Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Ordinary meeting Votes

3 June 2026

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FEMM European Parliament

Follow its sittings
05:18 - 09:12
Speaker 1
So hello, good morning.  So welcome to the today's FEMM committee.  So we will start as usual by the adoption of the of the agenda.  So if there is no comments, the agenda is adopted.  We move to point two, which is chair's announcements. 

And here just to inform you that the decision of the FEMM coordinators in their meeting of the 5th of May and 19th May and the written procedure of 26th May are included in the documents of the meeting.  So if there is no comments, the decisions are endorsed.  We move to point three, which are the adoption of the minutes.  And the same thing, they are included in the meeting documents.  And if there is no comments, the minutes are endorsed. 

And now we pass to voting time.  And so we we have to to vote, well we have first to to the substitutes.  And yes.  So we have to vote on the opinion on the Global Europe and the motion for resolution on the impact of the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus women and on Cypriot women and girls.  So we will first vote the opinion on establishing Global Europe. 

And I have received the information about the following substitutes.  Rosa Estaràs Ferragut will be replaced by Mrs. Łukacijewska.  And Gabriela Ghersein will be replaced by Mr. Fourlas.  No, I don't, ah yes, there. 

Okay.  And Elisabeth Vossenberg-Brionidi will be replaced by Mr. Belaris.  Can Belaris... no?  Ah, he will come later.  But so I have no more in EPP, it's all. 

In S&D, Gabriela Firea will be replaced by Elisabeth Grossmann.  And Johanna Schering-Wulger will be replaced by Ms. Estrada.  And in Patriots, Viktória Ferenc will be replaced by Mieke Andreze.  And ECR, no changes.  Renew, Valérie Devaux will be replaced by Raquel García-Hermida-van der Valle. 

And Lucia Yar will be replaced by Veronika Cifrová.  Yes?  Okay.  And in Greens, we have Alice Kuhnke replacing Melissa Camara, Anna Strolenberg replacing Alexandra Geese, and Thomas Waitz replacing Benedetta Scuderi.  And finally, in The Left, we have Elena Kountoura replaced by Catherine Fouchard, Irene Montero being replaced by Mr. Everding. 

And that's all I have.  So, so, so we have done so, but before we proceed to the vote, I would like to give the floor for one minute to Abir Al-Sahlani, the rapporteur for this opinion, so the floor is yours for one minute, please. 
09:12 - 10:40
Speaker 2
Yes, thank you, Madam Chair.  Good morning, dear colleagues.  In a trembling world where we see the rule-based order being renegotiated in real times on our phone, it goes without saying the first and biggest victims of this conflict, the degradation of the development aid, of the protection of civilians, is always women, girls, and children.  And with that in mind, when we looked at the European or the Global Europe instrument, we kept our lenses on these particular groups to try and ensure that they are thoroughly and well represented in the both the purpose of this instrument, in how the money is divided, and who is to be prioritized.  So I hope that you can support the outcome of our negotiations, and I would like to thank all my shadow colleagues for good cooperation, fruitful dialogue, and hopefully an instrument that will be there for women and girls and children on the global scale when the world trembles and lets them down. 
10:40 - 10:52
Speaker 1
Thank you, thank you, thank you very much.  And now we can proceed with the vote.  So we start by compromise 29.  Who's in favor?  Against? 

10:52 - 23:24

Lina Gálvez

Abstentions? Adopted. Amendment 171. Who's in favor? Against?

Abstentions? Adopted. Compromise 30. In favor? Against?

Abstentions? Adopted. Compromise 31. In favor?

Compromise 31 in favor, against, abstentions adopted. Compromise 32 in favor, against, abstentions adopted. Compromise 33 in favor, against, abstentions adopted. Compromise 34 in favor, against, abstentions adopted. Amendment 200 in favor, against, abstentions rejected.

Compromise 35 in favor, against, abstentions adopted. Compromise 36 in favor, against, abstentions adopted. Compromise 37 in favor, against, abstentions adopted. Compromise 38 in favor, against, abstentions adopted. Compromise 39 in favor, against, abstentions adopted.

