the European Social Fund, educa-
tion, vocational training and youth.

concerning a

those

(12) Measures to strengthen the capacity of key players
involved in promoting gender equality should include
the exchange of information, experience and best prac-
tices among networks, including the network of Parlia-
mentary Committees
for
Women and Men in Member States and in the European
Parliament and the Commission's experts' networks.
the
Promotion of synergy among the members of
networks should be a priority issue.

for Equal Opportunities

(18) A financial reference amount within the meaning of
point 34 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 6 May
1999 between the European Parliament, the Council and
the Commission on budgetary discipline and improve-
ment of the budgetary procedure (2) is included in this
the programme,
Decision for the entire duration of
without thereby affecting the powers of the budgetary
authority as they are defined by the Treaty.

(19)

the proposed action by the
Since the objectives of
Community, namely to promote gender equality, cannot
be sufficiently achieved by the Member States by reason
of, inter alia, the need for multilateral partnerships, trans-
national exchange of information and Community-wide
dissemination of good practice, the Community may
adopt measures,
in accordance with the principle of
subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In
accordance with the principle of proportionality laid
down in the said Article, this Decision does not go
beyond what is necessary to achieve those objectives,

(13)

It is important that the Commission and the Member
States make efforts to ensure that all the texts, guidelines
and calls for tenders published under this programme
are written in clear, simple and accessible language.

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

(14)

It is necessary for the success of any Community action
for the results to be monitored and evaluated against the
aims.

Article 1

Establishment of the Programme

The measures necessary for the implementation of this
Decision should be adopted in accordance with Council
Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down
the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers
conferred on the Commission (1).

This Decision establishes, for the period from 1 January 2001
to 31 December 2005, a Community Action Programme, here-
inafter referred to as the ‘Programme’. The Programme shall
have as its purpose to promote gender equality, in particular by
providing assistance and support for the Community frame-
work strategy.

The agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA)
provides for increased cooperation in the social field
between the European Community and its Member
States on the one hand and the countries of the Euro-
pean Free Trade Area participating in the European
Economic Area (EFTA/EEA) on the other. Furthermore
this Programme should be opened up for participation
by the applicant countries of Central and Eastern
Europe, in accordance with the conditions established in
the Europe Agreements, in their additional protocols and
in the decisions of the respective Association Councils,
to Cyprus, Malta and Turkey. This participation should
be funded by additional appropriations in accordance
with the procedures to be agreed with those countries.

(17)

In the implementation of this programme, work carried
out by other international organisations,
in particular
the Organisation for Economic
the United Nations,
Cooperation and Development, the International Labour
Organisation and the Council of Europe, will be of
particular interest.

Article 2

Principles

The Programme is one of the instruments necessary for
1.
the implementation of
the overall Community strategy on
gender equality, which embraces all Community policies and
including gender
action aimed at achieving gender equality,
mainstreaming policies and specific actions targeted at women.

2.
The Programme shall coordinate, support and finance the
implementation of horizontal activities under the fields of
intervention of the Community framework strategy on gender
equality. These fields of intervention are: economic life, equal
participation and representation, social rights, civil life, gender
roles and stereotypes. The principle of gender equality in the
process of enlargement of the Union as well as the gender
dimension both in the Community's external relations and in
development cooperation policies must permeate all areas of
intervention of the Community framework strategy.

(1) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.

(2) OJ C 172, 18.6.1999, p. 1.

(15)

(16)

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Article 3

Objectives

Within the framework of the principles referred to in Article 2
and taking into account, where appropriate, future legislative
activity, the Programme shall have the following objectives:

(a) to promote and disseminate the values and practices under-

lying gender equality;

(b) to improve the understanding of issues related to gender
equality, including direct and indirect gender discrimination
and multiple discrimination against women, by evaluating
the effectiveness of policies and practice through prior
analysis, monitoring their implementation and assessing
their effects;

(c) to develop the capacity of players to promote gender
equality effectively, in particular through support for the
exchange of information and good practice and networking
at Community level.

Article 4

Community actions

1. With a view to achieving the objectives referred to in
Article 3, the following Community actions will be imple-
mented within a transnational framework:

(a) raising

primarily

awareness,

the
Community dimension of the promotion of gender equality
and by publicising the results of the Programme, in partic-
ular through publications, campaigns and events;

emphasising

by

(b) analysis of factors and policies relating to gender equality,
including the collection of statistics, studies, gender impact
assessment, tools and mechanisms, development of indica-
tors and benchmarks and effective dissemination of results.
This will also include monitoring of the implementation
and application of Community equality law by evaluating
legislation and practice in order to assess their impact and
effectiveness;

(c) transnational cooperation between parties through the
promotion of networking and exchange of experiences at
Community level.

