​Are you interested in becoming a member of a Regional Partnership at the #EURegionsWeek 2020 but you have not found your partner regions or cities yet? Or are you looking for a region or a city to complete your partnership?

Regions and cities looking for partners, with whom they can set up a Regional Partnership, can use the partner search tool.

The survey should be completed by 19 February at the latest. The list of entries will be published on the event website.

Due to the high number of applications received, registrations for the Parma School 2020 will close on Sunday, 16 February 2020 at midnight, local time (Parma, GMT+1).

The Parma School 2020 “One Health” will take place in Parma from 9-11 June 2020.

The One Health concept, which recognises that human and animal health and the environment are tightly connected, is a topic of global significance and the focus of this intensive course.

The course is open to PhD students, young post-doc researchers and scientists wanting to deepen their knowledge and understanding of One Health.

The three-day course will focus on theory with case studies. Lectures will be given by experts from the European Commission, national institutions, European and international organisations and academia.

Participants will have the opportunity to deepen their knowledge and network with experts and peers from all over the world.

There is no admission fee, but participants will have to organise their accommodation and travel arrangements.

The Parma School 2020 is organised by EFSA and the School of Advanced Studies on Food and Nutrition of the University of Parma, in collaboration with the Catholic University Sacro Cuore of Piacenza.

Applications

The deadline for applications is 16 February, 2020. The full programme and application details are available at https://events.efsa.europa.eu/summerschool2020

Registration is limited to 150 people, so applications should be submitted as soon as possible.

In a resolution adopted by 463 votes in favour, 108 against and 50 abstentions, MEPs deplore that many of the challenges identified by the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 25 years ago are still relevant today.

They call on the Council to ensure a unified EU position and act to counter the backlash against gender equality and all measures undermining women’s rights.

Setting out their priorities for the upcoming UNCSW session in March, MEPs call for measures boosting women’s economic and political empowerment:

• greater inclusion of women in the labour market;
• more support for female entrepreneurship;
• close the gender pay gap (16%) and pension gap (37%);
• favour domestic and care responsibilities being shared equally;
• promote education for girls and encourage greater participation in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) careers;
• promote gender-balanced representation at all levels of decision-making, and
• unblock the “Women on Boards Directive” in the Council.

To step up protection of women, the EU should:

• urgently conclude the EU ratification of the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women;
• allocate adequate resources to combat gender-based violence and protect victims, and
• protect and promote the rights of groups experiencing multiple and intersectional forms of discrimination, e.g. women with disabilities, women of colour, migrant women and LGBTIQ people.

The EU must act globally by:

• promoting and supporting the inclusion of a specific gender chapter in all future EU trade and investment agreements;
• condemning the US ‘global gag’ rule, which cuts US funding for international organisations if they provide or lobby for abortion services;
• significantly supporting funding for sexual and reproductive health and rights, and
• promoting greater participation of women in climate action, peacekeeping, peacebuilding and mediation processes.

Background

The Beijing Declaration was adopted by the UN at the end of the 4th World Conference on Women on 15 September 1995 to promulgate a set of principles on the equality of men and women. The Platform for Action called for strategic actions in areas such as economy, education, health, violence and decision-making.

Upcoming EP events: ‘‘The long walk towards gender equality: what remains to be done?’’

Journalists are invited to a seminar on 4 March in Brussels dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration. The next day, the EP Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Committee will organise a meeting with national MPs on the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration. A delegation of Women’s Rights MEPs will attend the UNCSW64 in New York, 16-18 March.

Guinea Conakry

The European Parliament deplores the ongoing violence in the country, and strongly condemns the breaches of the freedom of assembly and speech, as well as recent acts of brute force by security personnel against political protesters, killings and other human rights abuses.

Since mid-October 2019, there have been mass demonstrations in Guinea, amid opposition fears that incumbent President Alpha Condé will seek to extend his constitutional powers and stay in his position beyond the current presidential mandates, which are restricted to two terms. The government response to the outbreaks has also been heavy-handed, notes the resolution, with an excessive, undue and illegal use of force by police against the crowds. The protests have occurred predominantly in the capital Conakry and the northern opposition stronghold Mamou.

MEPs call on the Guinean government to take urgent measures to ensure that the right to demonstrate freely is respected and urge all parties concerned to prevent tensions and violence from escalating any further. They also request that the authorities investigate and prosecute, according to international standards, members of the security forces against whom there is evidence of criminal responsibility.

The text was adopted by show of hands. For all the details, the full resolution will be available here (13.02.2020).

Madagascar

As a response to the large numbers of child workers in Malagasy mines, MEPs remind the country’s authorities of “their responsibility to uphold the rights of children and guarantee their safety and integrity”. They urge the EU and its member states to work with Madagascar to support them in adopting and implementing legislation, policies, budgets and programmes that “contribute to the full realisation of all children’s rights”, while calling on the EU delegation in the country to keep monitoring the situation.

In the resolution, Parliament also calls on the government of Madagascar to work towards eradicating child labour and on the EU to ensure this issue remains a vital element of its political dialogue with the country. The European Commission and the EU member states should also work closely with different sectors to ban child labour-related products and services from entering the EU’s markets, MEPs add.

According to the World Bank, Madagascar has the world’s fifth highest number of out-of-school children. In 2018, 47 % of all Malagasy children aged 5 to 17 were also engaged in child labour, including an estimated 86 000 child labourers in the mining sector, says the text. They mine for different minerals used in the electronic and automotive industries, which are also found in a wide range of products from paints to soil conditioners and from make-up to smart phones. The EU has a clear commitment to promote and protect the rights of the child in its internal and external actions, such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which is the most widely ratified international human rights treaty.

The text was adopted by show of hands. The full resolution will be available here (13.02.2020).

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