With the expiry of the European Union’s Gender Action Plan six months away, the drafting of a new framework to replace it is “almost finalized,” EU Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development Neven Mimica revealed to Devex.
Covering the 2016-2020 period, the follow-up GAP is set to be adopted by the European Commission in September, with Mimica “hopeful” that the plan will be endorsed by the bloc’s Council of ministers in December.
Upon its adoption in 2010, the first GAP was upheld as a strategic instrument to push for greater gender equality mainstreaming in EU development cooperation. But five years on, experts and officials admit that implementation — particularly with respect to gender analysis, monitoring and financial tracking — has fallen short of expectations.