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EU gender equality strategy 2026-2030: Assessing its proposals against the European Parliament's priorities
EU gender equality strategy 2026-2030 Assessing its proposals against the European Parliament's priorities
Ionel Zamfir, Members' Research Service
Summary
To ensure greater coherence and effectiveness across the multiple strands of EU gender equality policy, the European Commission adopted a new gender equality strategy in March 2026. The strategy continues the ambitious and comprehensive approach of its predecessor, while focusing on the implementation of recently adopted legislation. The proposals it outlines reflect to a large extent Parliament's own priorities, but the strategy leaves a number of Parliament's recommendations unaddressed.
Recommendations not followed up in the strategy include strengthening EU powers to address gender-based violence by adding it as a new area of EU crime and, more specifically, the recognition of femicide and EU-wide standards for consent-based definitions of rape, as well as EU support for the decriminalisation of women in prostitution and punishment of clients at national level. Another important area of divergence concerns the protection of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). Parliament has called for the right to safe and legal abortion to be included in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and has proposed the creation of a financial instrument to facilitate access to safe abortion for all women in the EU. Furthermore, Parliament has proposed that regressions in women's rights, including backsliding on gender equality and restrictions on SRHR, should be considered violations of EU values and should trigger infringement procedures and reductions in EU funding.
Further Parliament recommendations not addressed by the strategy concern aspects of equality in employment and pension pay, as well as access to goods.
Background
Despite important progress, EU Member States still have a long way to go to achieve full gender equality, with disparities persisting in numerous areas including employment, pay, health, education and care responsibilities. The EU is empowered by its treaties to pursue a dual track approach to gender equality –to adopt specific legislative and non-legislative measures, including measures to combat discrimination, and to integrate a gender perspective across all its policies and activities. To give coherence to these multiple initiatives, the Commission has adopted successive multiannual gender equality strategies. The latest iteration – the gender equality strategy 2026-2030, adopted in March 2026 – focuses on the implementation of key legislative proposals adopted under the previous strategy, sets out a number of new non-legislative initiatives and draws on other sector-specific strategies and initiatives to advance gender equality.
Parliament has strongly supported this 'strategic' approach to gender equality and has been an important driver of key initiatives. Nevertheless, a range of its proposals have yet to be considered by the Commission, as outlined in Table 1 below.
European Parliament position
In an own-initiative resolution on the gender equality strategy 2025 (2024/2125(INI)), adopted on 13 November 2025 – a few months before the new strategy was published – Parliament set out a broad range of recommendations. The strategy includes initiatives responding to most of these, but leaves some unaddressed.
Parliament's recommendations reflected in the strategy
Notable areas of convergence between Parliament and the Commission include:
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tackling all forms of gender-based violence (GBV), including in the digital environment, by making full use of EU digital rules and provisions in the Violence against Women (VAW) Directive;
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promoting gender-sensitive healthcare (including in diagnosis, treatment and clinical trials, and ensuring universal, barrier-free access to public healthcare for women, particularly those at risk of intersectional discrimination;
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following up and reporting on the implementation of relevant EU directives and ensuring their swift and full transposition, particularly the more recent ones. The strategy envisages a report on Directive 2004/113/EC on access to and supply of goods and services in 2029, a stress test of Directive 2010/41/EU on self-employment in 2028, a report on the Work-Life Balance Directive in 2028 and an assessment of the Women on Boards Directive in 2029);
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developing a legislative framework to tackle GBV in the world of work. The strategy envisages addressing sexual harassment through a new Quality Jobs Act and third party violence through the future EU Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work;
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addressing the gender pension gap. The strategy envisages addressing labour market outcomes and pension system features that contribute to the gender pension gap, as well as mapping and supporting the exchange of best practices;
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introducing targeted EU initiatives to support women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and encourage girls to consider STEM careers;
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in employment, taking measures to strengthen gender balance across various professional fields, foster women's entrepreneurship and address bias related to artificial intelligence;
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addressing the gender pay gap through the implementation of the Pay Transparency Directive, including the publication of guidelines on how to assess work of equal value. Parliament opposes any attempt to withdraw or weaken the directive;
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developing a comprehensive European Care Deal;
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adopting a new gender action plan IV (2028-2034) to continue mainstreaming gender equality in EU external action, including through funding, and a new EU action plan on women, peace and security (2028-2034);
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analysing anti-gender movements and combating information manipulation and gender-related disinformation;
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collecting administrative data on GBV, with Parliament calling for such data to be disaggregated by demographic characteristics).
