The Women Citizens of Europe Network, RCE, is an organisation whose fundamental aims are to promote and support the exercise of the principle of Equal Opportunities between women and men, as one of the fundamental principle of a democratic Europe; and, therefore, we think that the active participation of the largest number of actors in this project is not only desirable, but fundamental.

Citizen involvement is an essential condition for the legal expression of all concerns. And in this sense, the participating attitude of European women and men is exemplary, and their contributions must necessarily be reflected in the constitutional text.

Only a dignified European Constitution can insure the future of the European Union: a future of freedom, equality, progress and solidarity. But, however, there are still many steps to be taken along the path towards a more democratic, more egalitarian Europe which is closer to its women and men citizens.

In the RCE, we consider that in such an important process for the future of an enlarged Europe, it is not a case of only introducing formal changes to the Treaties in order to better define competences and adapt the Institutions to new needs. It is necessary to lay the foundations for an Europe that incorporates adequate gender quality. Gender mainstreaming or transversality of equality, respecting community acquis, must be present in all Union policies, as an ends and a means.

The future European Constitution must essentially be inspired by three fundamental principles: subsidiarity, efficiency and democracy.

The application of the principle of subsidiarity is what best guarantees a Europe which is closer to its citizens and respectful of its national and regional diversity. The identity, culture and way of life of the different people must be protected and fostered within the European Union.

As for the application of the principle of efficiency, this must be imposed more than ever. The future of Europe will depend on the real capacity of the Union to foresee or solve specific problems which concern its citizens.

Finally, the democratic principle on which the European Constitution must be inspired implies the inclusion of a catalogue of fundamental rights of citizens and the enacting of more democratic and egalitarian decision-making processes.

Taking into account the Draft Statement and the project of the first 16 articles of the future European Constitution presented by the Praesidium, the RCE makes the following proposals:

PROPOSALS

Title I. ON THE DEFINITION AND THE OBJECTIVES OF THE UNION.

Art. 2. Regarding the values that should be included in this article of the Constitutional Treaty, the RCE recommends that explicit mention should be made of the value of equality in all its dimensions: including equality between women and men.

Art. 3.2. Regarding the objectives, in the second point, the RCE considers the inclusion of “equality between women and men” in the new Project of the Constitutional treaty laudable; but, given the importance of the referred subjects, it recommends that the Union ”will guarantee”, and not only foster these objectives.
The RCE is in favour of consolidating community acquis with respect to equality between women and men, adopting the necessary measures so that gender mainstreaming, already adopted in Articles 2 and 3 of the EUT, becomes a reality.
To this effect, a separate provision should be included to recognise gender mainstreaming as an efficient and necessary instrument to insure that all aspects of European political life take into account a gender point of view.

Title II. ON FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND CITIZENSHIP OF THE UNION.

Art. 5. The RCE considers that the inclusion of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union in the Draft Statement for the Constitutional Treaty, fully respecting community acquis and the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice regarding equal opportunities is very appropriate. Likewise, it is in favour of reforming and reinforcing some of the provisions it includes which refer to women’s human rights. For example, the right to health in terms of procreation and birth and the prohibition of violence and gender pursuit.

Art. 7. The RCE is in favour of the complete disappearance of inequality between men and women in relation to exercising citizenship rights. Moreover, it suggests extending European Union citizenship to those who already live within its territory. This would entail promoting integration and equal opportunities. Amongst the rights that European citizenship implies, there is the right to active and passive suffrage in municipal elections and elections to the European Parliament.

Title III. ON THE COMPETENCES OF THE UNION.

Art. 8. Among the competences and the actions of the Union, the application of the subsidiarity principle must be clearly included, offering the best guarantee of a Europe which is closer to its citizens and respectful for its national and regional diversity.

Art. 9. The RCE considers that this point must be legally developed with extreme care. If the Constitutional Treaty and Union Law are to overpower Member State Laws in certain cases, it is necessary to ensure that the former will always be at least as advantageous for people as the latter.

Art. 12.4. With reference to competences, the RCE approves the list of shared competences, with the inclusion of gender equality, asking for a specific legal basis of these spheres in the Constitution as it does not appear in any treaty.

Title IV. ON INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNION.

Within the attributions of the European Parliament and together with the election of an Ombudsman/woman, the RCE proposes the nomination of a Deputy Ombudsman/woman specialised in gender, a figure that already exists in many European States, who would be in charge of guaranteeing an appropriate gender perspective in defence of citizenship rights before Union bodies and-institutons.

Title VI. ON THE DEMOCRATIC LIFE OF THE UNION.

- The RCE suggests providing the European Union with the necessary means to make the principle included in Article 33 effective, making all Union citizens equal before its institutions. (The article states that all female and male citizens are equal before Union institutions, but the means to insure this equality do not exist. Thus, a new provision should be introduced on this point).

- The principle of participating democracy, which is recognised in this article 34, must not be separated from the objective of achieving a balanced participation of women, men and their organisations, within the European Union.

- The RCE considers the drafting of a law on electoral proceedings based on common principles for the election of European Parliament Members to be a priority (Art. 35 of the Draft Project). European Parliament must be elected by means of an electoral system that incorporates balanced gender representation as one of the essential principles to be respected in its configuration. In this sense, we defend the use of parity lists that include women and men in alternate positions, proportional representation, single electoral circumscription with the possibility of dividing up the territory into several circumscriptions in those States where there is a variety of regional and cultural interests, the establishment of low electoral barriers, the introduction of incompatibilities and a limitation to turns of office. The RCE does not reject the possibility of a preferential vote and suggests that ballot papers incorporate a gender indicator. Subsidies for political parties must depend on fulfilment of these objectives.

Title VII. ON FINANCES OF THE UNION.

The RCE demands that the principle of budget equilibrium of the Union (Art. 39) includes budgetary decisions makings from a gender perspective. This will tend to put an end to the different impacts that these decisions usually have on women and men.-

Title IX. ON THE UNION AND ITS CLOSE ENVIRONMENT.

The RCE considers that the Union must make its relations with third countries dependant on respect to fundamental rights, including women’s rights as an indivisible part of universal human rights. This is particularly important in Partnership Agreements signed with these countries, as no element of any culture which discriminates against women or any other person is acceptable.

PART II. ON POLICIES AND REALISATION OF UNION ACTIONS.

The RCE believes it is necessary to introduce specific provisions regarding equality between women and men in all spheres, by means of the creation of a Title on Equality, completely devoted to the description of the rights, obligations, mandates, indicators, etc. which will contribute to making equal opportunities between women and men real and effective.

In terms of health, the RCE proposes making women’s right to health effective, paying particular attention to health in terms of sexuality, procreation and birth.

The WOMEN CITIZENS OF EUROPE NETWORK (RCE) recommends that the Constitutional Treaty use neutral language or a language adapted to both genders.

Madrid,1th March, 2003

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