Compromise 40 in favor, against, abstentions adopted. Amendment 227 in favor, against, abstentions rejected. We want to, I think it's clear, but the vote is open. The vote is closed and it is rejected. Compromise 41 in favor, against, abstentions adopted.

Compromise 42 in favor, against, abstentions adopted. Compromise 43 in favor, against, abstentions adopted. Amendment 236 in favor, against, abstentions adopted. Compromise 44 in favor, against, abstentions adopted. Compromise 45 in favor, against, abstentions adopted.

Amendment 251 in favor, against, abstentions adopted. Compromise 46 in favor, against, abstentions adopted. Amendment 253 in favor, against, abstentions adopted. Amendment 255 in favor, against, abstentions adopted. Amendment 256 in favor, against, abstentions adopted.

Amendment 257 in favor, against, abstentions. I need to check this one, I open the vote. I close the vote and it is adopted. Amendment 258 in favor, against, abstentions adopted. Compromise 47 in favor, against, abstentions adopted.

Amendment 259 in favor, against, abstentions. I need to check this one, I open the vote. I close the vote and it is adopted. Amendment 260 in favor, against, abstentions. I think it's adopted, but let's, let's check, I open the vote.

I close the vote and it is adopted. Amendment 261 in favor, against, abstentions rejected. Compromise 48 in favor, against, abstentions adopted. Amendment 267 in favor, against, abstentions adopted.

Compromise 49 in favor, against, abstentions, adopted. Compromise 50 in favor, against, abstentions, adopted. Compromise 51 in favor, against, abstentions, adopted. Amendment 42 in favor, against, abstentions, adopted. Compromise 52 in favor, against, abstentions, adopted.

Amendment 289 in favor, against, abstentions, adopted. Compromise 53 in favor, against, abstentions, adopted. Amendment 286 in favor, against, abstentions, rejected. Amendment 299 in favor, against, abstentions, rejected. Amendment 51 in favor, against, abstentions, adopted.

Compromise 54 in favor, against, abstentions, adopted. Amendment 304 in favor, against, abstentions, adopted. Compromise 55 in favor, against, abstentions, adopted. Compromise 56 in favor, against, abstentions. I need to check this one.

I open the vote. Compromise 56. Then it was no problem, but there is the problem that the, it's adopted. I can already tell you that, but I close the vote. But sometimes the timing in it is not easy.

So we move to amendment 315 in favor, against, abstentions, rejected. Compromise 57 in favor, against, abstentions, adopted. Compromise 58 in favor, against, abstentions, adopted. Compromise 59 in favor, against, abstentions, adopted. Compromise 60 in favor, against, abstentions, adopted.

Compromise 61 in favor, against, abstentions, adopted. Compromise 62 in favor, against, abstentions, adopted. Compromise 63 in favor, against, abstentions, adopted. Amendment 72 in favor, against, abstentions, adopted. Compromise 64 in favor, against, abstentions, adopted.

Compromise 65 in favor, against, abstentions, adopted. Compromise 66 in favor, against, abstentions, adopted. Amendment 81 in favor, against, abstentions, adopted. Compromise 67 in favor, against, abstentions, adopted. Compromise 68 in favor, against, abstentions, adopted.

Compromise 69 in favor, against, abstentions, adopted. Amendment 85 in favor, against, abstentions, rejected. Amendment 86 in favor, against, abstentions, rejected. Compromise 1 in favor, against, abstentions, adopted. Compromise 2 in favor, against, abstentions, adopted.

Compromise 3 in favor, against, abstentions, adopted. Compromise 4 in favor, against, abstentions, adopted. Amendment 92 in favor, against, abstentions, rejected. Amendment 93 in favor, against, abstentions, rejected. Compromise 5 in favor, against, abstentions, adopted.

Amendment 95 in favor, against, abstentions, rejected. Amendment 96 in favor, against, abstentions, rejected.

Compromise 6 in favor. Against. Abstentions adopted. Compromise 7 in favor. Against.

Abstentions adopted. Compromise 8 in favor. Against. Abstentions adopted. Compromise 9 in favor.

Against. Abstentions adopted. Amendment 110 in favor. Against. Abstentions rejected.