Political divisions over gender equality priorities
The November 2025 resolution was adopted by a slim majority, with 310 votes in favour out of 600 votes cast. The voting result reflects significant political divisions over certain aspects of EU gender equality priorities and policy choices:
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votes in favour: Greens/European Free Alliance (Greens/EFA) and The Left – unanimously; Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) and Renew Europe – near-unanimously (97 %);
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votes against: Patriots for Europe (PfE) and Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) – unanimously; European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) – near-unanimously (96 %);
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split vote: European People's Party (EPP) 34 % for, 36 % against, 30 % abstentions.
Reasons expressed by political groups and Members opposing1 the approach to gender equality advocated by the resolution included the need to avoid exceeding EU powers and to respect Member States' competences and the principle of subsidiarity; the view that the resolution insufficiently recognised biological differences between the sexes, raising, in their view, concerns about human dignity; and opposition to what they regarded as a policy focus on statistical equality of outcome to the detriment of equality before the law and the principle of merit. One area that commanded broader support, on the other hand, was combating violence against women, despite some disagreements over priorities and policy options.
Parliament's proposals not followed up by the strategy
In its November 2025 resolution, often reaffirming positions expressed in earlier resolutions, Parliament made a series of recommendations that the strategy does not address. The table below includes a selection of key recommendations concerning new or revised legislation and other important possible initiatives:
| Parliament's recommendations | Strategy proposals | EU relevant competences | |
| GBV | Inclusion of GBV as a new area of crime listed under Article 83(1) TFEU2 |
Not included:
The Commission will focus on the implementation of the VAW Directive | The Commission has the power to submit a proposal to the Council to add, which has to decide unanimously, after obtaining Parliament's consent, to include new areas of crime as part of the
EU competences, provided that they concern 'particularly serious crime with a cross-border dimension resulting from the nature or impact of such offences or from a special need to combat them on a common basis' (Article 83(1) TFEU). According to Parliament, GBV 'is the result of societal and systemic structural gender inequalities that have a cross-border dimension'. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harmful practices | An EU recommendation on the prevention of harmful practices against women and girls (all forms of obstetric and gynaecological violence, malpractice in medical settings, forced abortion and forced sterilisation, the denial of abortion care, and female and intersex genital mutilation) | Announced by the Commission in 2024 but not included in the strategy | Broadly within various EU competences; it would not have a binding character |
| Femicide | Recognition of femicide as a distinct and stand-alone crime |
Not included:
The strategy recognises it implicitly, stressing the need for specific measures. It pledges to improve the capacity of law enforcement and prosecutorial authorities to prevent femicide | No EU competence for legal recognition as an area of crime at EU level as long as GBV itself is not recognised as such (see above);
Soft recognition for statistical and policymaking purposes remains possible |
| Rape | Proposal for EU legislation requiring all Member States to adopt consent-based definitions of rape3 |
Not included:
The strategy pledges instead support for national reforms putting in place consent-based definitions of rape | The existence and scope of an EU legal basis for harmonising the definition of rape were contested during negotiations on the VAW Directive. The Council did not accept the Commission's proposed legal basis, while Parliament continues to consider that EU legislation is possible.
Parliament continues to support an EU legislative proposal considering that 'rape is a particularly serious crime with a cross-border dimension and falls within the area of crime of "sexual exploitation of women and children" [an area of crime under EU powers]'. |
| Prostitution | The Commission should encourage and support Member States in the 'decriminalisation of women in prostitution and punishment of clients' | Not included | Regulation of prostitution remains the exclusive competence of Member States.
