THE EUROPEAN COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS (CoR)

- endorses the European Commission’s Roadmap for Women’s Rights and Declaration of Principles for a Gender-Equal Society as a strong foundation for shaping the new EU Gender Equality Strategy;
- calls for local and regional authorities to be recognised as strategic partners in the design, implementation and monitoring of the Roadmap and the forthcoming EU Gender Equality Strategy, backed by adequate financial resources and strengthened equality bodies;
- calls for the next Multiannual Financial Framework (2028–2034) to systematically mainstream gender equality and ensure consistency between gender budgeting and other key EU priorities;
- reaffirms that adequate financial and human resources must be guaranteed to ensure that local and regional authorities can deliver on gender-equality commitments;
- stresses that effective violence prevention requires tackling gender stereotypes, harmful masculinity norms and patriarchal structures through an intersectional lens, and engaging men and boys as allies; local and regional authorities must be equipped with the resources and capacity to lead this work on the ground;
- highlights the growing threat of digital violence, misogyny and online harassment and urges stronger accountability from tech platforms;
- stresses the need to close gender pay and pension gaps and promote women’s economic empowerment, including through public procurement;
- welcomes the Roadmap’s focus on a fairer sharing of care responsibilities and underlines the role of local and regional authorities in providing quality care infrastructure enabling women’s participation in the labour market;
- calls for clear accountability mechanisms, including independent gender-equality observatories, regular gender audits and civil-society oversight, to ensure that commitments translate into measurable progress.