Introduction: evidence-based advocacy as a strategic approach to

advocacy for gender equality in the EU accession process

This manual provide basic understanding and key information about role, guidance for the contexts and
manner in which gender equality issues can be advocated within the EU accession process, taking into
consideration the principles, policies and strategic approaches of the European Union in promoting
gender equality. The manual provide effective ways in which civil organizations may contribute with
information on the progress in different areas that are relevant for promoting womens human rights
and gender equality
The strategic approach to advocacy of the accession process is the model of evidence-based advocacy.
Advocacy is about making changes to policy and practice that will improve the lives of the
population/constituency you are advocating for. Generally, advocacy is active support of a cause, idea or
a policy a set of organized (planned) activities designed to influence the policies and actions of others
to achieve positive changes. What advocacy does? Advocacy usually offers credible positive alternatives.
Advocacy aims to change specific policies affecting people, create political space. It is directed at those
who have the power to influence others lives: the goal is institutional change. Advocacy requires clear
goals and measurable objectives. Advocacy is a long-term process rather than a one-off event, and is not
an end in itself. It is a part of your work. Advocacy is based on evidence from your work and experience
Evidence-based advocacy is a process based on data and information. Needs are assessed with a view to
advocating for improving current efforts as well as identifying gaps. The process integrates otherwise
independent data from different sectors: research, policy, action groups, clinicians, practitioners etc.,
into an analysis to inform advocacy. Evidence-based Advocacy is defined as the continuous and adaptive
process of gathering, organizing and formulating information and data into an effective argument, which
is then communicated to policy-makers through various interpersonal and mass media communication
channels. Through advocacy, we seek to influence policymakers, political and social leaders, to create an
enabling policy and legislative environment. Evidence and Data Sound information and data (evidence)
ensure that your advocacy and policy demands: Are realistic and representative; Provide evidence about
the problem, likely impact of change, feasibility of possible solutions, and who is responsible to make
change; Accurately represent needs, priorities and interests of your constituencies; and Enhance your
credibility and professionalism.

1. The requirements for joining the EU

The requirements for joining the EU have been spelled out with increasing precision over the course of
its evolution, to provide clarity for its own citizens and guidance to countries wishing to join. The Article
49 of the Treaty on European Union, states that any European country may apply for membership if it
respects the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and
the rule of law. A country can only become a member if it fulfils all criteria for accession as first defined
by the European Council in Copenhagen in 1993.
These criteria are:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Political: stable institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and
respect for and protection of minorities.
Economic: a functioning market economy and the capacity to cope with competition
and market forces in the EU.
The capacity to take on the obligations of membership, including adherence to the
objectives of political, economic and monetary union.
Adoption of the entire body of European legislation and its effective implementation
through appropriate administrative and judicial structures. In addition, the EU must be
able to integrate new members, so it reserves the right to decide when it is ready to
accept them.

1.1. The process of joining the EU

The process of joining the EU (accession) broadly consists of 3 stages:
1.
2.

3.

When a country is ready it becomes an official candidate for membership but this does
not necessarily mean that formal negotiations have been opened.
The candidate moves on to formal membership negotiations, a process that involves the
adoption of established EU law, preparations to be in a position to properly apply and
enforce it and implementation of judicial, administrative, economic and other reforms
necessary for the country to meet the conditions for joining, known as accession
criteria.
When the negotiations and accompanying reforms have been completed to the
satisfaction of both sides, the country can join the EU.

When a country applies to join the EU, the Member States governments, represented in the Council,
decide after receiving an opinion from the Commission whether or not to accept the application and
recognize the country as a candidate. Similarly, the Member States themselves decide when and on
what terms to open and to close accession negotiations with candidates on each policy area. And it is
the Member States who decide when accession negotiations are satisfactorily completed. The draft
Accession Treaty has to be agreed upon and signed by every Member State and the candidate

concerned before the latter becomes an acceding country. It then has to be ratified by each Member
State and the acceding country according to their own constitutionally established procedures. The
European Parliament, whose members are elected directly by the EUs citizens, also has to give its
consent.
The EU enlargement policy ensures a well-managed accession process, so that enlargement brings
benefits simultaneously to the EU and to the countries joining. Candidates have to demonstrate that
they will be able to fully play their part as members something that requires wide support among their
citizens, as well as political and technical compliance with the EUs standards and norms. Throughout
the process, from application to accession, the EU operates comprehensive stage-by-stage approval
procedures. A country that wishes to join the EU submits an application for membership to the Council,
where the governments of all the EU Member States are represented. The Council asks the Commission
to assess the applicants ability to meet the conditions for membership. If the Commission delivers a
positive opinion, and the Council unanimously agrees on a negotiating mandate, negotiations are
formally opened between the candidate and all the Member States. To help the countries prepare for
future membership, a pre-accession strategy is designed. Key elements of this strategy include
agreements that set out rights and obligations (like the Stabilisation and Association Agreements in the
case of the Western Balkan countries), as well as special cooperation mechanisms like Accession or
European Partnerships, setting out concrete reform objectives to be achieved by the candidates and
potential candidates. EU financial assistance is another important aspect of pre-accession strategies.
It is important to underline that the term negotiation can be misleading. Accession negotiations focus
on the conditions and timing of the candidate's adoption, implementation and enforcement of all
current EU rules (the "acquis"). These rules are divided into 35 different policy fields (chapters), such as
transport, energy, environment, etc., each of which is negotiated separately. They are not negotiable:
candidates essentially agree on how and when to adopt and implement them. The EU obtains
guarantees on the date and effectiveness of each candidate's measures to do this. Other issues
discussed: financial arrangements such as how much the new member is likely to pay into and receive
from the EU budget (in the form of transfers) transitional arrangements sometimes certain rules are
phased in gradually, to give the new member or existing members time to adapt.
The Commission monitors the candidate's progress in applying EU legislation and meeting its other
commitments, including any benchmark requirements. This gives the candidate additional guidance as it
assumes the responsibilities of membership, as well as an assurance to current members that the

candidate is meeting the conditions for joining. The Commission also keeps the EU Council and
European Parliament informed throughout the process, through regular reports, strategy papers, and
clarifications on conditions for further progress.

1.2. Membership negotiations

Membership negotiations cannot start until all EU governments agree, in the form of a unanimous
decision by the EU Council, on a framework or mandate for negotiations with the candidate country.
Negotiations take place between ministers and ambassadors of the EU governments and the candidate
country in what is called an intergovernmental conference.
Negotiations under each chapter are based on the following elements:
1.

2.

Screening the Commission carries out a detailed examination, together with the
candidate country, of each policy field (chapter), to determine how well the country is
prepared. The findings by chapter are presented by the Commission to the Member
States in the form of a screening report. The conclusion of this report is a
recommendation of the Commission to either open negotiations directly or to require
that certain conditions opening benchmarks - should first be met.
Negotiating positions before negotiations can start, the candidate country must
submit its position and the EU must adopt a common position. For most chapters the EU
will set closing benchmarks in this position which need to be met by the Candidate
Country before negotiations in the policy field concerned can be closed. For
chapter 23 and 24, the Commission is proposing that in the future these chapters would
be opened on the basis of action plans, with interim benchmarks to be met based on
their implementation before closing benchmarks are set.

The pace of the negotiations then depends on the speed of reform and alignment with EU laws in each
country. The duration of negotiations can vary starting at the same time as another country is no
guarantee of finishing at the same time.

1.3. Concluding the negotiations

1.

2.

Closing the chapters

No negotiations on any individual chapter are closed until every EU government is
satisfied with the candidate's progress in that policy field, as analysed by the
Commission. And the whole negotiation process is only concluded definitively once
every chapter has been closed.
Accession treaty
This is the document that cements the country's membership of the EU. It contains the
detailed terms and conditions of membership, all transitional arrangements and
deadlines, as well as details of financial arrangements and any safeguard clauses.

It is not final and binding until it: wins the support of the EU Council, the Commission, and the European
Parliament; is signed by the candidate country and representatives of all existing EU countries;
is ratified by the candidate country and every individual EU country, according to their constitutional
rules (parliamentary vote, referendum, etc.).
3.

Acceding country
Once the treaty is signed, however, the candidate becomes an acceding country. This
means it is expected to become a full EU member on the date laid down in the treaty,
providing the treaty has been ratified. In the interim, it benefits from special
arrangements, such as being able to comment on draft EU proposals, communications,
recommendations or initiatives, and active observer status on EU bodies and agencies
.

1.4. The process for Western Balkans

The EU's relations with the Western Balkan countries take place within a special framework known as
the stabilisation and association process. It has 3 aims:

stabilising the countries politically and encouraging their swift transition to a market
economy
promoting regional cooperation
eventual membership of the EU

A country is offered the prospect of membership (it becomes a potential candidate). This means it
should be offered official candidate status when it is ready. The process helps the countries concerned
build their capacity to adopt and implement EU law, as well as European and international standards. It
is based on an ever-closer partnership, with the EU offering a mixture of:

trade concessions
economic and financial assistance
assistance for reconstruction, development and stabilisation
Stabilisation and association agreements a far-reaching contractual relationship with
the EU, entailing mutual rights and obligations.

Each country moves step by step towards EU membership as it fulfils its commitments in the
stabilisation and association process. The Commission assesses progress made in annual progress
reports published each Autumn.

1.5. Role of the civil society

Civil Society Civil society organisations non-governmental groups allow citizens to take an active part in
setting the political agenda. For an aspiring EU member country, a vibrant civil society contributes to

fulfilling the conditions for EU membership. In some countries wanting to join the EU, these groups may
not be as effective as necessary. Or the conditions for them to be able to enter into dialogue with the
public authorities may be lacking. Or the legislation on their establishment and activities may need
improvement. This means that citizens do not have sufficient influence on and ownership of the reforms
leading to enlargement.
So the EU:

promotes citizen participation in social and political life in candidate countries and
potential candidates
monitors the policies of candidate countries and potential candidates towards their civil
society bodies
provides financial support from the IPA programmes, and especially the Civil Society

The Civil Society Facility (CSF) was established in 2008 to support the development of civil society
financially. It includes both national and multi-beneficiary initiatives which are programmed in a
coordinated manner to achieve shared outcomes. The CSF consists of three strands:

support for national and local civic initiatives and capacity-building to strengthen the
role of civil society in the region
support for activities carried out in partnership between civil society organisations
(CSOs) from across the region and from EU Member States in order to develop networks
and promote transfer of knowledge and experience
a 'People-2-People' programme supporting visits to EU institutions and exchange of
experience, know-how and good practice between local civil society, the EU and civil
society in Member States

The aim of the CSF is to support the development of a civil society which is participating actively in the
public debate on democracy, human rights, social inclusion and the rule of law, and has the capacity to
influence policy and decision making processes.

CSOs benefit from better national legal and financial frameworks and improved dialogue
with state institutions;
Networks of CSOs show greater commitment and capacity to give citizens a voice and
influence public sector reform processes through analysis, monitoring and advocacy etc;
and
Grass-roots organisations and civic initiatives have increased access to financial
resources, in-kind contributions or expertise from established CSOs and CSO networks.

The CSF is complemented by a number of other policy and financial instruments which provide support
to civil society in candidate and potential candidates:

Dialogue between civil society in EU member states and candidate countries

Supports dialogue between civil societies in candidate countries and EU Member States
to enhance mutual understanding and cooperation.
EU Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights
Support for the promotion of democracy and human rights through civil society in nonEU countries.

Enlargement, however, is not an automatic process. One of the lessons that can be drawn from previous
enlargements is that citizens need to be better informed and prepared. It is necessary to involve citizens
to bring them closer to each other and help them learn about different cultures, political and economic
systems. In this way, the opportunities and the challenges of enlargement can be more fully understood.
The idea of a civil society dialogue was first proposed by the European Commission in October 2004
and endorsed by the European Council on 17 December 2004:
Parallel to accession negotiations, the Union will engage with every candidate state in
an intensive political and cultural dialogue. With the aim of enhancing mutual
understanding by bringing people together, this inclusive dialogue also will involve civil
society.
The objectives of civil society dialogue, which also embraces the Western Balkans, are to: strengthen
mutual exchange of experience between civil society in EU and the candidate countries; help bridge the
information gap; generate mutual knowledge and understanding; and ensure a stronger awareness of
the opportunities and challenges of future accessions.

1.6. The

main

cooperation

mechanisms

between

civil

society

organizations and EU
Civil society has an important role in policy drafting and implementation especially within the European
integration process. The importance of cooperation with the civil society has been highlighted with the
inclusion of article 11 of the Lisbon Treaty of the European Union which notes the importance of the civil
dialogue as well as the condition by the EU to Balkan countries to stimulate this dialogue so that the civil
society can exercise its role in this process and increase the democratic representation of the society.
The main cooperation mechanisms between civil society organizations and EU institutions are:
Stabilization-Association Process Dialogue (SAPD), European Instrument for Democracy and Human
Rights (EIDHR), IPA Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance and the CSO contribution for the Progress
Report.

 The main purpose of political and technical meetings within the Stabilization-Association process
Dialogue is to follow and monitor reforms and the process of approximation with the EU. Within the
political dialogue, CSO are invited to a meeting once a year which is held one day prior to the plenary
session, where they have the opportunity to present their assessment and their concerns relating to the
latest developments, based on their field of expertise, whereas EC representatives will officially raise
these questions and issues during the official plenary meeting between the EC and CSOs.
European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) is the key instrument of the
European Commission to support the civil society.
IPA - The Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) is an instrument of the European Council that
aims towards technical assistance for countries with a membership perspective. EU Offices consults
CSOs for description of projects through a Joint Monitoring Committee to ensure the best efficiency of
the assistance and to avoid duplications. Also the civil society is consulted during the programming of
the Multi-annual Indicative Planning Document as well as the Annual assistance plans from the IPA, as
well as direct assistance for the civil society through IPA or EIDHR instrument.
Progress report European Offices invites CSOs for comments for the drafting of the Progress Report
where the civil society has the opportunity to directly provide inputs to the EU Office on their fields of
expertise.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has developed a dual approach, regional and
bilateral, for its relations with civil society organizations (CSOs) of the Western Balkans. Both are linked
by common global objectives, which are:

to contribute to the consolidation of democracy and the future accession to the EU;
to foster both civil and social dialogue:
by the development of a culture of dialogue between the authorities and the CSOs and
among the CSOs themselves;
by the creation of transparent and efficient institutional frameworks for civil and social
dialogue;
by promoting the setting-up of adequate legal environments for the activities of the
CSOs; n to strengthen civil society networks; n to increase exchange of experiences and
best practices

The EESC is also involved in the enlargement process of the EU through the establishment of Joint
Consultative Committees (JCCs). They complement the EU institutional framework related to each
Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) signed between the EU and a country of the region and

ratified. It allows civil society organisations from both EU and national sides to monitor the countrys
path towards EU accession once it has started its accession negotiations. It is a platform of dialogue for
civil society representatives to discuss issues of common interest.

1.7. The different levels of participation

CSOs have a number of ways in which they could participate in the EU accession process. These include
preparation and/or implementation of EU funded projects, direct involvement in programming
processes on national level (e.g. as a member of working group, monitoring committee, evaluation
committee, partnership council etc.) and/or indirect involvement in programming processes on national
level in Croatia (e.g. participation in public consultation processes, at consultation meetings,
commenting documents, public hearings, information sharing etc.).
The involvement of CSOs in the different steps of the EU accession process varies based on the intensity
of participation. There are four gradual levels of participation, from least to most participative. These
are: information; consultation; dialogue; and partnership. They may be applied at any step in the EU
accession process but they are often particularly relevant at certain points in the process.

Information

Access to information is the basis for all subsequent steps in the involvement of CSOs in the EU
accession. This is a relatively low level of participation which usually consists of a one-way provision of
information from the public authorities and no interaction or involvement with CSOs is required or
expected. Information is relevant for all steps in EU accession.

Consultation

This is a form of initiative where the public authorities ask CSOs for their opinion on a specific policy
topic or development. Consultation usually includes the authorities informing CSOs of current policy
developments and asking for comments, views and feed-back. The initiative and themes originate with
the public authorities, not with the CSOs. Consultation is relevant for all steps of the EU accession
process, especially for drafting, monitoring and reformulation.

Dialogue

The initiative for dialogue can be taken by either party and can be either broad

or

collaborative. A broad dialogue is a two-way communication built on mutual interests and potentially

shared objectives to ensure a regular exchange of views. It ranges from open public hearings to
specialised meetings between CSOs and public authorities.
A collaborative dialogue is built on mutual interests for a specific policy development. The collaborative
dialogue usually leads to a joint recommendation, strategy or legislation. Collaborative dialogue is more
empowered than the broad dialogue as it consists of joint, often frequent and regular, meetings to
develop core policy strategies and often leads to agreed outcomes.
Dialogue is highly valued at all steps in the political decision-making cycle, but is crucial for agenda
setting, drafting and reformulation.

Partnership

A partnership implies shared responsibilities in each step of the political decision-making process from
agenda setting, drafting, decision and implementation of policy initiatives. It is the highest form of
participation. At this level CSOs and the public authorities come together for a close cooperation while
ensuring that the CSOs continue to be independent and have the right to campaign and act irrespective
of a partnership situation. Partnership can include activities such as delegation of a specific task to an
CSO, for example delivery of services, as well as participatory forums and the establishment of codecision-making bodies, including for resource allocation. Partnership may take place at all steps of the
EU accession process and is particularly relevant at the agenda setting or implementation steps.

2. European policy on gender equality

It is useful to make a distinction among three ideal-typical approaches to gender issues in EU gender
equality policy: equal treatment, positive action, and mainstreaming.
Equal treatment implies that no individual should have fewer human rights or opportunities than any
other, and its application in the EU context has taken the form of the adoption of Article 119 on equal
pay for men and women, and the subsequent adoption of a series of Directives on equal pay and equal
treatment in the workplace; and it is these Directives which have been activated by women litigants in
the member states, and enforced by the European Court of Justice in the many equal-pay and equaltreatment cases. Such an equal treatment approach is an essential element in any equal opportunities
policy. This approach is nevertheless flawed in focusing exclusively on the formal rights of women as
workers, and therefore fails to address the fundamental causes of sexual inequality in the informal
"gender contracts" among women and men.
In contrast to the equal treatment approach, the second approach is called positive action, in which the
emphasis shifts from equality of access to creating conditions more likely to result in equality of
outcome. More concretely, positive action involves the adoption of specific actions on behalf of women,
in order to overcome their unequal starting positions in a patriarchal society. At the extreme, positive
action may also take the form of positive discrimination, which seeks to increase the participation of
women (or other under-represented groups) through the use of affirmative-action preferences or
quotas. Since the 1980s, we can detect a gradual move in the European Union away from a narrow
equal-treatment perspective, and toward the adoption of specific, positive-action measures on behalf of
women. During the 1990s, this gradual acceptance of positive action has continued and indeed
accelerated, as a result of three major policy initiatives.
The adoption of the Maastricht Treaty, with its pillar devoted to Justice and Home Affairs issues, has
created the political space for a new and vigorous EU policy on violence against women, an area
previously off-limits to the economically oriented European Community. Taken together, these
initiatives, although admittedly tentative, have allowed the EU to undertake concrete action in areas
that fall well outside the narrow equal-treatment approach.
In terms of this classification of approaches to equal opportunities, the third and most promising
approach is gender mainstreaming. By contrast with the positive action approach, which generally

involves the creation of a specific organizational unit (such as the Equal Opportunities Unit in the
Commission) and specific programmes for women (such as the four Action Programmes and their pilot
projects), the concept of gender mainstreaming calls for the systematic incorporation of gender issues
throughout all governmental institutions and policies. As defined by the Commission, which adopted a
formal commitment to gender mainstreaming in 1996, the term "involves not restricting efforts to
promote equality to the implementation of specific measures to help women, but mobilising all
generally policies and measures specifically for the purpose of achieving equality by actively and openly
taking into account at the planning stage their possible effects on the respective situations of men and
women (gender perspective)" (Commission of the European Communities 1996: 2, emphasis in original).

2.1. EU law - Acquis Communautaire

The Acquis Communautaire is the accumulated body of European Union (EU) law and obligations from
1958 to the present day. It comprises all the EU's treaties and laws(directives, regulations, decisions),
declarations and resolutions, international agreements and the judgments of the Court of Justice. It also
includes action that EU governments take together in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice and
under the Common Foreign and Security Policy. New EU Member States must accept all the existing
Acquis - some elements of it during a transitional period - and put in place mechanisms to adopt future
elements of the Acquis.
Acquis - Law of the European Union or the European Lawcovers:

The principles and political objectives of the Treaty Establishing the European Community;

Legislation that has been constituted for the implementation of the agreement and for the
practice of the European Court of Justice;

Declarations and resolutions of the EU;

Measures concerning the common foreign and security policy;

Measures covering justice and home affairs;

International agreements within the competence of the EU concluded among the communities
and member states;
2.1.1. Legal primary sources

The primary sources of the European Law are created by the EU member states and they are aimed at
regulating mutual relations and regulating of EU itself, which in turn is established as a subject in the

international law by concluding agreements with third countries and international organizations.
Primary sources of law consist of the following items:

Founding treaties

General principles of law

International treaties of the European Communities

Agreements (conventions) between the EU member states

2.1.2. Secondary sources of EU law

Secondary legal sources are laws of general application, developed by the EU institutions, within the
powers that are in correspondence with the founding treaties. Secondary legislation can not be contrary
to the founding treaties. It is consisted of:

Rules / regulations,

Guidelines / directives

Decisions,

Recommendations

Opinions
2.1.3. Regulations

They permeate mostly in the legal system of member states and automatically become constituent part
of the legal system of the member states after they have been adopted at EU level. They are general
laws and they are obligatory. Their jurisdiction is spread throughout the EU territory and they have
identical effect as the laws that are enacted by the national parliaments. The rules have a validity for all
members, regardless of whether they have voted for their adoption, and they are valid for those who
are not competent to choose to apply the regulation or the rules partly or to choose sections that will be
applied, and which will not be applied, because in this way is prevented the effect of the regulations
which is contrary to the EU law. The members are also forbidden to confirm the regulations or their
validity. They are not allowed to adopt new rules, nor to have any practice that would prevent
application of the rules. Aspirant countries have the opportunity to introduce regulations in their legal
system with the introduction of regulations with the same or similar content.

2.1.4.

The Directives

Directives or guidelines are the legislative acts adopted at the EU level, which must be transferred into
national law of the member states. The directive aims at convergence of the laws, and not at complete
standardization of the laws governing the level of member states. The directive is reconciling the needs
to standardize the legislation inside the community, but on the other hand, to preserve the diversity of
legislative systems (legislation within the member states). These directives are obligatory for each
member state in terms of achieving specific aims, but the member states are allowed to choose the
form and manner as to implement the directives.
It is important to note that the regulation which is introduced doesnt have to interpret the provisions of
the directive literally, nor follow its structure, but it must clearly specifiy the rights and obligations of
citizens and it is necessary to create a framework that will guarantee the implementation and respect of
these rights. The more the unspecified directive is, the greater is the free space of the authorities of the
member states in the way of enforcement of rights. Operative provisions that describe the task that is
given to the member state must as accurately as possible transfer it into national regulations, with a
careful study in order to determine whether it is necessary to make complete adjustment or just
adaptation. Provisions that determine the task of the state serve as a guide in the implementation
process, but they also determine timeframe and directives for implementation.

2.2. The Application of EU laws

Immediate accepting EU regulations means that member states, as well as aspirant countries, recognize
the legal force of EU regulations, without their introduction in the domestic legal system, which
indicates recognition of immediate implementation. Indirect way of acceptance is that third countries
pass the content of the regulations in the internal legal order by adopting domestic regulations or by
taking other corresponding measures or actions, which in fact means the application of domestic
regulations or measures, and not directly of the measures and regulations existing in the EU legal
system.
Where there is any inconsistency between national law and EU law, the EU law has the advantage,
according to of the principle of supremacy of EU law. The basic rule is that the primary law and
secondary legislation are integral parts of the legal system of the member states and must be applied in
the national courts of the countries. General rule is that you cannot adopt nor maintain any local

regulation that is contrary to the founding treaties, and the same applies to regulations adopted by EU
bodies, international treaties, or cases in the ECJ.

