2008/590/EC: Commission Decision of 16 June 2008 relating to the setting up of an Advisory Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men (Codified version)
Date: 2008-07-16
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European social policy, advisory committee (EU), codification of EU law, gender equality

18.7.2008

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Official Journal of the European Union

L 190/17

COMMISSION DECISION

of 16 June 2008

relating to the setting up of an Advisory Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men

(Codified version)

(2008/590/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

promotion of equal opportunities require close coop­
eration with the specialised bodies in Member States.

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

(6)

Therefore, an institutional framework is required for the
purpose of regular consultations with those bodies,

Whereas:

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

Commission Decision 82/43/EEC of 9 December 1981
relating to the settingup of an Advisory Committee on
Equal Opportunities for Women and Men (1) has been
substantially amended several times (2). In the interests
of clarity and rationality the said Decision should be
codified.

Article 1

The Commission hereby establishes an Advisory Committee on
Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, hereinafter called ‘the
Committee’.

Equality between women and men is essential to human
dignity and democracy, and constitutes a fundamental
principle of Community law, of the constitutions and
laws of
international and
European conventions.

the Member States, and of

The application in practice of
the principle of equal
treatment for women and men must be encouraged by
improved cooperation and exchanges of views and
experience between those bodies which have special
responsibility in the Member States
for promoting
equality of opportunity, and the Commission.

Article 2

The Committee shall assist the Commission in formulating
1.
the Community’s
and implementing
aimed at
promoting equal opportunities for women and men, and shall
foster ongoing exchanges of relevant experience, policies and
practices between the Member States and the various parties
involved.

activities

To achieve the aims referred to in paragraph 1,

2.
Committee shall:

the

and resolutions

implementation in practice of

the directives,
The full
the
recommendations
in the field of equal opportunities can be
Council
speeded up considerably with the assistance of national
bodies having a network of specialised information at
their disposal.

adopted by

The preparation and implementation of Community
measures concerning the employment of women,
the
improvement of the position of women who are self-
employed and those engaged in agriculture, and the

(a) assist the Commission in the development of instruments
for monitoring, evaluating and disseminating the results of
to promote equal
measures taken at Community level
opportunities;

(b) contribute to the implementation of Community action
programmes in the field, mainly by analysing the results
and suggesting improvements to the measures taken;

(1) OJ L 20, 28.1.1982, p. 35. Decision as last amended by Regulation

(EC) No 1792/2006 (OJ L 362, 20.12.2006, p. 1).

(2) See Annex I.

(c) contribute, through its opinions, to the preparation of the
report on progress made towards

Commission’s annual
achieving equality of opportunity for women and men;

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(d) encourage exchanges of information on measures taken at
all levels to promote equal opportunities and, where appro­
priate, put forward proposals for possible follow-up action;

Two representatives of the European Women’s Lobby shall

2.
attend meetings of the Committee as observers.

(e) deliver opinions or submit reports to the Commission,
either at the latter’s request or on its own initiative, on
any matter of relevance to the promotion of equal oppor­
tunities in the Community.

Procedures for the circulation of the Committee’s opinions
3.
and reports
shall be determined in agreement with the
Commission. They may be published as an Annex to the
Commission’s
for
women and men.

report on equal opportunities

annual

Article 3

1.

The Committee shall comprise 68 members, namely:

(a) one representative per Member State from ministries or
government departments responsible for promoting equal
opportunities; the representative shall be designated by the
government of each Member State;

3.
Representatives of international and professional organi­
sations and other associations making duly substantiated
requests to the Commission may be given observer status.

Article 4

An alternate shall be appointed for each member of
the
Committee under the same conditions as those laid down in
Article 3.

Without prejudice to Article 7, the alternate shall not attend
meetings of the Committee nor participate in its work unless
the relevant member is prevented from doing so.

Article 5

The term of office of members of the Committee shall be three
years and shall be renewable.

(b) one

State

responsibility for

representative per Member

from national
committees or bodies set up by official decision, having
equal opportunities between
specific
women and men through representation of
the sectors
concerned; where there are several committees or bodies
dealing with these matters
the
Commission shall determine which body, by its objectives,
structure, representativeness and degree of independence, is
best qualified to be represented on the Committee; any
Member State without such committees shall be represented
by members of bodies deemed by the Commission to
shall be
perform analogous duties;
appointed by the Commission, acting on a proposal from
the relevant national committee or body;

in a Member State,

representative

the

(c) seven members representing employers’ organisations at

Community level;

(d) seven members
Community level.

representing workers’ organisations

at

the end of

At
Committee shall continue in office until a replacement
provided or their term of office is renewed.

the three-year period,

the members of

the
is

A member’s term of office shall come to an end before the
expiry of the three-year period in the event of her/his resig­
nation, the termination of her/his membership of the organisa­
tion which she/he represents, or her/his death. A member’s
the organisation
terms of office may also be terminated if
which nominated her/him requests her/his replacement.

