​​​Today we celebrate the International Women’s Day, in the spirit of United Nations #GenerationEquality campaign, to drive actions that create the gender-equal world we all deserve. Gender inequality isn’t only a women’s issue, but a societal and economic one – as it is essential for democracy, and for economies and communities to thrive. To make democracy work and policies effective, governments – and work places – must be representative and reflect society at large.

Ensuring gender equality is key to build a social and just Europe. We, locally and regionally elected representatives must lead by example in this respect. We call for a solid European framework to change practices and mindsets in order to fully respect and empower women.

We need to tackle the root economic, social and cultural barriers women face, end gender-based violence and challenge gender stereotypes. In Europe today, we have made significant strides to bridge gender imbalance in politics, but we have a long way to go.  There are 1 million local and regional elected officials in Europe, but only about 30% of those are women. Closing the gender gap locally will make our societies more democratic and inclusive at all levels.

The EU needs to step up support efforts to include an equality perspective in all EU policy areas, and increase the share of women in decision-making, also in local and regional government. Our Committee has repeatedly drawn attention to the need to improve the gender balance in our national delegations, and will continue efforts to influence the Member States’ nomination policy. Today, with our new mandate, we have 4 Chairwomen out of a total of 6 thematic commissions. Our Committee will continue to raise awareness and seek solutions to redress the imbalance in EU local and regional politics, and will work towards making gender parity reality within the Committee. 

We recall the downing of Flight MH17 over the east of Ukraine on the 17 July 2014. This tragedy caused the death of 298 innocent civilians of 17 different nationalities.

The start of the criminal trial on 9 March marks an important milestone towards establishing the truth, and achieving justice for the victims of Flight MH17 and their next of kin, and holding those responsible for the downing of Flight MH17 to account.

The European Union reiterates its full confidence in the independence and professionalism of the legal procedures.

As the criminal investigation of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) continues, the EU calls on all States, including the Russian Federation, to cooperate fully with the investigation, in accordance with UNSC Resolution 2166.

Today’s updates include DVC data and calculations for the period 1 February 2019 to 1 January 2020 as well as updates to already published DVC periods.

The number of new breaches is 58: 43 equities for the 8% cap, applicable to all trading venues, and 15 equities for the 4% cap, that applies to individual trading venues. Trading under the waivers for all new instruments in breach of the DVC thresholds should be suspended from 11 March 2020 to 10 Septmeber 2020. The instruments for which caps already existed from previous periods will continue to be suspended.

In addition, ESMA highlights that none of the previously identified breaches of the caps proved to be incorrect thus no previously identified suspensions of trading under the waivers had to be lifted.

As of 6 March 2020, there is a total of 384 instruments suspended.

Please be aware that ESMA does not update DVC files older than 6 months.

Background

MiFID II introduced the DVC to limit the amount of dark trading in equities allowed under the reference price waiver and the negotiated transaction waiver. The DVC is calculated per instrument (ISIN) based on the rolling average of trading in that instrument over the last 12 months.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) Group today starts a stakeholder engagement process on key elements of its Climate Bank Roadmap 2021-2025.

The roadmap takes effect from 1^st January 2021 and will provide the strategic and operational framework for the EIB Group to meet its commitments towards climate action and environmental sustainability over the next five years.

“Climate change and environmental degradation are the most critical issues of our time. Urgent action is required and the EU and its Bank are ready to respond”, said EIB Vice President Emma Navarro, responsible for Climate Action and Environment. “As the EU Climate Bank, we are working with the European Commission on the European Green Deal so that Europe becomes the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050. To deliver on our commitments, we are developing the EIB Group Climate Bank Roadmap and we want to invite you to join this debate and help us prepare our roadmap. We look forward to your contributions!”

Over the coming weeks, stakeholders can submit their contributions via a dedicated website. On 23^rd March, the EIB Group will host a stakeholder engagement event in Brussels, followed by a second event before the summer break. Both events will be live-streamed and minutes will be available. The focus will be on the following four topics:

1. Aligning the EIB Group’s activities with the goals and principles of the Paris Agreement;
2. Increasing environmental sustainability investments and leaving no one behind;
3. Leveraging private-sector finance and promoting financial innovation; and
4. Measuring the long-term effect of the EIB Group’s operations.

The EIB has committed to dedicating at least 50% of its lending to climate action and environmental sustainability by 2025 – an increase from around 30% today. By 2030, the EIB Group plans to help unlock at least €1 trillion of climate action and environmental sustainability investments from public and private partners. In addition, the EIB Group will align all its financing activities with the principles and goals of the Paris agreement by the end of 2020. This will be complemented by a proposal regarding a “Just Transition”.

On 4^th March, the European Commission presented a proposal to enshrine in legislation the EU’s political commitment to be climate neutral by 2050. The European Climate Law sets the 2050 target and the direction of travel for all EU policy, and gives predictability for public authorities, businesses and citizens. At the same time, the Commission launched a public consultation on the future European Climate Pact. Through this consultation the public will be involved in co-designing this instrument.

Background information:

The EIB is the long-term lending institution of the European Union owned by its Member States. It makes long-term finance available for sound investment in order to contribute towards EU policy goals.

In the 21^st century, women are still paid less than men for doing the same work, they are often expected to give up their careers to bring up their children or take care of their relatives.

These inequalities are even more amplified when women are part of an ethnic minority or come from a migrant background.

While both Roma women and Roma men face social exclusion, poverty and discrimination, Roma women are much more affected then men. Compared to Roma men, less Roma women finish high school and much less of them have a job.

For example, FRA research shows that only 16% of Roma women have completed upper secondary education compared with 22% of Roma men. And, only 16% of Roma women are in employment compared with 34% of Roma men. To put this into perspective, 57% of general population women are employed compared with 71% of men.

The same is true for migrant women. Although migrant women come from diverse backgrounds with different educational levels, they struggle much more to find a job.

For example, as FRA research shows, only 52% of migrant women surveyed are in paid work compared to 73% of migrant men. And even though a third of migrant women have been to university, only around a third of working migrant women have highly skilled jobs.

Women are also much more likely to experience physical violence, with one in three women in Europe being a victim of violence and over a half having experienced harassment.

These findings underline the need for targeted, gender-sensitive measures to compensate for such inequalities.

From supporting them in education, providing training and offering childcare, there is a lot to do to ensure women are treated equally and have equal opportunities to study, work and enjoy their lives.

This would in turn, go a long way towards establishing a gender equal world.