2.
Arrangements for the implementation of
described in paragraph 1 are set out in the Annex.

the actions

Article 5

Implementation of the Programme and cooperation with
Member States

1.

The Commission shall:

(a) ensure the implementation of
covered by this Programme;

the Community actions

(b) regularly exchange views with the Members of

the
Committee referred to in Article 7, with representatives of
social partners at Community level and non-governmental
organisations on the implementation and follow-up of the
Programme and on related policy orientations. To that end,
the Commission shall make the relevant information avail-
able to non-governmental organisations and the social part-
ners. The Commission shall inform the said Committee of
these points of view;

(c) promote active partnership and dialogue between all the
partners involved in the Programme, inter alia to encourage
an integrated and coordinated approach to promote gender
equality.

The Commission, in cooperation with the Member States,

2.
shall take the necessary steps to:

(a) promote the involvement in the Programme of all the

parties concerned;

(b) ensure the dissemination of

the results of

the actions

undertaken within the Programme;

(c) provide accessible information and ensure appropriate
publicity and follow-up with regard to actions supported
by the Programme.

Article 6

Implementing provisions

1.
The measures necessary for the implementation of this
Decision relating to the matters referred to below shall be
adopted in accordance with the management procedure
referred to in Article 7(2):

(a) the general guidelines

for

the implementation of

the

programme;

(b) the annual plan of work for the implementation of the

programme's actions;

(c) the financial support to be supplied by the Community;

(d) the annual budget and the distribution of funding between

the various actions of the programme;

(e) the procedures for selecting the actions to be supported by
the Community and the draft list of actions to receive such
support submitted by the Commission;

(f) the criteria for monitoring and evaluating the programme,
in particular its cost-effectiveness, and the arrangements for
the dissemination of results.

2.
The measures necessary for the implementation of this
Decision relating to all other matters shall be adopted in
accordance with the advisory procedure
referred to in
Article 7(3).

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Article 7

Committee

under

EQUAL
Community
Community initiative or measures promoting cooperation to
reinforce employment strategy.

Structural

Funds,

the

the

1.

The Commission shall be assisted by a Committee.

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 4 and
7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply.

The Member States shall facilitate and make all possible
3.
efforts to ensure that activities under this Programme are
consistent with and complementary to those carried out at
levels.
national, regional and local

The period laid down in Article 4(3) of Decision 1999/468/EC
shall be set at two months.

Article 10

3. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 3 and
7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply.

Participation of EFTA/EEA countries, the associated coun-
tries of Central and Eastern Europe, Cyprus, Malta and
Turkey

4.

The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.

Article 8

Cooperation with other Committees

In order to ensure the consistency and complementarity of the
Programme with other measures referred to in Article 9, the
Commission shall keep the Committee regularly informed
about other Community actions contributing to the promotion
of gender equality. Where appropriate, the Commission shall
establish regular and structured cooperation between this
Committee and the monitoring committees established for
other relevant policies,

instruments and actions.

Article 9

Consistency and complementarity

1.
The Commission shall, in cooperation with the Member
States, ensure overall consistency with other Union and
Community policies, instruments and actions, in particular by
establishing appropriate mechanisms and tools, such as gender
impact assessment, monitoring tools and benchmarks, to coor-
dinate the activities of this Programme with activities of partic-
such as
ular
research, employment, non-discrimination, action to combat
poverty and social exclusion, health, education, training and
youth policy, culture, justice and home affairs and in the field
of enlargement and of
the Community's external relations
(including external Community activities in the human rights
field).

the advancement of women,

relevance for

this Programme

2.
The Commission and the Member States shall ensure
consistency and complementarity between action undertaken
relevant Union and
under
Community actions, such as those supported by the DAPHNE,
STOP, PHARE and MEDA programmes, the research frame-
work programmes to combat social exclusion,
the social
agenda and the Community action programme to combat
discrimination (2001-2006).

and other

The Programme shall be open to the participation of:

(a) the EFTA/EEA countries in accordance with the conditions

established in the EEA Agreement;

(b) the applicant countries of Central and Eastern Europe
(CEECs) in accordance with the conditions established in
the Europe Agreements, in their additional protocols and in
the decisions of the respective Association Councils;

(c) Cyprus, Malta and Turkey, funded by additional appropria-
tions in accordance with procedures to be agreed with
those countries.