The member shall be replaced for the remainder of the term of
office in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 4.

No remuneration shall be attached to a member’s duties;
travelling and subsistence
the
Committee and the working parties set up under Article 8
shall be met by the Commission in accordance with the admin­
istrative rules in force.

for meetings of

expenses

The representatives shall be appointed by the Commission,
acting on a proposal from the social partners at Community
level.

The Committee shall elect a chairperson, with a one-year term
of office,
from among its members. Election shall be by a
majority of two-thirds of the members present; a minimum
of half the total votes in favour shall, nevertheless, be required.

Article 6

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Two vice-chairpersons shall be elected by the same majority and
under the same conditions. They shall be required to stand in
for the chairperson in the absence of the latter. The chairperson
and vice-chairpersons must belong to different Member States.
They shall constitute the Bureau of the Committee, which shall
meet before each meeting of the Committee.

Article 11

The Committee’s deliberations shall deal with the requests for
opinion presented by the Commission or with the opinions
which the Committee delivers on its own initiative. They are
not followed by a vote.

The Commission shall organise the work of the Committee in
close cooperation with the chairperson. The draft agenda for
meetings of the Committee shall be set by the Commission in
agreement with the
the
Committee shall be provided by the Commission’s Equal
Opportunities Unit. The minutes of the Committee’s meetings
shall be drawn up by the Commission and submitted to the
Committee for approval.

chairperson. The Secretariat of

Article 7

specially
The chairperson may invite any person who is
qualified in a particular subject on the agenda to take part in
its work as an expert.

Experts shall only take part
subject for which their attendance is requested.

in the work on the particular

Article 8

1.

The Committee may set up working parties.

2.
For the preparation of its opinions, the Committee may
entrust a rapporteur or an outside expert with the task of
to be
drawing up reports in accordance with procedures
determined.

3.
One or more members of the Committee may participate
as observers in the activities of other advisory committees of the
Commission, and shall inform the Committee accordingly.

Article 9

Measures adopted under Articles 7 and 8 having financial impli­
cations for the budget of the European Communities shall be
submitted for the prior agreement of the Commission and shall
be implemented in accordance with the administrative rules in
force.

Article 10

The Committee shall be convened by the Commission and shall
meet on its premises. It shall meet at least twice a year.

The Commission, when requesting the Committee’s opinion,
may set a deadline within which the opinion should be
delivered.

The views expressed by the different categories represented in
the Committee shall be recorded in the minutes, which shall be
transmitted to the Commission.

Where the opinion requested has been agreed unanimously by
the Committee, the Committee shall draft common conclusions
which shall be annexed to the minutes.

Article 12

Without prejudice to Article 287 of the Treaty, members of the
Committee are required not to disclose information obtained in
the course of their work on the Committee or its working
parties when informed by the Commission that the opinion
requested or question asked concerns a confidential matter.

In such cases, only members of the Committee and represen­
tatives of the Commission departments shall attend meetings.

Article 13

Decision 82/43/EEC is repealed.

References to the repealed Decision shall be construed as
references to this Decision and shall be read in accordance
with the correlation table in Annex II.

Done at Brussels, 16 June 2008.

For the Commission
The President

José Manuel BARROSO

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ANNEX I

Repealed Decision with list of its successive amendments

Commission Decision 82/43/EEC
(OJ L 20, 28.1.1982, p. 35).

Point VIII.12 of Annex I of the 1985 Act of Accession
(OJ L 302, 15.11.1985, p. 209).

Point IV.C of Annex I of the 1994 Act of Accession
(OJ C 241, 29.8.1994, p. 115).

Commission Decision 95/420/EC
(OJ L 249, 17.10.1995, p. 43).

Point 11.4 of Annex II of the 2003 Act of Accession
(OJ L 236, 23.9.2003, p. 585).

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1792/2006
(OJ L 362, 20.12.2006, p. 1).

Only as regards the reference to Decision
82/43/EEC in the sixth indent of Article 1(2)
and Annex, point 9.1.

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ANNEX II

Correlation Table

Decision 82/43/EEC

This Decision

Articles 1 and 2

Articles 1 and 2

Article 3(1), first subparagraph, point (a)

Article 3(1), first subparagraph, point (a)

Article 3(1), first subparagraph, point (b)

Article 3(1), first subparagraph, point (b)

Article 3(1), first subparagraph, point (c), first indent

Article 3(1), first subparagraph, point (c)

Article 3(1), first subparagraph, point (c), second indent

Article 3(1), first subparagraph, point (d)

Article 3(1), second subparagraph

Article 3(1), second subparagraph

Article 3(2) and (3)

Article 4, first sentence

Article 3(2) and (3)

Article 4, first subparagraph

Article 4, second sentence

Article 4, second subparagraph

Articles 5 to 12

Article 13

—

—

—

Articles 5 to 12

—

Article 13

Annex I

Annex II