2.3. EU gender equality Acquis from a formal to substantive equality

Since the establishment, the European Union stands for equality between men and women, and gender
equality is positioned as one of the fundamental principles which is incorporated in all treaties for the
establishment of EU. The principle of gender equality has been improved through the decades of
existence of EU with a tendency to achieve greater clarity and effects, and the principle of gender
equality becomes the foundation of many legal acts, of which the most common are the directives. In EU
member states, gender equality is legally regulated differently, and with the adoption of various acts on
community level (EU), efforts are often made in order to regulate this issue in the most effective
manner. The frequency and consistency in establishing a coherent system of directives as legal
instruments is indicator of the EU's commitment of promotion and realization of the principles of gender
equality.
There are two basic forms of equality from a policy perspective of view, which are formal and
substantive, respectively. There are, moreover, the notions of formal equality in law and substantive
equality in practice. The notion of formal equality means from a legal perspective the recognition of the
presumed equality of men and women before the law. While, substantive equality refers to the
assessable equality between men and women in society moreover their statistically measurable equality
in practice.
We should note, that the notion of formal equality does not necessarily mean that a legal approach to
gender equality is always a formal approach. If the legal perspective recognizes de facto gender
inequality, then a formal perspective the legal approach recognizes substantive gender equality. Such is
the history of European law on gender equality: from the formal approach of equal treatment to legal
provisions on positive action.
The term EU gender equality Acquis refers to all the relevant Treaty provisions, legislation and the case
law of the CJEU in relation to gender equality.
The Treaty of Rome in 1957 already included the principle of equal pay for equal work. (Article 119 EEC,
then 141 EC, now Article 157 TFEU). In 1976, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) decided

in the Defrenne case that Article 119 EEC had not only an economic but also a social aim. This judgment
paved the way for modern European gender equality law.
With the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1999, the promotion of equality between men
and women became one of the essential tasks of the European Community (Article 2 EC). Since 1999,
the EU has had the competence to take further action to combat discrimination based on gender (Article
13(1) EC, now 19(1) TFEU). This Article provided a legal basis for the Directive on the principle of equal
treatment between men and women in access to and the supply of goods and services (Directive
2004/113/EC).
EU gender equality is also an integral part of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,
which prohibits discrimination on any grounds, including sex, (Article 21) and recognises the right to
gender equality in all areas and the necessity of positive action for its promotion (Article 23).
In 2009, the Treaty of Lisbon confirmed once again the importance of gender equality in the European
Union. Equality between men and women features amongst the common values on which the European
Union is founded (Article 2 TEU), which means, for instance, that it will be used as a yardstick for
determining whether a European state can be a candidate for accession. The promotion of equality
between men and women is also listed among the tasks of the Union (Article 3(3) TEU), together with
the obligation to eliminate inequalities. The Lisbon Treaty thus clearly reiterates the obligation of
ensuring gender equality for both the Union and the Member States.
The development of EU gender equality law and its transposition into national law has been a step-bystep process, starting, at least for the oldest EU Member States, in the early sixties. In 1957, the Treaty
establishing the European Economic Community, which is the origin of the current EU, contained only
one single provision (Article 119 EEC Treaty, ex Article 141 EC Treaty, now Article 157 TFEU) on gender
discrimination, namely the principle of equal pay between men and women for equal work.
Since then, however, many directives have been adopted which prohibit discrimination on the grounds
of sex: the Directive on equal pay for men and women (75/117/EEC), the Directive on equal treatment
of men and women in employment (76/207/EEC, amended by Directive 2002/73/EC), the Directive on
equal treatment of men and women in statutory schemes of social security (79/7/EEC), the Directive on
equal treatment of men and women in occupational social security schemes (86/378/EEC, amended by
Directive 96/97/EC), the Directive on equal treatment of men and women engaged in an activity,
including agriculture, in a self-employed capacity (86/613/EEC, repealed by Directive 2010/41/EU), the

Pregnant Workers Directive (92/85/EEC), the Parental Leave Directive (96/34/EEC, repealed by Directive
2010/18/EU), the Directive on equal treatment of men and women in the access to and the supply of
goods and services (2004/113/EC) and, finally, the so-called Recast Directive (2006/54/EC).
The central concepts of EU gender equality law are laid down in the respective directives and are often
the subject of further interpretation by the CJEU.
Direct discrimination occurs () where one person is treated less favourably on grounds of sex than
another is, has been or would be treated in a comparable situation. As a rule, direct discrimination is
prohibited, unless a specific written exception applies, such as that the sex of the person concerned is a
determining factor for the job, for example a male character in a film has to be a man.
Indirect discrimination occurs () where an apparently neutral provision, criterion or practice would
put persons of one sex at a particular disadvantage compared with persons of the other sex, unless that
provision, criterion or practice is objectively justified by a legitimate aim, and the means of achieving
that aim are appropriate and necessary. Indirect discrimination is very much concerned with the effects
of a certain treatment and takes into account everyday social realities. For instance, less favourable
treatment of part-time workers will often amount to indirect discrimination against women as long as
women are mainly employed on part-time terms. Unlike in the case of direct discrimination, the
possibilities for justification are much broader.
The concept of positive action is defined in EU law as follows: With a view to ensuring full equality in
practice between men and women in working life, the principle of equal treatment shall not prevent any
Member State from maintaining or adopting measures providing for specific advantages in order to
make it easier for the underrepresented sex to pursue a vocational activity or prevent or compensate for
disadvantages in professional careers. Like indirect discrimination, positive action also takes into
account everyday social realities but it goes much further, in the sense that it may require further steps
to be taken in order to realise true, genuine equality in social conditions. The provisions permitted as
positive action measures aim at eliminating or counteracting the detrimental effects on women in
employment or in seeking employment which arise from existing attitudes, behaviour and structures
based on the idea of a traditional division of roles in society between men and women. Similarly, they
should help to fight stereotypes. As an example of positive action the following can be mentioned: the
preferential treatment of female employees in the allocation of nursery places when the number of

places, due to financial constraints, is rather limited or even more far- reaching and controversial
female quotas in recruitment and promotion.

2.4. Key EU directives in gender equality are

Council Directive 75/117/EEC of 10 February 1975 on the approximation of the laws of the Member
States relating to the application of the principle of equal pay for men and women OJ L 45 of 19
February 1975, p. 19-20.
Council Directive 76/207/EEC of 9 February 1976 on the implementation of the principle of equal
treatment for men and women as regards access to employment, vocational training and promotion,
and working conditions OJ L 39 of 14 February 1976, p. 40-42.
Council Directive 79/7/EEC of 19 December 1978 on the progressive implementation of the principle
of equal treatment for men and women in matters of social security OJ L 6 of 10 January 1979, p. 24-25.
Council Directive of 24 July 1986 on the implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men
and women in occupational social security schemes (86/378/EEC) OJ L 225 of 12 August 1986, p. 40-43.
Council Directive 86/613/EEC of 11 December 1986 on the application of the principle of equal
treatment between men and women engaged in an activity, including agriculture, in a self-employed
capacity, and on the protection of self-employed women during pregnancy and motherhood OJ L 359 of
19 December 1986, p. 56-58.
Council Directive 92/85/EEC of 19 October 1992 on the introduction of measures to encourage
improvements in the safety and health at work of pregnant workers and workers who have recently
given birth or are breastfeeding (tenth individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16 (1) of
Directive 89/391/EEC) OJ L 348 of 28 November 1992, p. 1-8.
Council Directive 96/34/EC of 3 June 1996 on the framework agreement on parental leave concluded
by UNICE, CEEP and the ETUC OJ L 145 of 19 June 1996, p. 4-9.
Council Directive 96/97/EC of 20 December 1996 amending Directive 86/378/EEC on the
implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women in occupational social security
schemes OJ L 46 of 17 February 1997, p. 20-24.

 Directive 2002/73/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 September 2002 amending
Council Directive 76/207/EEC on the implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and
women as regards access to employment, vocational training and promotion, and working conditions OJ
L 269 of 5 October 2002, p. 15-20.
Council Directive 2004/113/EC of 13 December 2004 implementing the principle of equal treatment
between men and women in the access to and supply of goods and services OJ L 373 of 21 December
2004, p. 37-43.
Directive 2006/54/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2006 on the
implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in
matters of employment and occupation (recast) OJ L 204 of 26 July 2006, p. 23-36.
Council Directive 2010/18/EU of 8 March 2010 implementing the revised Framework Agreement on
parental leave concluded by BUSINESSEUROPE, UEAPME, CEEP and ETUC and repealing Directive
96/34/EC OJ L 68 of 18 March 2010, p. 13-20.
Directive 2010/41/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 July 2010 on the application
of the principle of equal treatment between men and women engaged in an activity in a self-employed
capacity and repealing Council Directive 86/613/EEC OJ L 180 of 15 July 2010, p. 1-6.
Recast Directive 2006/54/EC The directive covers the following three principles: equal pay, equal
treatment in occupational social security schemes, equal treatment in access to employment, vocational
training and promotion and in working conditions. It also improves procedures to make application of
the principles more effective, and provides harmonised definitions of key terms - "discrimination"
(direct and indirect), "harassment", "sexual harassment", "pay" and "occupational social security
schemes". The directive incorporates some well-established case law of the European Court of Justice:
criteria for categorising statutory and occupational pension schemes in relation to pension schemes for
public servants; the principle of equal treatment in occupational social security schemes now also covers
pension schemes for a particular category of workers, e.g. public servants; the cross-cutting rules on the
burden of proof and on access to employment, vocational training and working conditions now also
cover occupational social security schemes.
The new directive Recast Directive 2006/54/EC replaces (and repeals) the following directives: Directive
75/117/EEC on equal pay Directive 76/207/EEC (amended by 2002/73/EC) on equal treatment for men

and women as regards access to employment, vocational training and promotion, and working
conditions Directive 86/378/EC on the implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and
women in occupational social security schemes (amended by the directive 96/97/EC on occupational
social security schemes) Directive 97/80/EC (amended by 98/52/EC) on the burden of proof in cases of
sex discrimination (amended by the Directive of 1998)
In 2010, the Commission identified 'equality in decision making' as one of the priorities of the Women's
Charter and of its Strategy for Equality between Women and Men 2010-2015. In March 2012,
the Commission took stock of the situation and found only an average improvement of just 0.6
percentage points over the past years. The European Parliament called for legislation in its resolutions
of 6 July 2011 and 13 March 2012 on equality between women and men in business leadership in the
European Union. After holding a public consultation inviting the public individual businesses, social
partners, interested NGOs and citizens to comment on what kind of measures the EU should take in
this field, the European Commission presented its proposal in November 2012.
The Commission proposed a Directive setting a 40% objective of the under-represented sex in nonexecutive board-member positions in publicly listed companies, with the exception of small and medium
enterprises (IP/12/1205 and MEMO/12/860). The Directive is not about a strict quota, it would oblige
Member States to establish a process that leads to better gender balance and ensures that qualification,
competence and professional performance play the key role during the board members' selection
process. The proposal was backed by the European Parliaments Committees on Legal Affairs (JURI) and
Womens Rights & Gender Equality (FEMM) (IP/13/943) and with an overwhelming majority by the
European Parliament in November 2013 (IP/13/1118). The Directive must now be agreed in Council by
EU Ministers to become law.

2.5. Toward dual approach of European gender equality policy

Equal treatment laws are effective in combating overt discrimination but are not enough to ensure
equality. Their starting point is that women and men should be treated the same. But as women and
men do not start from the same position, equal treatment does not always lead to equal outcomes.
Seemingly neutral policies can have biased results.
Recognizing the shortcomings of equal treatment legislation when it comes to tackling inequalities
between women and men, the EU co-financed specific actions for women especially in training and
labour market activities through the ESF. The EU also adopted a series of recommendations and codes

of good practice in areas such as education and training; childcare; combating sexual harassment;
positive action; discrimination in the media; and improving womens access to decision-making positions
by Action Programmes on equal opportunities. But specific actions in favour of women also proved
only to be a partial solution. They prepared women for operating in a male-dominated culture but did
not challenge the structures and the culture of organizations, institutions or companies or seek
underlying causes and solutions.
This led to a new strategy gender mainstreaming which shifted the focus to systems and structures
themselves, to the relationship between women and men, and to their individual needs. This approach
gained worldwide acceptance at the UNs Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, 1995. Gender
mainstreaming recognizes that existing structures are not gender-neutral. The result of this is that
apparently gender-neutral policies can in fact reinforce gendered divisions and inequality between
women and men.
The European Commission follows the dual approach by both implementing gender mainstreaming and
initiating specific measures. Gender mainstreaming is the integration of a gender equality perspective
into every stage of policy process - design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation - with a view to
promoting equality between women and men. It means assessing how policies impact on women and
men, and taking steps to change policies if necessary. The aim is to make gender equality a reality and to
improve policy-making by bringing it closer to citizens' needs.
As part of the process, statistics, indicators and benchmarks are used to monitor progress in
implementing the gender dimension in different policy fields, from employment to health, from
research to education, to name just a few. In addition to the gender mainstreaming approach, the EU
has used a wide variety of specific measures, such as legislation, awareness-raising campaigns or
financial programmes. The aim of these measures is to tackle specific problems such as the gender pay
gap or the persistent underrepresentation of women, particularly in the field of employment.

