4 June 2010
The General Assembly of the European Women Lawyers Association (EWLA), held in Brussels on 4 June, 2010, adopted the following
Resolution on the Future of Europe in Times of Economic Crisis
Having regard to
• The Treaty of Lisbon, in particular Article 2(1) TEU enshrining social justice as a value of the EU;
• The particular responsibility of the Euro-group in ensuring an ever-closer coordination of their economic policies;
• The fact that the Treaty of Lisbon has to be interpreted in light of the acquis communautaire in fundamental rights, and that all the EU Member States are bound by the European Convention of Human Rights and the UN human rights treaties, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women;
EWLA emphasises
• The impact of economic policies on the social lives of women and men in the European Union, and the ensuring interdependence of economic and social policies;
• That women have been disproportionately hit by the economic crisis, which exacerbates the vulnerable situation in which many of them find themselves in society.
Therefore, EWLA calls upon the Member States and the European Commission
• To develop adequate solutions to the economic and financial crisis that take into account the social impact of measures proposed in order to ensure the respect of social and economic human rights and to safeguard the European social model as a genuine characteristic of the European Union;
• To ensure that such measures are gender-mainstreamed.
In addition, EWLA expects
• That politicians responsible for employment, social affairs, and equal opportunities, as well as for fundamental rights, on the European and the national levels are involved in the decision-making process.
• That women participate equally in this decision-making.