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PRESS RELEASE

IGC 2003 : MEN ONLY

Brussels, 2/10/2003 - With the nomination yesterday of Inigo Mendez de Vigo as
the representative of the European People's Party to the Intergovernmental
Conference on the reform of the institutions (IGC), and the nomination of Klaus
Hänsch for the European Socialist Party l       ast week, it is now confirmed that
the European Parliament delegation to the IGC will be composed of two men. The
European Women's Lobby (EWL) deeply regrets that there is no gender balance
in the European Parliament delegation to the IGC. "By approving this men only
delegation, the European Parliament is now joining the already very select male
club of the IGC which has the mission to shape the future of Europe" said EWL
President Lydia la Rivière-Zijdel. "EWL strongly condemns this ongoing practice
within the European political arena to blatantly ignore the fundamental right of
women to be represented on an equal footing with men in all areas of political
decision-making" EWL President added.

Throughout the process of the Convention on the Future of Europe, EWL
demanded that Parity Democracy - equal representation of women and men in
decision-making positions - be included in the draft EU Constitution. Parity
Democracy was not included in the final text. EWL also demanded that equality of
women and men be explicitly stated as a core value of the European Union.
Equality of women and men was not included as a value in the final text. "And so
once again we see the consequences of the failure of political will to ensure
equality of women and men in all areas of life" said Mary McPhail EWL Secretary
General.

Women as citizens and as voters are deeply concerned about the democratic
legitimacy of the European Union institutions and EWL has therefore launched a
major campaign across Europe to ensure Parity Democracy in the next European
Parliament elections in 2004. "Parity Democracy aims at rendering visible the
equal dignity of women and men while ensuring equal respect for their differences.
It renews social organisations in such a way that women and men equally share
rights and responsibilities" said EWL President la Rivière-Zijdel, who concluded "It
is fundamental to integrate this concept in the new Constitution. These recent
developments show that without such a mechanism in the future European
Constitution, women will continue to be excluded from decision-making positions on
the political stage".


For more information, please contact Clarisse Delorme
(delorme at womenlobby.org) or Cécile Gréboval (greboval at womenlobby.org) at
the EWL secretariat +32 (0)2.217.90.20