2.6. Positive action measures

The second cornerstone of the EU to achieve gender equality is through positive action measures. This
concept of positive action measures must not be misunderstood as an equivalent to the concept of
positive discrimination, affirmative action or reverse discrimination. Positive discrimination can be
defined as an extreme form of positive action, which seeks to increase the participation of women by
means of preferential treatment, for example though the use of quotas. Positive discrimination

emphasizes a shift in contrary to positive action, from equality of access to the creation of preferential
treatment for women, which is more likely to result in substantive equality as an outcome. Another
extreme form of positive action measures are affirmative actions, which include a vast range of
measures, and allow for the infringement of the principle of equality. In sum, those measures are more
result-oriented than positive action measures, in order to achieve substantial equality. Positive
discrimination and affirmative action, just like positive action measures, were created in order to benefit
an underrepresented group, justified as countering the effects of past discrimination for example
through quotas regarding guaranteed employment in certain fields or in universities.
A positive action is an active promotion to support minority groups which are in general weaker position
than the dominant group in society. Therefore, involve positive actions the adoption of specific
measures on behalf of the disadvantaged group, in order to overcome their unequal position in society,
such as system of quotas. Starting in the early 1970s, the member states recognized the need for a more
coherent model on gender equality reaching further than sole non-discrimination measures. Hence, the
invention of positive intervention beyond the scope of the labour market resulted in the first Equal
treatment Directive 76/207/EEC, laying down in article 2.4 the first possible provision for EU legislation
in the field of gender based positive actions.
Positive action measures in the EU are constrained mechanisms and can only be used if the legal
framework allows for its. However, in contrast to the affirmative action model is the European positive
action approach striving towards the achievement of gender equality without placing the dominant
group in a worsen position.
Important to note is the shift from the prior formal equality rights approach through the principle of
equal treatment towards a model of substantive positive action measures. This changed approach is
determined by the policy concept of gender mainstreaming which has been shifting the perspective of
the gender equality agenda in the EU. The former formal legal approach is gradually combined and
shifting towards a substantive positive action model changing the equality approach throughout the
European Union. In the past foremost equality and non-discrimination was pursued through the equality
of access. Nowadays, there has been a shift towards fundamental conditions, which are more likely to
achieve the goal of gender equality designed to promote and benefit the disadvantaged group.
The ECJ as well as the Human Rights Committee have confirmed that positive action policies are
compatible with international human rights law. Positive action measures seek, in general, discriminate

the dominant group, but to equalize the standing for the poorer group to that of the dominating. The
principle of positive action does not seek to give the minority a better legal or societal position,
compared to that of the dominant group but to achieve an adjustment of rights, to equalize these
groups.

2.7. Gender mainstreaming

Gender mainstreaming is the systematic policy approach on the European Community equality agenda.
The concept was defined at the Beijing Conference in 1995, and has since than been taken on by the EU
as its policy concept and as an end to achieve gender equality. Gender mainstreaming was firstly defined
in 1995 at the Fourth World Women Conference in Beijing. Furthermore, the Beijing Declaration was
drafted and therefrom onwards broadly committing the international community to a systematic
incorporation of a gender perspective into public policy making. In accordance with this is the third
approach of the EU to achieve gender equality through the concept of gender mainstreaming as policy
instrument and policy end. This concepts seeks to incorporate gender sensitive practices throughout all
governmental institutions and policies (Hafner-Burton & Pollack, 2009, p. 434).
Since the UN conference, gender mainstreaming has been adopted by the EU as the basis for its gender
policy, which has become more wide-ranging since the Treaty of Amsterdam (1997) (Walby, 2004, p.
454). The European Commission in 1996 adopted a formal commitment and defined gender
mainstreaming as, *t+he systematic integration of respective situations, priorities and needs of women
and men in all policies and with a view of promoting equality *+ implementing, monitoring and
evaluation (European Commission, 2001). In connection with this, the European Commission launched
the Fourth Action Program on equal opportunities for women and men in 1996 (Pollack &HafnerBurton, 2000, p. 434). Followed by the fifth Action Program on Equal opportunities (2001-2006)23 and
the roadmap for equality between women and men (2006-2010), six priority areas for gender equality
were identified. Namely, equal economic independence for women and men, the reconciliation of
private and professional life, equal representation in decision-making, the eradication of all forms of
gender-based violence, the elimination of gender stereotypes and the promotion of gender equality in
third world countries.
As defined by the Commission, which adopted a formal commitment to gender mainstreaming in 1996,
the term involves:

The systematic integration of the respective situations, priorities and needs of women and men in all
policies and with a view to promoting equality between women and men and mobilizing all general
policies and measures specifically for the purpose of achieving equality by actively and openly taking
into account, at the planning stage, their effects on the respective situation of women and men in
implementation, monitoring and evaluation. (Commission of the European Communities)
In 1997, the Treaty of Amsterdam confirmed the importance of promoting gender equality and
formalized the commitment to gender mainstreaming
According to Article 2 of the Treaty, gender mainstreaming is one of the fundamental tasks to be actively
promoted by the Community;
Article 3 lays down the principle of gender mainstreaming by stating that in all its activities the
Community shall aim to eliminate inequalities and to promote the equality of women and men;
Article 13 provides for pro-active measures to combat discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic
origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation;
Articles 137 and 141 refer to gender equality in relation to the labour market. They stipulate equal
opportunities and equal treatment at work and that each Member State shall ensure that the principle
of equal pay for male and female workers for equal work or work of equal value is applied.
Over recent years a variety of manuals how to gender mainstream have been developed, often
focusing at specific areas and/or directed at certain target groups. Based on the literature and taking the
specific area and stakeholders into account, a checklist for gender mainstreaming policies, consisting of
four steps

Step 1: Getting organized

Implementation and organization, and building awareness and ownership may be regarded as important
preconditions of successful gender mainstreaming. Implementation and organization of gender
mainstreaming refers to the process of providing a structural and cultural basis for equal opportunities.
This includes formulation of objectives and targets, making a plan, drawing up a budget and defining
responsibilities and accountability of the different actors involved. With regard to the budget, sufficient
resources for implementation need to be made available. Moreover, the use of special (external)
expertise might be considered. In addition, gender mainstreaming implies that all stakeholders involved

in gender policy should take equal opportunities of men and women into account. In order to create a
certain degree of gender awareness and expertise, training is essential. In addition, stakeholders should
consider gender mainstreaming as part of their tasks and responsibilities. It is therefore important to
build ownership but different strategies may be adopted. In some cases all the team may be expected
to take ownership but where awareness levels are low it may be necessary initially to have a
nominated person with specific knowledge and awareness within the policy making team or unit.

Step 2: Learning about gender differences

A next step in the process of gender mainstreaming is the collection of relevant data on the position of
women and men. A description of the actual situation is essential in order to assess actual gender
(in)equality and to prioritise areas for attention. In addition, monitoring of the situation over time
provides information on the trends in gender (in)equality. The European Commission has identified in
1998 four dimensions to the assessment of gender inequality: participation, resources, norms and
values and rights. It is important to consider the initial situation from a dynamic and not solely a static
perspective.

Participation

Participation refers to the gender composition of the target group/population of the policy and implies
the need to gather basic information such as the share of men and women in unemployment, among
the disabled or among those with flexible contracts. Where policy measures specify particular groups of
vulnerable persons, the possible differential impact on men and women should also be taken into
account. Over recent years considerable progress has been made in improving the availability of gender
segregated statistics, a development which facilitates this first step. Though statistics seem
straightforward, it is also important to take measurement issues into account. For example,
unemployment may be measured in several ways. Depending on the method, gender differences might
vary from rather low to quite high.

Resources

Gender differences may also occur regarding the access to/distribution of resources such as time, space,
information and money, political and economic power, qualifications, transport, use of public services
etc. In particular the unequal division of care responsibilities has a major impact on the distribution of
resources. For example, with respect to active labour market policies, the fact that women bear the
main responsibility for raising children should be taken into account. Availability of childcare is,

therefore, very important to enable, in particular, women to be participants in the programmes. In the
field of reconciliation policies a relevant issue is whether leave arrangements are paid or unpaid.
Women are also more likely to be concentrated in the area of the labour market most influenced by
national minimum wages and are therefore disproportionately affected by decisions to raise the
national minimum by more or by less than the average rate of growth in earnings.

Norms and values

Norms and values influence gender roles and the gender division of labour, and the attitudes and
behaviour of women and men. They also account in part for the inequalities in the value attached to
men and women or to masculine and feminine characteristics. It is essential to identify the role of policy
measures in reinforcing social norms and values that maintain gender inequality. Tax and benefit
policies are, for example, often based on the principle of a male breadwinner household model. The
move towards more individualized models may, regardless of the impact on participation rates, have an
important symbolic value. Along the same line, policy focusing on a more equal sharing of paid and
unpaid work with men explicitly in a role of carer might also contribute to a more equal set of norms
and values.

Rights

Rights pertain to direct or indirect sex discrimination, human rights, and access to justice in the legal,
political or socio-economic environment. For example, are active labourmarket schemes open to the
inactive (returners, not just benefit claimants) as well as to the unemployed who are entitled to
benefits? If not then women may be less able than men to claim support for re-entering employment. In
this respect it should also taken into account that even where women have formal rights on the same
basis as men, lack of facilities may restrict womens ability to exercise their rights to take up these
opportunities. Similarly formal rights for men to participate in reconciliation measures will not
necessarily be sufficient to promote gender equality in care work.

Step 3: Assessing the policy impact

The third step requires an assessment of the potential gender impact of the policy with reference to
participation, resources, norms and values and rights. An important issue regarding participation is that
both quantitative as well as qualitative aspects should be taken into account. For example, programmes
to create jobs may in particular concern women. This may be assessed as positive from a gender
equality point of view. When, however, the job quality is problematic (e.g. in terms of working hours

and pay), such programmes might reinforce gender inequality. With respect to access to resources, it is
critical to take into account not only the impact on household resources but also the impact on
individual resources. On the level of social norms and values, reconciliation policies should address
mens involvement in domestic labour. If only women make use of reconciliation policies the traditional
unequal division of unpaid work between men and women will be reinforced, thereby potentially
reinforcing social norms in this respect. With regard to rights it is relevant to include the right to care as
well as to undertake employment. When assessing the impact of policy, it may be important to
differentiate between particular groups of men and women such as ethnic minority groups, parents
versus the childless, age groups, educational groups, regional groups etc. While measures to increase
the participation rate might, for example, be effective for women from the dominant group, women
from ethnic minority groups may require specific measures. In addition, a sound policy assessment
should include indirect effects. Changes to gender relations outside as well as inside work may be one of
the indirect effects to be looked for. A strong focus on part-time work could, for example, have the long
term effect of reinforcing gender divisions of labour both in and outside work as women become more
concentrated in sectors offering flexible employment. This example also illustrates the importance of
distinguishing between short-term and long-term effects.

Step 4: Redesigning policy

Where the policy is assessed to have a negative impact on gender equality or to be broadly gender
neutral, it is essential to identify ways in which the policy could be redesigned to promote gender
equality. The need for redesign is particularly strong where initial gender differences are high and have
major impacts on womens life chances. Redesign does not necessarily imply fundamental changes. For
example, regarding active labour market policies a rather simple but effective measure is to extend
eligibility to all inactives. Providing facilities to support working parents also seems not too complicated.
Other areas may be more complex. For example, reducing vertical and horizontal segregation calls for
more extensive policies. Redesign may also require a multi-pronged approach involving more that one
policy area or department. For example the public employment service may need to cooperate actively
with the department responsible for the provision of childcare if women seeking employment are to
have access to childcare to facilitate job search. Gender mainstreaming calls for a more joined up
approach to policy design where employment policy is not developed in isolation from welfare provision
and childcare services on the one hand or tax and benefit policies on the other hand.