Compromise 10 in favor. Against. Abstentions adopted. Compromise 11 in favor. Against.

Abstentions adopted. Compromise 12 in favor. Against. Abstentions adopted. Compromise 13 in favor.

Against. Abstentions adopted. Compromise 14 in favor. Against. Abstentions adopted.

Compromise 15 in favor. Against. Abstentions adopted. Compromise 16 in favor. Against.

Abstentions adopted. Amendment 123 in favor. Against. Abstentions. I need to check this one.

I open the vote. I close the vote and it is adopted. Compromise 17 in favor. Against. Abstentions adopted.

Compromise 18 in favor. Against. Abstentions adopted. Compromise 19 in favor. Against.

Abstentions adopted. Compromise 20 in favor. Against. Abstentions adopted. Compromise 21 in favor.

Against. Abstentions adopted. Amendment 138 in favor. Against. Abstentions.

I think it is rejected but let's check please. I open the vote. I close the vote and it is adopted. Compromise 22 in favor. Against.

Abstentions adopted. Amendment 143 in favor. Against. Abstentions adopted. Compromise 23 in favor.

Against. Abstentions adopted. Compromise 24 in favor. Against. Abstentions adopted.

Compromise 25 in favor. Against. Abstentions adopted. Amendment 152 in favor. Against.

Abstentions rejected. Compromise 26 in favor. Against. Abstentions adopted. Compromise 27 in favor.

Against. Abstentions adopted. Compromise 28 in favor. Against. Abstentions adopted.

Amendment 159 in favor. Against. Abstentions rejected. Amendment 160 in favor. Against.

Abstentions rejected. 161 in favor. Against. Abstentions rejected. And now we go to the final vote by roll call vote.

I open the vote. I close the vote and it is adopted. Congratulations. And now we move to the other file we have today for voting, which is the votes on motion for resolution of the impact of the 1974 Turkish invasion on Cyprus on Cypriot women and girls and the crimes committed by Turkish forces and consequences on gender equality. We will be voting first the oral question and then the resolution, but before that I will give the floor to the rapporteur, Eleonora Meleti, you have the floor for one minute.

23:24 - 23:25

Thank you.

23:25 - 23:57

Eleonora Meleti

Ευχαριστώ πολύ, κυρία Πρόεδρε. Ένα χρόνο μετά την αποστολή που κάναμε στην Κύπρο με την επιτροπή μας προκειμένου να συναντήσουμε από κοντά και να συζητήσουμε με τις γυναίκες θύματα της εισβολής του 1974, ήρθε η ώρα να κάνουμε πράξη αυτό που υποσχεθήκαμε. Αυτό το ψήφισμα ήταν ανάμεσα στις υποσχέσεις που δώσαμε σε αυτές τις γυναίκες. Με τις μαρτυρίες τους μας καθήλωσαν, μας συγκίνησαν, μας άγγιξαν, μας έκαναν να νιώσουμε ότι είναι υποχρέωσή μας.

23:57 - 24:25

Lina Gálvez

One second, but at least my Spanish translation is in Greek. So, if let's try again. Sorry about that. You could restart. Let's hope now it's okay, for me at least.

24:25 - 26:06

Eleonora Meleti

Να κάνω ένα τεστάκι, είμαστε εντάξει; Ωραία. Λοιπόν, έλεγα λοιπόν ότι έχει περάσει ένας χρόνος από τότε που κάναμε με την επιτροπή μας την αποστολή στην Κύπρο προκειμένου να μιλήσουμε για πρώτη φορά στα χρονικά με θύματα της εισβολής του 1974. Γυναίκες οι οποίες ενήλικες σήμερα, αλλά ίσως και τότε να ήταν ανήλικες πολλές από αυτές, διηγήθηκαν με λυγμούς και δάκρυα στα μάτια όλα αυτά τα οποία έζησαν κατά τη διάρκεια της τουρκικής εισβολής. Αυτό το ψήφισμα ήταν μία από τις υποσχέσεις που δώσαμε όλα τα μέλη της αποστολής σε αυτές τις γυναίκες.