Article 11

Funding

1.
The financial reference amount for the implementation of
the Programme for the period 2001-2005 shall be EUR 50
million.

The annual appropriations shall be authorised by the
financial

2.
budgetary authority within the
perspective.

limits of

the

Article 12

Monitoring and evaluation

1.
The Commission shall regularly monitor the Programme
in cooperation with the committee referred to in Article 7.

The Programme shall be evaluated by the Commission at
2.
its mid-term and at the end of the Programme with the assis-
tance of independent experts. The evaluation will assess the
relevance, effectiveness and cost-benefit ratio of actions imple-
mented with regard to the objectives referred to in Article 2. It
will also examine the impact of the Programme as a whole.

The programme must
specific actions
supporting equal treatment for women and men in the area of
employment and work which may be undertaken by the

take account of

The evaluation will also examine the complementarity between
action under the Programme and that pursued under other
relevant Community policies,

instruments and actions.

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The Commission shall submit an interim evaluation
3.
report by 31 December 2003 at the latest to the European
Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee
and the Committee of the Regions.

The Commission shall submit a final evaluation report on
4.
the Framework Strategy and the Programme to the European
Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee
and the Committee of the Regions by 31 December 2006 at
the latest.

5.
All evaluation reports referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4
shall indicate the extent to which funds have been made avail-
able to the Commission, the Member States and public bodies
and to NGOs.

Article 13

Addressees

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels, 20 December 2000.

For the Council

The President

É. GUIGOU

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I. INTERVENTION AREAS

ANNEX

In accordance with the principles referred to in Article 2, the Programme may operate in one or more of the
following fields of intervention, within the limits of the powers conferred by the Treaty on the Community:

1. Economic life

This area relates to the remaining gender gaps in the labour market and the ways to tackle them. Action consists in
increasing the employment rate of women, reducing unemployment rates among women and to making it easier
for women and men to reconcile working with family life.

The issues of gender segregation of the labour market, including vertical segregation (the glass ceiling) and the
gender pay gap which are the main subject of the Community programmes referred to in Article 9(2) may fall
within the Programme where this will ensure an integrated approach to the different areas covered by it or to types
of action not financed by the said programmes.

2. Equal participation and representation

This area covers the lack of women's participation in decision-making bodies. The actions consist in adopting
strategies and instruments to promote women political, economic and social decision-making at all
levels,
including activities in external relations and development cooperation (such as the role and participation of
women in international missions).

3. Social rights

Effective gender mainstreaming needs to be applied to all policy areas which have an impact on women's daily life
such as transport, public health and the fight against discrimination on other grounds. The actions are coordinated
with those of the Community action programme to combat discrimination and other relevant action programmes.
They aim at improving the application of Community legislation, in particular on social protection and in the
areas of parental leave, maternity protection and working time, and at finding ways and means of more easily
reconciling family and working life, in particular by setting benchmarks for the improved provision of childcare
and care for the elderly.

4. Civil life

This area covers the enforcement of the human rights of women. The actions promote the recognition of human
rights of women, enforce equal opportunity rights and strengthen the fight against gender related violence and
trafficking in women.

5. Gender roles and stereotypes

This area covers the stereotyped images of women and men and the need to change behaviour, attitudes, norms
and values to take account of the evolution of the roles of men and women in society. The actions cover gender
mainstreaming in particular in education, training, culture, science, media, youth and sports policies.

II. ACCESS TO THE PROGRAMME

Under the conditions and implementing arrangements set out in this Annex, access to the Programme is open to all
public and/or private bodies and institutions involved in promoting gender equality, and notably to:

(a) Member States,

(b) local and regional authorities,

(c) bodies promoting gender equality,

(d) the social partners,

(e) non-governmental organisations,

(f) universities and research institutes,

(g) national statistical offices,

(h) the media.

