European Parliment Approves Gender Institute
Sunday, March 19, 2006 5:55 PM
The European Parliament approved a new EU gender institute on March 14. The competition to host the institution has intensified between Slovakia, Lithuania and Slovenia. With increased campaigning, each country has begun to highlight what it can offer the institute. Lithuania argues that its proximity to the Scandinavian states is its biggest strength. Slovakia believes that it is the ideal candidate because of its location near the EU agency for fundamental rights in Vienna. As a state that argues its devotion to gender equality issues as well as its location near the Balkan States, who hope to join the EU, Slovenia argues that it is best suited to host the institution. The EU gender institute will focus on research and analysis of gender issues and will disseminate its findings to other EU institutions. The hope is that this information will be taken into consideration when policy decisions are made. Compiled from: Three Countries Step Up Fight to Host EU Gender Institute, Lucia Kubosova, EUobserver.com, 14 March 2006.