Είναι το ελάχιστο που μπορούμε να κάνουμε προκειμένου να έρθει έστω και τώρα, τόσα χρόνια μετά, μια ηθική αναγνώριση του ότι οι γυναίκες αυτές έχουν υπάρξει θύματα βιασμού και σεξουαλικής κακοποίησης. Είναι μια ευκαιρία για εμάς να στείλουμε ένα πολύ ηχηρό μήνυμα ότι η Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση μένει πιστή στις αξίες της, στηρίζει τα κράτη μέλη της, ειδικά αυτά τα οποία βρίσκονται και σε κατοχή. Και είναι επίσης μια πολύ καλή ευκαιρία να στείλουμε ένα ηχηρό μήνυμα λέγοντας ότι ο βιασμός δεν πρέπει να χρησιμοποιείται ως όπλο σε περιοχές συγκρούσεων και κρίσεων. Θέλω να στηρίξετε αυτό το φάκελο για να επισφραγίσουμε και μια εποικοδομητική συνεργασία που είχαμε όλες οι πολιτικές ομάδες μεταξύ μας, να ενωθούμε σε αυτό, να στηρίξουμε αυτές τις γυναίκες θύματα και συμβολικά όλες τις γυναίκες οι οποίες πέφτουν θύματα σεξουαλικής κακοποίησης και βιασμού σε όλες τις περιοχές συγκρούσεων. Σας ευχαριστώ.

26:06 - 28:42

Lina Gálvez

Thank you indeed. Thank you. Thank you very much. And now we proceed to the vote. So first the oral question as I was saying.

So first we vote by roll call vote. So the draft oral question, so I open the vote. First the oral question. It's okay? I close the vote.

It is adopted. Congratulations. And now we move to the resolution, also by roll call vote, original text, recital J. So the vote is open. Recital J.

The vote is closed and it is adopted. Now we move to paragraph 16 by roll call vote. It's a split vote in three parts, so we start by part one. The vote is open. Sorry, we have to open again.

It's okay. So it's paragraph 16, first part. Well, the vote is closed and it is adopted.

We move to part two, paragraph 16, by roll-call vote. The vote is open. The vote is closed and it is adopted. Now we move to part three, paragraph 16. The vote is open.

The vote is closed and it is adopted. Now we go to the final vote, also by roll-call vote. The vote is open. The vote is closed and it is adopted. Congratulations.

So we finished our... Ah, please.

28:42 - 28:46

Loucas Fourlas

Can I say something as the only Cypriot in the room? Okay.

28:46 - 28:47

Go ahead.

28:47 - 29:27

Loucas Fourlas

I will do it in Greek. Θέλω να φανταστείτε αυτή τη στιγμή χιλιάδες μητέρες και γιαγιάδες μας που νιώθουν μετά από 51 χρόνια δικαίωση. Και σήμερα στείλατε ένα ισχυρό μήνυμα ότι το έγκλημα πολέμου, όσα χρόνια και να περάσουν, δεν διαγράφεται. Ευχαριστώ πολύ.

29:27 - 40:21

Lina Gálvez

Yeah, indeed, I think we have done the right thing to do and we really will feel proud for doing it and all victims really deserve that recognition, of course, that's clear. So thank you, thank you, thank you very much all of you for the voting. Thank you, Mr. Fourlas, for your words. And now we will probably stop for a few seconds in order to have people who wants to leave the room to do it and then we can proceed with the next topic. So hello, we will proceed now with the next point.

I know that it was scheduled at 10:45, but I'm a very efficient person. I'm obsessed always with time, probably because I was doing my research on time use before I joined the European Parliament and probably so why I normally go quite fast on the voting. I think something appreciated, I normally appreciate when it's fast, but we are starting this point a bit earlier.

Anyway, so point six, which is a very important point in my opinion, which is establishing a budget expenditure tracking and performance framework and other horizontal rules for the Union program and activities. So the on last year on July 25th, the Commission proposed a budget expenditure tracking and performance framework for the new MFF 2028-2034. And we as a FEMM committee, we were referred for an opinion based on rule 57 of the Parliament's rule of procedure. And so we we started the this this file. This is a file that the the responsible are in BUDG and CONT.

