The third meeting of the Eastern Partnership (EaP) Working Group for Gender Equality took place on 30-31 May in Brussels and provided the opportunity to exchange information and discuss current developments in the Eastern Partnership on key topics such as the gender and pension pay gap, legislations and actions to counter violence and harassment in the workplace, and gender-based violence.

Discussions also focused on the ratification and implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, also known as “the Istanbul Convention”, and the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 190 on harassment and violence in the workplace.

The event gathered representatives from five EaP countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine), EU Member States, EU institutions and the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum.

This is the third meeting in the framework of the EaP Working Group on Gender Equality since its launch in October 2023, demonstrating the joint commitment by the EU and EaP partners to continue promoting a dedicated dialogue and cooperation in this field.

The event was organised in collaboration with the Federal Public Service (FPS) for Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation of the Kingdom of Belgium, and in the framework of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, with the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the European Commission’s Directorate General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR).

Launched in 2009, the EaP is a joint initiative which aims to strengthen and deepen the political and economic relations between the European Union, its Member States and six Eastern European Partner countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine.