Borrell on launch of EU's new gender equality plan

The European Union launched a new plan on Wednesday that it said would promote gender equality and women's empowerment but added there's a serious lag internationally in progress to achieve such goals.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Josep Borrell admitted that "unhappily not a single country in Europe or anywhere in the world will be on track to achieve gender equality by 2030 in the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals."

Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen added that COVID-19 has deepened inequalities, disproportionately affecting women and girls.

Through the Gender Action Plan III the EU says it intends to lead by example, including establishing gender-balanced leadership at top levels.

The plan also introduces rules applying and monitoring gender mainstreaming across sectors including digital, energy and agriculture, puts a renewed emphasis on universal access to healthcare, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and adopts a new approach to accountability by more closely monitoring results.

The 2030 agenda for sustainable development, which contains 17 goals, was adopted in 2015 at the UN General Assembly.

(Image credit: Josep Borrell / Instagram)