Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-07-03-Speech-4-042"
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"en.20030703.4.4-042"2
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".
Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the report before us today slots perfectly into European policy on equal opportunities, which, as we know, has two basic branches: specific measures benefiting women and gender mainstreaming, or the incorporation of the perspective of gender equality into all stages and levels of public policy by all the actors involved in the decision-making process.
Gender budgeting is the application of the principle of gender mainstreaming in the budgetary process. As we are all aware, budgets are not gender-neutral, but reflect the way in which power is distributed within society. Whenever they define revenue and expenditure policies, public budgetary authorities at all levels are taking policy decisions. Budgets are not merely economic tools but, in fact, key instruments with which political authorities shape a society's model of socio-economic development and criteria for internal redistribution and prioritise the measures to be taken in respect of policies and the needs of their own citizens. The impact this has is not the same on men and women. The way in which public budgets are normally drawn up tends to ignore the differences – in terms of roles and responsibilities – between men and women, and, in most cases, the indicators and data used fail to make any gender distinction. Although they are presented as neutral economic instruments, public budgets, in actual fact, reflect and thus reproduce the socio-economic disparities already present in the Community.
Analysing budgetary policies on the basis of the different impacts they have on men and women and adjusting them accordingly serves to ensure that public budgets meet appropriate criteria in terms of fairness and cost-effectiveness. In order to be not merely fair but also efficient, public spending must help to promote the development and exploit the potential of all sections of society. It is therefore a matter of adopting an economic and social approach based on the principle that, even in an open and globalised market economy, economic and social development are considered inseparable and interconnected. An economy cannot be competitive, dynamic and healthy in the long term unless the productive, commercial and financial processes are backed up by a stable, cohesive and fair society in which human rights, resources and capacities are properly developed. The strengthening, modernisation and reorganisation of public intervention, and hence budgetary policies, with a view to social development are, in fact, an absolutely essential intangible investment in capacities, empowerment and new resources and opportunities for economies wishing to be dynamic and competitive through being knowledge-based, in accordance with the objective set by the European Council in Lisbon.
Although this is the first time that Parliament has discussed gender budgeting, it is by no means a new concept. The Platform for Action drawn up at Beijing at the Fourth United Nations World Conference on Women specifically refers to it; an experts' working group has been set up within the Council of Europe's Directorate-General for Human Rights; the Commission itself, after the conference organised by the Belgian Presidency, set up a working group of experts; but, above all, numerous experiments have been carried out in Eastern countries, starting with Australia, which adopted this instrument – like many developing countries, moreover – as early as 1984, and there have been interesting experiments carried out within the European Union too for some years now at both national and local level.
What are the specific objectives of the report? Firstly, raising awareness among the public and political and economic actors at all levels. Disseminating information on the gender budgeting strategy and method among the institutions of the European Union and the Member States. Calling on the Commission, which has already expressed its support, to produce and distribute as widely as possible an information brochure on gender budgeting. Involving the actors operating in the Community at all levels in the building of budgets. Most importantly, indicating an action framework for the implementation of gender budgeting, providing for bottom-up democratic participation and the involvement of organised individuals, NGOs and women's associations.
I will end, Madam President, with this point: wherever, especially at local level, experiments of this kind are already underway, they have also served to wipe away the indifference and detachment we see today at all levels in relationships between the citizens and the public authorities. This is an instrument which brings great participation as well as great justice."@en1
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