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III. TYPES OF ACTION

The following actions may be supported by the Programme,

in a transnational framework:

Strand 1 — Awareness raising

1. The organisation of conferences, seminars and events at European level;

2. The organisation in the Member States and in the applicant countries in accordance with Article 10, of a

large-scale European event on an annual basis on one of the programme's priorities;

3. The organisation of European media campaigns and events to support the transnational exchange of information
and the identification and dissemination of good practice, including the award of an annual prize to companies
successful

in promoting gender equality and with a view to strengthen the visibility of gender issues;

4. The publication of materials to disseminate the results of the Programme, including the construction of an internet
site providing examples of good practice, a forum for the exchange of ideas and a database of potential partners
for transnational exchange actions as well as e-links to the existing relevant web-sites in the Member States;

5. The implementation of transnational initiatives such as meetings, seminars or campaigns, on particular topics
approved annually, after discussion with the Committee referred to in Article 7. The aim of these activities is to
support and improve the synergy among national policies on gender equality and to develop a Community added
value;

6. Organisation of seminars and the dissemination of information on and in support of the implementation of
Community law in the field of gender equality, with particular attention being paid to the needs and requirements
of the applicant countries.

Strand 2 — Analysis and evaluation

1. The development and dissemination of comparable statistics, broken down by sex and, if possible, by age, and

statistical series on women and men's situation in different policy areas;

2. The development and dissemination of methodologies and indicators for evaluating the effectiveness of gender

equality policies and practice (benchmarking);

3. The analysis of women's situation in the labour market, implementation of equality legislation in the Member
States, influence and impact of social protection and taxation on women and men and advancement of women in
access to decision making levels will be carried out and the results and lessons learned will be disseminated;

4. The collection, evaluation and dissemination of recent information and experience regarding successful initiatives,
including overcoming gender stereotypes and

methods and techniques relating to women and the media,
promoting positive and varied portrayals of women and men in the media;

5. The publication of an Annual Report on Gender Equality in the Union including the progress towards the reaching

of the benchmarks and the evaluation of the results achieved;

6. The realisation and dissemination of thematic studies on the target areas comparing and contrasting approaches

within and across Member States and applicant countries;

7. A feasibility study will analyse the prior conditions for the establishment of a European institute for gender.

When implementing this strand the Commission will in particular ensure consistency and complementarity with the
activities conducted by other Commission services or by European agencies; in particular, the European Foundation
for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions and the Community RTD Framework programme and the
European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop).

Strand 3 — Strengthening capacity

The following actions may be supported in order to improve the capacity and effectiveness of key players involved in
promoting gender equality.

Transnational exchange actions involving a range of players from at least three Member States, consisting of the
transfer of information, lessons learned and good practice. These actions may be undertaken by NGOs or social
partners at European level and transnational networks of regional or local authorities and of organisations which aim
to promote gender equality.

These actions may include comparison of the effectiveness of processes, methods and tools related to the chosen
themes, mutual transfer and application of good practice, exchanges of personnel, joint development of products,
processes, strategy and methodology, adaptation to different contexts of methods, tools and processes identified as
good practice, and/or dissemination of results, profile-raising materials and events.

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IV. METHOD OF PRESENTING APPLICATIONS FOR SUPPORT

Strand 1

Strand 2

Strand 3

Actions 2, 3 and 4 of this strand will be implemented in response to open calls for tenders. Actions
5 and 6, to be implemented under the authority of the Member States or by equality bodies, may be
subsidised in response to restricted calls for tenders addressed to the Member States.

This strand will be implemented via the Commission, normally in response to calls for tenders.
Action 1 will be implemented following the relevant Eurostat procedures.

Strand 3 will be implemented in response to open calls for tenders organised by the Commission,
which will vet the proposals. The actions may be implemented by NGOs or social partners at
European level, transnational networks of regional or local authorities or by transnational networks
of organisations, which aim to promote gender equality.

V. CARRYING OUT THE ACTIONS

1. The actions to be taken may be funded by service contracts following calls for tender or by subsidies for joint
financing with other sources. In the latter case, the level of financial assistance by the Commission may not exceed,
as a general rule, 80 % of the expenditure actually incurred by the recipient.

2. When carrying out the Programme, the Commission may require additional resources,

including recourse to
experts. These requirements will be decided in the context of the Commission's ongoing assessment of resource
allocation.

3. When carrying out the Programme, the Commission may have recourse to technical and/or administrative
assistance, to the mutual benefit of the Commission and of the beneficiaries, related to identification, preparation,
management, monitoring, audit and control.

4. The Commission may also undertake information, publication and dissemination actions. It may also undertake

evaluation studies and organise seminars, colloquia or other meetings of experts.

5. The Commission will prepare annual work plans setting out the priorities and actions to be undertaken. Moreover,
it will also specify the arrangements and criteria to be applied in selecting and financing actions under the
Programme. In so doing,

it will seek the opinion of the Committee referred to in Article 7.

6. Actions undertaken will fully respect the principles of data protection.