It's Jean-Marc Germain from S&D and from CONT, Niclas Herbst. They had been here in our committee discussing that issue. We have had also hearings regarding that. And I'm the the rapporteur of this opinion, not as a chair, but as a as a S&D member of the European Parliament. So I will give my floor to myself for five minutes and then I will move to the to the shadow rapporteurs.

So dear colleagues, dear all, let me start thanking to all of you for the work you have already done in this file. Obviously the the shadow rapporteurs, the secretariat, all the APAs and the assistant, the expert who has assisted us as well. And now I'm I'm going to the to the to the point. I think Europe has made significant progress on gender equality, but gender mainstreaming remains an unfinished task. So this idea of not only developing gender equality policies, but bringing equality to all policies remains an unfinished task despite the provisions of Article 8 of the TFEU that says, and I quote, "In all its activities, the Union shall aim to eliminate inequalities and to promote equality between men and women."

And now we are witnessing the outcome of a paradox, of a trap. There are groups of people in Europe and elsewhere, but we are in Europe, who believe we have gone too far with gender equality. But the truth, if we take the reality, we take numbers, we take evidence, is that we are still far from achieving it. The gender gaps in employment, in pay and pension income, for instance, or gender-based violence, and I could continue and name it. So the reality and the estimations is that gender equality in the European Union remains at least another 50 years out of reach according to EIGE, and in some countries even more.

And indeed, we are starting to go backwards.

And therefore there are groups of people thinking that gender equality policies failed or they are useless. How is that possible? Because politically we call for gender equality, but we have never allocated sufficient resources or funding, nor have we truly incorporated the gender perspective, the gender mainstreaming in all of our policies and along the policy cycle. So implementation of gender equality throughout the MFF is not fully realized. Gender equality is presented as a horizontal principle, but is far from being at the same level as social or climate principles.

I mean, I'm talking now about the proposal from the Commission. No spending targets, while in for climate or social it is. Do no significant harm principle, while for the other it is. And a most limited range of application. So we need political will, but also we need money.

And we need the power to bring gender equality in all policy as we normally say, but we don't provide the means for doing so. So let me be clear, in the current climate, with a strong backlash against women's rights worldwide, turning our backs on a consistent horizontal principle on gender equality is not an option. It is a very serious risk to democracy in Europe. The European Union's long-term budget represents a key opportunity to safeguard and strengthen prosperity, peace and democracy based on gender equality, social priorities and environmental sustainability. And the European Union's budget has a great impact on people's life, both within and outside Europe, and of course on women's life everywhere.

Achieving real gender equality requires a more transformative approach, which involves examining and redesigning systems and structures to promote gender equality for all, also for what it is the key word now, which is competitiveness. This implies expanding the application of gender mainstreaming to cover all MFF programs and ensuring that support for gender equality is applied consistently across the European Union budget. To change the current European Commission's proposal for the multiannual financial framework 2028-2034 into an adequately one addressing the challenges facing people today and prioritize what really matters in women's lives to achieve gender equality, we have to go further of what the Commission is proposing. Because let me be clear once more, we run the risk that the well-conceived across-cutting theoretical principle of gender equality will be watered down when put into practice. And that is the end, and we will take a step backwards rather than forward.

So we face a big challenge and we have to be ambitious enough to tackle it, and I hope we will do at least in this committee and hopefully in this Parliament. The work has already started on a technical level and we will have a shadow meeting next plenary session in Strasbourg, and we have to adjust our timetable to the new one proposed by ECON and BUDG committees, and hopefully we will vote on July the 14th. Open to discussing and negotiating whatever is necessary to go as far as possible should be the aim of this committee. This committee, this Parliament must send an unequivocal signal regarding the importance of effective implementation of gender equality in policies for the next years.

The FEMM committee draft opinion includes 79 amendments by the rapporteur, myself, and further 274 amendments were tabled by members, including the annex with new intervention fields on the top. The main topics to discuss are spending target for gender equality, to include or not the do not harm principle, as I explained before it is included for environmental and social issues, and also the discussion around Annex IV with some programs to have on board gender equality, statistics based on sex in order to have gender ones or in the basis of gender. So this again, this idea of sex-gender is normally out there. So I hope we will make our best as a committee.

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