EU has powers to combat the cross-border sexual exploitation of women and girls and human trafficking (Article 83 TFEU) 4 The EU Anti-trafficking Directive contains important provisions to combat sexual exploitation, particularly by requiring Member States to criminalise the use of services provided by trafficking victims. |
| Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), including abortion | A 'binding framework to ensure full and equal access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services' |
Not included:
The strategy proposes a mapping of national practices regarding access to SRHR. | SRHR remain primarily a national competence.
The EU has the powers to support and complement Member States' healthcare policies. EU anti-discrimination legislation mandates equal access to medical services for women. |
| Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), including abortion | Restrictions on SRHR must be considered to be violations of EU values
and must trigger infringement procedures and funding cuts. Monitoring should be done through existing EU rule-of-law mechanisms. | Not included | EU action is subject to the limits of EU competence and the scope of application of EU law. While aspects of SRHR may engage fundamental rights and EU values, healthcare policy remains primarily a Member State competence, and Member States' approaches to issues such as abortion and sexuality education diverge. |
| Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), including abortion |
Inclusion of the right to safe and legal abortion in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights5 |
Not included | The European Council needs to launch a convention for the revision of the Treaties. |
| Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), including abortion | Financial mechanism for voluntary Member State initiatives to provide safe abortion to EU women (including those who do not have access in their own country) |
Addressed through existing tools: The strategy allows the use of the structural funds (ESF+) to enhance access to abortion in Member States where it is legally allowed, in line with the Commission's response to the European Citizens' Initiative, and pledges EU support for other measures to facilitate access to contraception in the EU.
| It is possible, in agreement with Member States that legally allow abortion and wish to use EU funds to this purpose.
|
| Surrogacy | Elimination of the practice of surrogacy | Not included | Only cross-border aspects fall under EU powers, namely the cross-border recognition of parental status.
Member States' positions diverge, with some banning it. |
| Employment | Legislation on telework and the right to disconnect6 | Not included |
On 30 April 2024, the Commission launched a first-stage consultation of social partners on fair telework and the right to disconnect; a second-stage consultation followed in 2025, but the Commission has not yet presented a proposal. |
| Equal pension | Review the Social Security Directive 79/7/EEC to enable positive action | Not included | Some positive action in favour of persons involved in raising children (both women and men)
is already possible under the directive, according to CJEU case-law. |
| Discriminatory access to goods |
Measures to address menstrual poverty, including the removal of VAT on menstrual products, and action to address unjustified gender-based price differences in products and services marketed to women (the 'pink tax'), through a review of Directive 2004/113/EC as regards healthcare products and services marketed to women7 |
Not included.
The strategy recognises lack of access to affordable menstrual products as an issue to be addressed but does not propose further concrete steps. | The VAT Directive, as amended by Directive (EU) 2022/542, allows Member States to apply reduced or zero-VAT rates to menstrual hygiene products. Directive 2004/113/EC prohibits discrimination on grounds of sex in access to goods and services and their supply.
|
| Regression on women's rights | Progressive establishment of a dedicated mechanism for all Union values under Article 2 TEU,
including
women's rights;
Establishment of a dedicated pillar on GBV in the Rule of Law Report8 | Not included | The Article 7 TEU mechanism provides for a preventive and sanctioning approach, but requires near-unanimity in the Council.
An infringement procedure before the EU Court of Justice is possible 'for manifest and particularly serious breaches of one or more values common to the Member States'.9 The Rule of Law Report, in its current form, does not focus on women's rights and gender equality. Systemic failures concerning women's rights may, depending on their nature and circumstances, raise rule-of-law concerns, for example where they affect effective judicial protection or access to justice. |
Data source: EPRS compilation based on the European Parliament's resolution of 13 November 2025 on the Gender Equality Strategy 2025 (2024/2125(INI)) and other resolutions as indicated in footnotes, and the EU gender equality strategy 2026-2030.
Endnotes
Classification
Policy areas: Gender Issues, Equality and Diversity
Regions: European Union
Committees: Women's Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM)
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