The concept Gender mainstreaming is not: A Women only issue It is not just about improving access
or of balancing the statistics About having well written statements About blaming anybody for the
inequalities which exist About only women taking action About only women benefiting from it
About stopping or replacing gender specific policies and projects targeted at either women or men
Reminder
Gender mainstreaming: Is about reducing poverty, boosting economic growth and strengthening
citizenship Is a pro-active process designed to tackle inequalities which can and do discriminate against
either sex Targets major economic and social policies that deliver major resources Makes good
economic sense ensuring that women as well as men are active, using 100% of the productive labour
force Represents a further step in the search for equality Recognises that gender is one of the most
fundamental organising features in society and affects our lives from the moment we are born
Presupposes a recognition of male and female identities Recognises that differences exist in mens and
womens lives and therefore our needs, experiences and priorities are different Involves a willingness
to establish a balanced distribution of responsibilities between women and men Needs determined
political action and support with clear indicators and targets Will not happen overnight, it is a
continuous process
Gender mainstreaming means: That differences between women and men may never be used as a
ground for discrimination A radical rethink of the way labour markets work and their impact on
womens and mens employment Long-lasting changes in society, transforming parental roles, family
structures, and the organisation of work, time and even institutional practices Reshaping the
mainstream rather than adding activities for women at the margins A partnership between women
and men to ensure both participate fully in societys development and benefit equally from societys
resources Responding to the root causes of inequality and putting remedial action in place Ensuring
that initiatives not only respond to gender differences but seek to reduce gender inequality Asking the
right question to see where limited resources should be best diverted More attention to men and their
role in creating a more equal society
Gender mainstreaming covers: policy design decision-making access to resources procedures
and practices methodology implementation monitoring and evaluation

3. About European Commission progress report

3.1. How the report is prepared
Progress reports are issued by the European Commission for each country of the Western Balkans
involved in the in EU accession process. These reports describe relations between countries of the
Western Balkan and those of the European Union. Usually the European Commission issues these
reports in autumn of every year. The reports are a yearly reflection of the achievements, delays and
challenges in the reforms that stem from the Copenhagen criteria, meaning political, economic and
European standards. Through the progress report, a review is done for countries that aim for EU
membership regarding the implementation of European standards which means approximation of its
legislation and policies with those of the Acquis Communautaire of the EU. Progress for each Balkan
country is measure based on decisions taken, approved legislation and implementation of measures. To
ensure equal access treatment, laws or measures that are under preparation or are awaiting any type of
approval are not taken under consideration. This approach shows an equal treatment and objective
assessment for all the countries. The Progress reports are written for each country of the Western
Balkans and have the same structure. The reports analyze the political situation of these countries
relating to fields such as: the functioning of institutions, democracy, rule of law, human rights,
protection of minorities, regional issues, economic, financial reforms and those of sectorial fields of the
EU.
The European future of these countries is decided on the basis of the progress made and recognized in
the reports. That is the basis for any recommendation made by the Commission for further deepening of
the relations with the aspirant country. Thus, the process of data collection by the EU Commission is
more than important for the final quality and relevance of the EC assessment.
The preparation process of the progress report is continuous process, and takes place during the whole
year. All relevant issues covered by the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA), and the priorities
set by the European Partnership are scrutinized by the EC through its different methods and
approaches, framed by the Copenhagen criteria. The general picture of the preparation process of the
progress report is important. The process is conducted at two levels:

- At a higher level where the communication and the data collection is done in Brussels, directly by the
representatives of the European Commission
- At a local level where the process is conducted by the EC delegation in each of the candidate or
potential candidate countries.
At the Brussels level, the process is conducted through the institutional structure established by the SAA
(for the countries, where SAA has entered into force). Within an SA Council, is being established that
meets once a year at ministerial level. As an operative body a Stabilization and Association (SA)
Committee is being established, that more concretely and directly follows the implementation of the
SAA obligations. Seven subcommittees exist within the SA Committee in which the dialog between EU
and the aspirant country is lead at a technical level. Beside information gathered through this structure,
EC is supplied with additional information and data through alternative channels.
In this regard, an important source of information is the series of consultation meetings with various
important international organizations. For this purpose, a list of relevant international organizations that
are to be consulted at the highest level in Brussels is defined. Additional information at this level, the EC
gathers through reports, analysis or written information provided only for this purpose, by international
organizations (for example reports by the World Bank, information from the Open Society Institutes
Brussels office, International Organization for Migrations Brussels office and so on). An EU policy
document that defines the selection criteria of the consulted international organizations does not exist.
However, all international organizations that have desks in the aspirant country are consulted, if their
scope of work is of interest for the progress report.
The process at local level is conducted by the EC Delegation in the aspirant countries. The monitoring
and assessment process is done during the whole year, and several methods are used for data
collection. A great part of the information is received by government reports send to the Delegation.
Furthermore, consultative meetings with international organizations at local level, important nongovernment organizations, as well as meetings with relevant stakeholders provide additional
information in the preparation of the progress reports. Finally, the EC Delegation gathers very
important, first-hand information, from the EU funded projects implemented in the country in question.

3.2. The structure of progress report

In order to serve the wider integration process goals, pre-accession assessments are aimed at reflecting
candidate countries actual (measureable or recognisable) progress, as it provides a logical basis for
assistance and creates competition for further progress. The assumption that objective evaluation is
regarded as necessary is supported by the Commissions statement, Progress is measured on the basis
of decisions taken, legislation adopted and measures implemented. This approach ensures equal
treatment across all reports and permits an objective assessment (European Commission 2006b: 5).
The Copenhagen Criteria form three general areas of evaluation. The first group of criteria covers
Political criteria: Democracy Public administration reform Rule of law Human rights and the protection
of minorities Regional issues and international obligations; Economic criteria: The existence of a
functioning market economy The capacity to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within
the Union The third group of criteria covers the administrative ability of the harmonisation of EU laws
and the ability to take further membership obligations
As the Copenhagen Criteria themselves are too general to be measured quantitatively, in practice, these
are replaced by a modified list of criteria that is best represented in Progress Reports. Progress Report
chapters include both the criteria, which have a direct connection to pre-accession (Copenhagen
Criteria), and numerous sub-areas, which have a questionable connection with the original criteria:
budgetary control, security and defence policy, public procurement, human rights, employment and
social policy, etc. Most of the non-Copenhagen Criteria are fitted into a third part of the Progress Report
(under the chapter Ability to harmonise and adapt EU laws and obligations of membership).
The main evaluative categories of the European Commission are: the country has achieved success,
the country is developing, the country has several challenges, limited progress, reforms need to be
faster.
From 2015, the new format of reporting includes new evaluative categories. In the introduction of each
chapter, an assessment of all developments that have taken place in the last year was produced within
the framework of alignment with EU acquis. In these assessments, the level of progress was categorized
as good progress, some progress, no progress and backsliding, while the level of alignment with
EU acquis was summarized into five categories: Early stage, moderately prepared, some level of
preparation, good level of preparation and well advanced. Another notable difference between the
new generation and the previous progress reports was the fact the major steps which candidate

countries need to take towards membership were spelled out. With such specific recommendations
addressed towards candidate countries, the commission has in a way given candidates an annual
homework assignment that needs to be accomplished.

3.3. Where is the gender in the progress report?

The Regular Reports assessed progress made by applicant states in adopting and implementing the
acquis on equality between men and women, in accordance with the administrative Copenhagen
criterion. The Regular Reports monitor compliance with European gender equality policy, under the
political Copenhagen criterion concerning stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy the rule of
law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities. The Commission had considerable room
for manoeuvre in determining the precise meaning and scope of compliance with political conditionality.
It usually highlighted a wide range of issues not covered in the relatively narrow EC acquis on gender
equality: the ratication and implementation of relevant international obligations, such as those
stipulated in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
and in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR); measures against tracking in human beings,
including women and children; or developments in the representation of women in politics.
Under the chapter Ability to harmonise and adapt EU laws and obligations of membership, is assessed
progress made by applicant states in adopting and implementing the acquis on equality between men
and women, in the several subchapters: Chapter 19: Social policy and employment; Chapter 23:
Judiciary and fundamental rights; Chapter 24: Justice, freedom and security.
Gender equality basically stretches across the three main domains that play a role in EU accession:
political criteria, economic criteria and the adoption of the acquis communautaire The EU considers
these as inevitably linked: economic criteria cover labour laws, equal pay and non-discrimination;
political criteria cover political representation of women and the acquis, supporting human rights,
covers domestic violence. For example, the implementation of the principle that men and women
should receive equal pay contained in Article 119 of the Treaty is an integral part of the establishment
and functioning of the common market (Directive 75/117/EEC). Likewise, equal participation of women
and men in all aspects of society is crucial for lasting growth and democracy, and symbolises a societys
level of political maturity (EC EQUAL Guide on Gender Mainstreaming, 2005).
Different provisions of the gender acquis are reflected in the accession negotiations. Chapter 19 on
social policy and employment requires minimum standards on equality and anti-discrimination, while

Chapter 23 on judiciary and fundamental rights states that future membes must ensure respect for
fundamental rights and citizens rights, as guaranteed by the acquis and by the Fundamental Rights
Charter. Chapter 24 on justice, freedom and security is also of great importance for gender equality as it
ensures adequate legal implementation of common rules and effective law enforcement agencies.

Gender thematic areas in the Progress Reports

Chapters
1.

Themes

Other

Political criteria

1.4.
Human rights and Womens rights; gender equality; the
the protection of minorities representation of women in politics;
tracking in human beings, including
women and children; or developments
in
2.

Basis from the Acquis

Economic criteria

Primary EU law; International

instruments: CEDAW, Beijing
Declaration and Platform for
Action; European Convention on
Human Rights (ECHR)

principle of equal pay for men and Article 119 of the Treaty
women

3.
Ability to take on
the
obligations
of
membership
Chapter 19: Social policy and - implementation of the principle of - Council Directive 79/7/EEC
equal treatment for men and women in
employment
- Council Directive 86/613/EEC
matters of social security
- protection of self-employed women - Council Directive 92/85/EEC
during pregnancy and motherhood
- Council Directive 96/34/EC
introduction of measures to encourage
- Council Directive 2010/18/EU
improvements in the safety and health
at work of pregnant workers and - Directive 2010/41/EU
workers who have recently given birth
or are breastfeeding
- framework agreement on parental
leave
- revised Framework Agreement on

- EU Strategy for equality

between women and men 20102015
- The Women's Charter
- Council Conclusions
- The Strategic engagement for
gender
equality
2016-2019
December 2015, (is a follow-up
and
prolongation
of
the
Commission Strategy for equality
between women and men 20102015)

parental leave
- application of the principle of equal
treatment between men and women
engaged in an activity in a selfemployed capacity and repealing
- principle of equal pay for men and
women
- principle of equal treatment for men
and women as regards access to
employment, vocational training and
promotion, and working conditions
- implementation of the principle of
equal treatment for men and women in
occupational social security schemes
Chapter 23: Judiciary and - application of the principle of equal - Council Directive 86/613/EEC
treatment between men and women
fundamental rights
- Council Directive 2004/113/EC
engaged in an activity
- discrimination

- Council Directive 2006/54/EC

- EU Strategy for equality

between women and men 20102015
- The Women's Charter

- Directive 2012/29/EU on - Council Conclusions

common minimum standards on
- the representation of women in the rights, support and protection - The Strategic engagement for
gender
equality
2016-2019
politics
of victims of crime
December 2015, (is a follow-up
- implementing the principle of equal - Directive 2011/99 on the and
prolongation
of
the
treatment between men and women in European protection order and Commission Strategy for equality
the access to and supply of goods and Regulation 606/2013 on mutual between women and men 2010recognition
of
protection 2015
services
measures in civil matters
- implementation of the principle of
equal
opportunities
and
equal
- gender based violence

treatment of men and women

- adequate legal, political and technical
implementation (strategy for gender
equality)
- effectiveness of law enforcement
Chapter 24: Justice, freedom - implementation of the principle of - Primary EU law
equal
opportunities
and
equal
and security
- Council Directive 2006/54/EC
treatment of men and women
- Womens rights
- Promotion and measures for gender
equality
- womens empowerment
- adequate legal, political and technical
implementation (strategy for gender
equality)
- effectiveness of law enforcement

- other directives

- EU Strategy for equality

between women and men 20102015
- The Women's Charter
- Council Conclusions
- The Strategic engagement for
gender
equality
2016-2019
December 2015, (is a follow-up
and
prolongation
of
the
Commission Strategy for equality
between women and men 20102015

4. Tools for preparation and drafting of a report on the contribution to

the progress report of the European commission
Here, we will recall that the main purpose of the manual is to give an approach, methods and tools for
advocacy on gender issues by the CSOs in the process of accession of their countries. Since the proposed
approach of advocacy for gender issues is the model of advocacy based on evidence, it is expected that
the proposed tools will be aimed at providing facts and evidence. Only by providing reliable, credible
and verifiable facts and evidence, the CSOs will be able to use the mechanism of Contribution to drafting
of the Progress Report of the European Commission.
Taking into consideration that in previous chapters were given basic information on accession to EU, and
EU policies on gender equality as part of Accession Criteria for the candidate countries and which
function as areas of interest to us, they also are standards that are necessary in order to monitor and
evaluate our domestic policies and activities for gender equality. Only in this way we will provide
credible information that will provide legitimacy to our engagement in advocacy process.

4.1. Choosing an area, topic or issue as a subject of notification

Selecting the area, topic or issue as the subject of notification is limited by the framework that has been
set with the Acquis on gender equality of the EU. In this manual, the areas, topics or issues are
presented in table No. They are specified according to the areas of the EU Treaties and directives. That
does not mean that monitoring and reporting of other areas are useless, but the experience shows that
the main focus of interest in the progress report are the mentioned areas and issues.
In technical terms, what area or issue will be subject of your monitoring and reporting depends on what
kind of facilities you have available, and what expertise and programming interests you have. One of the
biggest misconceptions in the preparation of contributions to the EC report is that the contribution
should apply to the whole area of gender equality. But also, it turns out that that the most useful and
the most credible contributions are those statements that refer to a specific aspect of a particular area,
a separate topic and a separate issue and the way in which the state, through policies and measures set
out, is trying to cope with those challenges.
So before you take any actions aimed at preparation for monitoring and reporting, clearly set the topic
of monitoring taking into account the capacities of your organization.

4.2. Reporting on the implementation of EU directives on gender equality

Given the order of the structure of gender equality policies of the EU, this section will review the legal
implementation of the acquis on gender equality. Below, we will present the questionnaire of European
network of legal experts in the field of gender equality. The questionnaire is a standardized reporting
methodology and preparing for implementation of EU directives on gender equality. In addition to the
general objectives of reporting, instructions for preparing the report will be given in original form.
The Report provides a description of EU gender equality law in country. It includes a description of any
measures going beyond the minimum requirements of the directives in these countries. The relevant
gender equality directives, in addition to Article 157 TFEU, are Directives 2006/54 (Recast Directive),
2004/113 (Goods and Services), 79/7 (Statutory Social Security), 2010/41 (Self-Employed Workers),
92/85 (Pregnancy and Maternity) and 2010/18 (Parental Leave). The report will contain a country- bycountry overview of how each country has implemented these directives.
The issues addressed in the Report include the implementation of general concepts of discrimination
and (sexual) harassment, access to work and working conditions (including pay and occupational
pension schemes), statutory social security, self-employed workers, pregnancy and maternity protection
and parental leave, access to and supply of goods and services and information on the implementation
of so-called horizontal provisions, e.g. protection against victimisation, the burden of proof, remedies
and sanctions, gender equality bodies, the role of social partners etc.
The first part of the report includes overview of how each country has implemented EU gender equality
law, in particular the relevant directives. It should also indicate as much as possible the extent to which
national measures go beyond the minimum requirements of EU gender equality law.
For the purposes of report the term implementation is understood as referring mainly to the
transposition of directives into national law (sometimes, of course, such transposition is not necessary,
in particular where national legal provisions already comply with the requirements of the directive in
question). In other words, what we are looking for is an easily accessible, accurate and clear description
for the general public of the main legislative provisions transposing EU gender equality directives and
Article 157 TFEU, including pre-existing national provisions that adequately (or not) implement the
directives.

4.2.1. Instructions for the preparation of the report through questions

The Report provides how the main concepts of EU gender discrimination law have been. If relevant, you
may also refer to the relevant constitutional provisions on equality and non-discrimination. Please focus
on the main definitions. If a certain Act (e.g. when implementing the social security directive) uses
different definitions, mention this briefly. An indication of how the concepts are interpreted by the
courts is also an important element.
The concepts concerned here are the following: direct discrimination; indirect discrimination;
positive action: EU law is merely permissive in this regard - is positive action expressly permitted or
required in national legislation, and how is it framed; instruction to discriminate; harassment and
sexual harassment.
Reminder: Please do not forget to indicate if, in your national law, provisions exceed the
requirements of EU law; Please do not forget to indicate whether, in your opinion, the implementation
is satisfactory or whether there are extensive gaps or important mistakes.
Equal pay and equal treatment at work (Article 157 TFEU and Recast Directive 2006/54)
Please discuss the issue of equal pay (Article 157 TFEU and Article 4 Recast Directive) regarding the
following: the scope of the notion of pay as implemented in your country; the formulation of the
equal pay obligation in the legislation of your country (provisions on equal work/work of the same value;
job classification schemes; work of equal value; wage transparency measures, etc.). Please also describe
relevant national (landmark) case law on these issues; the justifications for differences in pay that are
accepted under legislation and/or case law.
Please discuss the issues of access to work and working conditions (Articles 14, 3 and 28(1) of the Recast
Directive) regarding the following: The personal and substantive scope of the relevant legislation (and
case law); Whether and to what extent the exceptions in the Recast Directive have also been adopted
in national law.
Please discuss the issue of occupational pension schemes (Articles 5-9 and Article 12 Recast Directive)
regarding the following: the personal and substantive scope of the relevant legislation (and case law).
Please pay attention to the exclusions from the material scope in Article 8 of the Recast Directive;
whether and to what extent the exceptions have been implemented; whether there are examples of
discrimination as mentioned in Article 9 of the Recast Directive.

Reminder: Please do not forget to indicate if, in your national law, provisions exceed the requirements
of EU law; Please do not forget to indicate whether, in your opinion, the implementation is satisfactory
or whether there are extensive gaps or important mistakes.
Pregnancy and maternity protection, parental leave and adoption leave (Directive 92/85, relevant
provisions of the Recast Directive and Directive 2010/18)
Please discuss: the general regime of protection of pregnant women and women who have recently
given birth (leave, benefits during leave, protection against dismissal, right to returnto the same or
comparable job etc.) and new elements introduced in the transposition of these directives by Directive
2010/18/EU; the general regime of maternity, parental leave, adoption leave, paternity leave and time
off. Reminder: Please do not forget to indicate if, in your national law, provisions exceed the
requirements of EU law; Please do not forget to indicate whether, in your opinion, the implementation
is satisfactory or whether there are extensive gaps or important mistakes.
Statutory schemes of social security (Directive 79/7)
Please discuss: the personal and substantive scope of the relevant legislation (and case law); whether
and to what extent the exceptions in Directive 79/7 have been implemented.
Reminder: Please do not forget to indicate if, in your national law, provisions exceed the requirements
of EU law; Please do not forget to indicate whether, in your opinion, the implementation is satisfactory
or whether there are extensive gaps or important mistakes.
Self-employed workers (Directive 2010/41 and some relevant provisions of the Recast Directive)
Please discuss: the personal and substantive scope of the relevant legislation (and national case law);
the issues of social protection (Article 7 of Directive 2010/41) and maternity benefits (Article 8 of
Directive 2010/41); the exceptions regarding the self-employed (Articles 10 and 11 of the Recast
Directive).
Reminder:
Please do not forget to indicate if, in your national law, provisions exceed the requirements of EU law;
Please do not forget to indicate whether, in your opinion, the implementation is satisfactory or
whether there are extensive gaps or important mistakes.
Goods and services (Directive 2004/113)
Please discuss: how Directive 2004/113 has been implemented in your country, in particular
concerning its substantive scope (Article 3). Describe national case law if relevant; the extent and

manner in which your country, in national legislation, provides for the exceptions stated in Directive
2004/113, in particular Article 5(2) in the light of the Test-Achats case. Please report on the
implementation of the Test-Achats ruling in national legislation.
Reminder: Please do not forget to indicate if, in your national law, provisions exceed the requirements
of EU law; Please do not forget to indicate whether, in your opinion, the implementation is satisfactory
or whether there are extensive gaps or important mistakes.
Enforcement and compliance aspects (horizontal provisions of all directives)
Preliminary remark: If relevant and helpful, please indicate in your answer the differences found
regarding the relevant directives (e.g. access to courts will often involve different courts for private
employment (civil law), civil service (administrative law) or statutory social security (administrative law)
etc.).
Please discuss: how the provisions on victimisation are implemented in national legislation and
interpreted in case law; how the provisions on the burden of proof have been given effect in
legislation and case law; what type of remedies and sanctions (e.g. compensation, reinstatement,
criminal sanctions, administrative fines etc.) exist in your country for breaches of EU gender equality
law, and whether, in your opinion, they meet the standards of being effective, proportionate and
dissuasive; whether the access to courts is safeguarded for alleged victims of discrimination, and for
anti-gender discrimination interest groups or other legal entities; whether your country has a gender
equality body (or a more general body) that seeks to implement the requirements of EU law; whether
the social partners play an important role in compliance with and enforcement of gender equality law,
and whether there are any legislative provisions in this respect; to what extent your country has
collective agreements that are used as means to implement EU gender equality law. Please indicate the
legal status of collective agreements in your country (binding/non-binding, usually declared to be
generally applicable or not).
Reminder: Please do not forget to indicate if, in your national law, provisions exceed the requirements
of EU law; Please do not forget to indicate whether, in your opinion, the implementation is satisfactory
or whether there are extensive gaps or important mistakes.
Overall assessment
Please give your overall assessment of the implementation of the EU gender equality acquis in your
State. Please do not forget to indicate whether, in your opinion, the overall implementation is
satisfactory or whether there are extensive gaps or important mistakes

4.3. Overview of the monitoring and evaluation

Besides the implementation of legislation, the monitoring progress in the area of gender equality needs
to be performed through a realistic field assessment. For this purpose are used the methods of
monitoring and evaluation. Through them we will find out what is the real situation of gender equality in
the areas of our interest and we will be able to assess progress in those areas. Without successful
monitoring and evaluation, there is no credible and competent contribution to the progress report of
the European Commission.
This section provides overview of monitoring and evaluation: their definitions; differences between
monitoring and evaluation, the importance of monitoring and evaluation, basic reminders for good
monitoring and evaluation, a review of the cycle of creating policies and connection with monitoring and
evaluation.
4.3.1. What is monitoring?
Monitoring is a continuous process of collecting and analyzing information in order to determine how
well is implemented a particular project, program or policy compared with the expected results.
Monitoring aims to provide to policy makers, managers, in implementation of the planned interventions
and measures, and to other participating factors, regular feedback information and indicators for
making progress or inability to achieve the desired results. It generally involves collecting and analyzing
data related to the implementation process, strategies and results, and the corrective actions that are
recommended.
4.3.2. What is evaluation?
Evaluation is the systematic and objective assessment of ongoing or completed policies, projects,
programs or strategies, their design, implementation and results. Evaluation determines the relevance
and fulfillment of objectives, efficiency, effectiveness, impact and sustainability. An evaluation should
provide information that is credible and useful, enabling the competent decision-making for future
realization of the process.
4.3.3. Differences between monitoring and evaluation
Monitoring and evaluation are two different management tools that are closely linked and mutually
supportive.
Monitoring

Evaluation

Continuously
throughout
duration
project / program.

When is it performed?

the Occasionally
of implementation,

before

in the middle,
the end or after the end of the
project / programming period.

What is measured?

Efficiency - use of resources, Efficiency, long-term impact

and sustainability - achieving
activities, results, assumptions.
the objectives and unplanned
changes

Who is involved?

Staff within the organization.

In most cases it is performed by

persons not belong to the
perpetrator of the process.

What
sources
information are used?

of Internal documents - eg. monthly or Internal

and
external
quarterly reports, work reports, documents (eg. reports by
consultants, annual reports,
minutes of meetings.
statistics data).

Who uses the results?

Managers and project / program Managers,

employees,
donors, beneficiaries, other
staff.
organizations

How are the results used?

In order to make minor changes.

To make major changes in

policy, strategy and future
work.

4.3.4. Why are monitoring and evaluation important in the process of evidencebased advocacy?
Below are given the key reasons for conducting monitoring and evaluation:
CSOs, Policy makers, managers and other partners including donors should know the extent to which
the project / programs / strategies fulfill the objectives and lead to the desired results.
Monitoring and evaluation build greater transparency and accountability regarding the use of
resources in the implementation of projects and programs.
The information gathered through monitoring and evaluation provides a clear basis for management
to make correct decisions.
They improve planning and preparation of future programs that take into account the lessons learned
from experience.

Monitoring and evaluation, in addition to having a role in providing credible information for the
preparation of the report, should also have an influence to domestic policies on gender equality. They
also have an indirect impact of EU policies.

4.3.5. Review of the cycle of implementing policies and the project hierarchy, and
connection with monitoring and evaluation
You should constantly keep in mind that policies and activities for gender equality are part of a process:
that the process has a certain structure and that it occurs in a certain time, i.e., in a certain period. The
table lays down the key elements and approaches to a particular policy or measure and how to present
(conceptualize) it so you can be able use the tools for monitoring and evaluation. No matter how a
policy or measure seems confusing to you, it has an internal logic that you must find and track. For
example, policies for the labor market sometimes have a clear structure, but they dont always have a
developed assessment on the impact of gender relations and women's needs. You need to monitor and
evaluate the process of policy and measures in terms of gender relations and women's taking into
consideration the standard of the EU, and based on the said you will do the assessment.
Level of project hierarchy

On what subject monitoring and evaluation is being performed

Main objective

To what extent / degree, policy / project / program contributed to the

fulfillment of long-term principal objectives?
What are the factors of success or failure?
What are unanticipated positive or negative consequences of the
policy / project / program? How did they appear?

Specific Objectives

Which changes have occurred as a result of the activities and measures

implemented?
How they will contribute to achieving the desired impact of policy /
project / program? Has the policy / project / program actually achieved
the desired changes?

Results

What direct tangible outputs or outcomes has achieved the project /

program as a result of the realized activities?

Activities

Have the planned activities been completed on time and within the
budget? Which unplanned activities have been completed?

Resources

Are the resources being used efficiently?

4.4. Overview of monitoring

This section provides an overview of monitoring: process of monitoring and monitoring results, the
importance of monitoring, preparation of indicators and steps to prepare a plan for monitoring and
evaluation.
A key mistake in conducting monitoring is the desire to monitor everything. Not only that it is
empirically impossible, but it is almost certainly beyond the capacities of your organization.
Always select a specific area, a specific topic, an issue which you will monitor. Only in this way you can
precisely measure the process of your interest and to determine the progress.

Monitoring is a continuous process of collecting and analyzing information to see how successfully is
implemented apolicy, project, program or strategy and to compare it with the expected results.
Monitoring aims to provide the policy-makers, managers and partners with regular feedback and early
indications of the achieved progress or inability to meet the intended results.
Process of monitoring provides information on the use of resources, progress of activities and the way
they are implemented. It involves: Review and planning on a regular basis. Assessment of whether the
activities are conducted in accordance with the plan. Identifying and dealing with problems as they
arise. Upgrading the strengths and use of opportunities that will arise. Monitoring changes in the
target population and the environment that are relevant to the process of policy implementation.
Monitoring results provide information on the progress made in terms of achieving the objectives and
impact on the program in terms of expected results. This implies: Linking of activities taken with the
desired objectives on an ongoing basis in order to measure the progress. Perform a review of
approaches and strategies in response to changing circumstances without losing the general direction.
Determining whether there is a need to change specific purposes. Request additional information or
conducting research to learn new things. Verification of whether the activities would help in achieving
stipulated specific aims.
Key features of the process of monitoring and the results of monitoring.
Process of monitoring

Results of monitoring

Description of the problem or situation before Basic information to describe the problem or

the intervention

situation before the intervention

Reference point of activities and initial results

Indicators of results

Systematic reporting on resources, activities and Collecting data of results and if they contribute
first results
in achieving the planned objective
Systematic reporting on providing resources and Systematic reporting with qualitative and
quantitative information on achieved progress
achieving results
compared with the expected results
Direct connection to a particular intervention or It is carried along with the strategic partners
series of interventions
Designed
to
provide
information
on Providing information on success or failure in
administrative and management issues and terms of wider development issues
implementation of activities

Monitoring is a major tool in providing the data that we need in order to prepare the contribution to the
report. In the process of presentation of evidence, besides selecting an issue and position on advocacy,
the technical part - the process of providing evidence, is crucial. Any information that you write in your
text annexed to the report on progress must go through the technical procedures of competently made
monitoring, so that the data and information can legitimate your attitude and evaluation.

4.5. Indicators
Indicators are quantitative and qualitative criteria that provide a simple and reliable means to measure
the progress, to show changes associated with a particular activity or to assess the performance of a
development factor. Indicators do not have to be a lot in number. It is better to have several good
indicators than to have many indicators.
Indicators can be expressed in a quantitative sense - where numbers are used to measure changes, for
example, a percentage (part of the total number), rate (percentage of employed women), ratio (such as
the number of women compared to the number of men in a particular area)and qualitative indicators where words are used to describe a change, for example, a perception in regard to of gender equality,
the quality of life of women and men.
Types of indicators

Purpose

Impact indicators

Weigh / measure the degree of achievement of the overall program

objectives
Result indicators

Measure the extent of achievement of the policy / program

objectives

Indicators of achievement

Measure the achievements of the project / program

Indicators of resources

Measure the extent of use of the planned resources (eg. money,

materials, staff)

Indicators are key marks of the change, and thus of the progress, in the policy and / or intervention measure that you monitor. Typically, well-designed policies or measures have already formulated
indicators and you just have to take them over. The difference that you will make is in the perspective
and the rigorousness of the monitored policy or measure. It can happen that you have different
estimates about the success of implementing the policies compared to those of the authorities and the
responsible administration. Good reason why they should trust you is the competently conducted
monitoring.

4.6. Methods, tools and analysis for data collection

The monitoring includes methods, tools of data collection and analysis. Without collecting and analyzing
data in the area of your interest, you will not be able to make competent conclusions and assessments
of the progress. This section presents methods for data collection, their definitions and their strengths
and weaknesses, tools for data collection and selected examples, guidelines for working with
consultants and data analysis.
There are various tools for data collection that can be used to collect data for monitoring and
evaluation. One of the best ways to distinguish between the methods is to classify them as qualitative
and quantitative. Which method is to be used depends on whether the need for assessment requires
qualitative or quantitative information. Today, both qualitative and quantitative approaches are
considered correct. These methods should be used in combination.
Quantitative Methods
Quantitative methods are those that generally rely on structured approaches to collecting and analyzing
numerical data. Almost any evaluation or research can be done by using quantitative methods, because

most things can be measured numerically, i.e., by numbers. Some of the most common quantitative
methods are: population census, interviews, and observations.
Qualitative Methods
Qualitative methods are those that generally rely on a variety of semi structures or open methods of
preparing extensive descriptive information. Common qualitative methods include focus group
discussions, case studies, in-depth interviews and methodologies of participatory (common) learning.
Below are some of the methods used to collect data for monitoring and evaluation.
Selected methods of data collection
Method

Definition and use

Strengths

Weaknesses

Case Study

Collection of data that result

in a particular case that are
descriptive and that can be
used to answer questions
what and how

Various
data
from Good case studies are
documents, interviews difficult to perform
and observation.
A special research is
There is an additional required and good
impact when referring writing skills
to a description of
institutions, processes, The results can not be
to
the
programs, decisions and generalized
entire
population
events.
It takes too much time
and it is difficult to
repeat

Focus groups

Conducting discussions with

focus groups with members
of a target population that is
familiar with a particular
issue prior to writing a set of
structured questions. The
goal is to compare the views
of people with generalized
concept in the specific
objectives of the evaluation

Similar advantages as It can be expensive and

requires a lot of time
the interviews
It is delicate when you
Especially useful when mix different hierarchic
opinion
from groups
participants is required
It
can
not
be
A useful way of generalized
determining hierarchy
impact

Interviews

The person who interviews

asks questions to one or
more persons and records
their answers. Interviews
may be formal or informal,
face to face or on the phone

People and institutions

can
explain
their
experiences in their
own words and in
different environments

Takes a lot of time

Can be very expensive
If
not
performed
correctly the person
conducting
the

and closed or open.

Observing and evidencing a

situation in a registry or
logbook.
Information
covered is concerning the
people involved, which event
occurred, how, when and
where. Observations can be
direct
(observed
and
recorded)
or
shared
(observer is present in a
particular environment in a
given time period)

Monitoring

Analysis of written Reviewing documents such

as data, administrative data
documents
bases, training materials and
correspondences.

They are flexible and

allow
the
person
conducting
the
interview
to
track
certain issues in detail.
They are particularly
useful when there are
language problems

interview could have a

big impact on the
answer of the

Providing a descriptive
information about the
context
and
the
observed changes

Quality and usefulness

of the data depend to a
great extent on the
skills of observation and
writing of the observer.

interviewee.

Results
can
be
interpreted differently

Cant be applied easily

in a short period of time
as to be able to process
a change
Identifying issues for A lot of time might be
further
investigation needed for this activity
and for providing data
on
taken
actions,
changes and influence
in
supporting
the
perceptions
of
respondents

4.6.1. Review of other tools

Tool

Use

Diagrams

To monitor activities in a specific time period.

To compare the achieved progress with the planned progress of each
planned objective.

Daily monitoring tool

Progress

For keeping records of daily activities.

Information Serves as a basis for assessing the performance of

updating / Annual Reports

Projects / programs in terms of their contribution to the

achievement of the expected results.

List of field visits

Good for confirmation. Involve an assessment of progress,

results and problems.

Guideline for focus group Captures perceptions of the general community or

discussions
the group for an issue or topic
Guideline for monitoring

Detect and outlines specific behaviors

(positive or negative) or practices.
Follow certain behaviors in the community
Provides direct information

Guideline for interviews in Allows participants to explain their

households
experiences in their own words and in their environment
Analysis of strengths, Provides a framework for group analysis in a given situation
weaknesses, opportunities
Encourages participation of all partners
and
maps for solving problems

Examines the relationship and linkages between different

causes of key issues and to see how we can resolve changes in the
community and the environmental factors and individuals.

Stories

Allow expression of emotional aspects as well as the

factual content.
Increase the potential for knowledge sharing.
Record the facts in narrative structure where
it is very likely that something will be learned and passed on to
others.

Mapping of results

It is targeted to people and assesses changes in

behavior, relationships and activities of people, groups or
organizations that the development program works directly with.
It is based on the principle of participation and introduces
monitoring and evaluation in a planning phase of the program.

4.6.2. Data Analysis

Analyzing qualitative data: When working with qualitative data, such as field notes or records, lengthy
texts should be summarized continuously during the entire process. For this purpose is required
selecting, focusing, simplifying, extracting and transforming raw data into summaries for specific themes
or templates based on the original objectives of the evaluation. Reducing the amount of data continues
until preparing of the final report.
Qualitative data are usually displayed in the form of narrative text, but this format sometimes overloads
the capabilities of people to process information. Matrices, graphs, tables and charts present
information

in

compact

form

that

can

be

used

by

managers

of

programs.

Analyzing quantitative data: drawing conclusions from quantitative data is simpler than processing
qualitative data: This includes tabulation and conducting statistical tests of received responses. The
results can be displayed in numbers and percentages for different categories of people or data that fall
into different categories.

4.7. Overview of evaluation

This section provides an overview of evaluation: the importance of evaluation, reviews, types and
purpose of evaluation, participatory monitoring and evaluation, and the evaluation process.
Evaluation is a key part of preparation of your contribution to the report. Once you collect the
monitoring data, an assessment of the policies or interventions needs to be made. A specificity of the
evaluation conducted on the contribution to progress report is that it should apply only to completed
activities, results and achievements for the on-going year of notification. Although the activity of the
topic / issue that you monitor is just an interval of multi-year process, you need to assess the
achievements for the current year: and that means, what is the quality of the results achieved in terms
of policy objectives and interventions within which this achievement was expected to be realized.
Although evaluation is conducted only for completed processes - policies / interventions / projects, for
the needs of preparation of the report, in this manual, the evaluation has the characteristics of
assessment too. The assessment is a procedure that does not require the process to be completed, but
to have already achieved some results.

Evaluation: Evaluation is the systematic and objective assessment of ongoing or completed policies,
projects, programs and strategies, their form, implementation and results. Evaluation determines the
relevance and fulfillment of objectives, efficiency, effectiveness, impact and sustainability. Evaluation in
this case includes not only the traditional approach to perform evaluation, but also includes
assessments, reviews and impact achieved.
4.7.1. Why do we evaluate?
Besides technical criteria of the progress of a certain process of policy or measure for gender equality relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and impact, the purpose of the evaluation in the context of
preparation of the report has a political dimension too. Through evaluation we assess the political
commitment of the candidate country, and the way in which it sets, conducts and evaluates the
processes in the field of gender equality that are a condition for accession.
Below are given the key reasons for conducting evaluation:
1. To determine the relevance - whether the policy activity is appropriate to the problem to be solved.
2. To assess the effectiveness - timely implementation of thepolicy or action for effectiveness.
3. To assess the effectiveness - the extent to which the specific objectives are achieved.
4. To determine the impact, intended and unintended impacts and the strengths and weaknesses of
policy/project/program.
5. To assess sustainability - whether the achievements are sustainable in a long term planning
6. To learn something for the future
4.7.2. Critical assessment
The assessment is performed in order to see whether each target leads to the next one and if certain
changes in project / program are required. Regular assessments can also be performed within the
monitoring system. The assessment may be formal, informal, general or in details and can be
implemented

by

internal

or

external

parties.

Assessment is more broadly defined than an evaluation that can encompass all aspects of the work.
Evaluation is focused specifically on whether the set objectives have been achieved and whether the
project

or

program

has

led

to

change.

The specific objectives and indicators must be defined prior to evaluation of the project / program. The
assessment can be made when specific objectives are not clearly defined. In such a case, the assessment
can still assess the effectiveness of work and define specific goals and indicators that will be used in the

monitoring system. Assessments are also conducted in order to monitor progress in relation to the set
targets

if

the

policies

project

program

have

clearly

defined

objectives.

Assessments and evaluations should be seen as a process of learning, a way of examining the particular
issue in order to determine how it can be improved in order to be more effective.
4.7.3. Why are assessments of the policy processes required?

To make assessment of the progress and impact of an activity when it is not possible to make
formal evaluation because the specific objectives are not clearly defined and / or the indicators
to evaluate the progress are not set;

To clarify the specific objectives of any activity that is carried out for a certain period of time;

When an important decision should be brought regarding the future directions of the policy
program / project;

To identify key issues and problems that need to be considered;

To provide feedback to a project / program from partners and customers and to provide them
with the opportunity to participate in analyzing the work and planning in the future;

To analyze previous experiences in order to formulate guidelines for the future.

4.7.4. Types of evaluation

There are various types of evaluation. This guideline will focus on 4 types of evaluation
Type

Purpose

Assessment
before To ensure not to plan anything
implementation
wrong from the very beginning of
When? - it Is carried out the implementation
before implementation

Evaluation issues

Are the objectives well defined to

be able to weigh the results?
Is there a good plan for
implementation that provides clear
guidance how to perform the
implementation?
Is clearly indicated the use of
resources and whether they are
sufficient to achieve the desired
results?

To determine whether the What is, and what is not

implementation is going in the implemented?
When? - it Is carried out right direction
What is the difference between
during the implementation
what should be implemented and
what was actually implemented?
Mid-term implementation

 To what extent are the costs

appropriate and in accordance with
the plan, timelines, staff capacity,
availability of financial funds,
facilities and political support?
Which planned results have been
achieved from the implementation?
Measuring the impact or To assess the impact of the
summary
evaluation activities and what may result from
When? - it Is carried out at other events or situations.
the
end
of
project / program or long
after the program ending

Are the resources used in the best

way in order to achieve the results?
(efficiency)
Are the purpose, specific
objectives and expected results
achieved? (effectiveness)
Why
or
why
not?
To what extent has the project /
program
contributed
towards
meeting long-term goals? (impact)
Why
or
why
not?
What unanticipated positive or
negative consequences did the
project/program have? Why did they
appear?
Was the project / program a good
idea considering the situation?
Did it cover the target group
priorities?
(Relevance and appropriateness)
Is there continuity after ending of
the
project
/
program? (Sustainability) Why or
why not?

Comparative evaluation

To summarize the results from a How to compare results

series of evaluations conducted by How to establish criteria for
similar initiatives in order to learn comparing the results
something more

4.7.5. Checklist of the evaluation process /the assessment

Part

Guides

Basic information on the What is the purpose of the policy, the measure, the project?
When did it start and what are the intended results?
Policies and the main goal
What is the purpose of the evaluation conducted? (Is the goal to
learn something, whether it is because of the need to make a report,
whether it is imposed by a certain factor, or is it in order to improve
the policy, program etc.)
Objective of the evaluation

Why
do
you
make
the
evaluation?
(Goals should be clear and achievable in the stipulated time frame
for evaluation)

Scope of work

Are capacities used in the

achieve the desired results? (efficiency)

best

possible

way

to

Have the purpose, objectives and expected results been achieved?

(Effectiveness)
Why
or
why
not?
To what extent does the project contribute to meeting the longterm
goals?

What
is
the
impact
of
policy
actions
What unanticipated positive or negative consequences did the
project
have?
Why
did
they
appear?
Can it can be said that the project was a good idea having in mind
the need to improve the situation? Does it meet the priorities of the
target
group?
(Relevance
and
appropriateness)
Will the continuity be ensured after ending of the project?
(Sustainability) Why or why not?
Roles
Responsibilities

/ Who is responsible for what? What is the role of those responsible

for the process of implementing the policy?

Evaluation methodology

What methods will be used? Qualitative or quantitative or both?

Is the methodology appropriate with respect to the primary
purpose
of
the
evaluation?
What is the scope of consultation services? In what way will the
users
and
other
partners
be
engaged?
Whom are you addressing to? How many people will participate in
the
evaluation
and
what
is
the representative sample? Are all groups represented in the
sample?

Expected results

What are the expected results of the evaluation? Evaluation report

Summary of evaluation, detailed plan for the tasks of consultants in
implementing the evaluation.

The report frame

Standard Evaluation Report

Timetable,
geographic Is the evaluation rational in that time period?

Where
will
the
evaluation
be
conducted?
location and logistics
What technical preparations should be made for the
implementation of the evaluation?
Evaluation Team

Dissemination plan
follow-up activities

What qualifications and experience are required from the

evaluation
team?

Selection
of
evaluation
team?
Which sector is responsible for evaluation?
and What is the plan for the dissemination of results?
What is the purpose of the evaluation result? Who will use the
evaluation?
Who or which sector is responsible for follow-up activities?

4.8. Basic reminders of good monitoring and evaluation

A key assumption in carrying out monitoring and evaluation is identifying the field and the topic that will
be monitored and evaluated. Since the areas and topics are identified in the ACQUIS (see table), we
must decide which topic and area will be monitored and evaluated. Then, we must specify which
instruments will be monitored: whether to monitor a particular policy, measure or the participating
factor of those policies and measures in the selected area.
So, the content - the area, the topic and the instruments of your interests should constantly be
monitored and kept in mind when designing technical aspects of the process of monitoring and
evaluation. In this you will determine the nature and extent of technical activities.
Basic reminders of good monitoring and evaluation are:
Set clear and precise area, topic and issue of monitoring and evaluation
Developed system for monitoring and evaluation.
Provided training for monitoring and evaluation of all key project, program and management
positions.
Inclusion of monitoring and evaluation in the work plan of the assessment and integrated at all
levels.
Develop a plan for monitoring and evaluation and focus on several indicators.
Build systems for data collection and management - they should be as simple as possible to
make it easy to be used and they should include the roles and responsibilities of staff.
Regularly hold meetings to refer to the data from the monitoring and evaluation - emphasis
should be placed on learning something new and incorporating feedback information into the
program

Use a logical framework to measure progress compared to planned objectives and develop them
within the frameworks of the policy / project / program.
Share results with users and other partners - avoid reporting only to the superiors - do it in
reverse direction.
Create assessment at the beginning of the project / program and final evaluation at the end to
systematically compare the results.

Preparation of a plan for monitoring and evaluation

The plan for monitoring and evaluation is a flexible guide to the steps that are provided for:
Documenting project / program activities
Providing answers to issues related to monitoring and evaluation
Monitoring the progress in achieving the main objective and the specific objectives.
Monitoring activities described in the plan for monitoring and evaluation should be specified in
the overall work plan.

4.9. Reports
The process of monitoring and evaluation requires several types of reports. The ultimate goal is the
results to be presented in the final report - study. But, there are also other types of reports that are
made during monitoring and evaluation, that report on the progress of the process. For our needs,
contributing to the progress report of the European Commission, we should not wait till the end of the
cycle of policy or measure that is the subject to our monitoring, nor to finish the monitoring, to write the
final report and this to be our contribution.
The report that we will submit to the EC as our contribution should represent only a cross section of
what is for some time (and that is the current year of reporting) monitored and evaluated. The attached
report to the European Commission should represent a summary report, which will be followed by
another one in which in more details we will present the topics, issues, policies of your monitoring and
evaluation, as well as tools for monitoring and analyzing the data, the final conclusions and
recommendations.
We should recall that Reporting is an integral part of monitoring and evaluation. The notification is the
systematic and timely provision of important information in periodic intervals.

4.9.1. Why do we prepare reports in the context of monitoring and evaluation?

The reports help us:
To monitor progress in achieving of policies and activities on gender eqality;

 To provide feedback to regarding the use of their assets;

To show what has been achieved and what has been learned;
To be accountable and transparent
To document the activities;
4.9.2. Internal and external reports
Internal reports are informal and help us to perform a better monitoring and evaluation process, to
bring better decisions, to monitor progress and detect problems at an early stage of their appearance,
improve team communication and for preparation of external reporting. External reports should be
formal and accountable, and to serve for strengthening the credibility by showing our achievements and
contribution.
4.9.3. Elements of a successful report
Aspects that a successful report should have

Process
Check consistency on a regular base; refer to objectives and expected results in reports on the
implementation of the program, weaknesses, and at the end, make a summary.

Style
Think of your reader; be clear (summarize the facts, organize information, structure answers);
write short sentences, use simple language, be concise and clear and do not use jargon,
assumptions or prejudices.

Contents
Accurate and relevant information, consolidate facts and results, enclose numeric data, add
photos, maps and tables where necessary, use reliable sources and check and state the sources
from where you got your statistics.

Analysis
Do not just list of activities. Look at each activity very carefully - Why is it done? What are the
results? What is achieved in relation to the users? What can be better next time?

4.10. Format of Report on the evaluation / assessment as a contribution to

the progress report of the EU
This format has been developed to ensure consistency in the structure of the reports for review or
evaluation. It gives an outline of the review or evaluation report and gives explanations for each part.

This format should be given to consultants along with the tasks they have in order to perform the
necessary work.

Part one

1. Front page:
Organization logo
Name of the organization
Title of the evaluation
Date of evaluation - month and year
2. Content: specify the key chapters in the report and the page where they are given.
3. Summary:
For whom is the report intended
A summary of the report of the assessment / evaluation.
Formulate evaluations by chapters and topics to the content of the assessment
Further information on the assessment: how it is conducted, when, where, the main results,
conclusions and recommendations
4. Body of the assessment report:
What is the purpose of the assessment and for whom it is intended?
What are the specific objectives and key issues that need to be addressed in the assessment?
What subjects / chapters the report refers to?
Discussion by chapters, according to the structure of the progress report

Part Two
5. Used methodology:
What methods are used in the evaluation? Were the tools tested before implementation of the
evaluation?
What methods were used to analyze quantitative and qualitative information?
6. Results and discussion:
What are the results? (Results should be summarized according to themes and analyzed in details)

 Have the tables, diagrams, charts and other visual presentations been used?
Have the qualitative results (stating examples of what people have said helps a lot) been well
interpreted
Have the case studies been included?
Is confidentiality maintained?
7. Conclusions:
Which are the conclusions on the key issues of assessment? The summary of the conclusions should be
presented in order and shown summarized, and reflect the main results of the assessment.
8. Recommendations:
What areas need improvement? How can they be improved? Check whether the proposals are clear
and concise? Are the areas of improvement relevant, appropriate and realistic? Is the timeframe for
implementation mentioned?
9. Annexes.
They should include detailed information for each part separately. Details of the methods used, work
plans, etc.