European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE)

KEY POINTS

Aims of EIGE

The institute brings its technical expertise to the European Union (EU) institutions and the Member States in order to help to:

• promote and strengthen gender equality;
• include gender mainstreaming in all EU policies and resulting national policies;
• fight discrimination based on sex;
• raise EU citizens’ awareness about gender equality and the need to address violence against women.

EIGE’s work

• The institute bases its work on objective, comparable and reliable data at European level.
• It is responsible for collecting, analysing and disseminating information on gender equality.
• It develops:
  • methods to improve the objectivity, comparability and reliability of data at European level by establishing criteria to improve the consistency of information and take into account gender issues when collecting data;
  • dialogue and cooperation with non-governmental and equal opportunities organisations, universities and experts, research centres, social partners and related bodies actively seeking to achieve equality at national and European level.
• It develops, analyses, evaluates and disseminates methodological tools to support gender mainstreaming in all EU and national policies.
• It carries out surveys on the gender equality situation in Europe.
• It organises meetings of experts to support the institute’s research work, encourages information-sharing among researchers and promotes the inclusion of a gender perspective in their research.
• It disseminates information regarding positive examples of non-stereotypical roles for women and men in every walk of life, and presents its findings and initiatives designed to publicise and build on these success stories.
• To raise EU citizens’ awareness of gender equality, it organises conferences, campaigns and meetings at European level, and sets up documentation resources accessible to the public.

Operation

• The institute performs its tasks in an independent and transparent manner.
• It is steered by a Management Board, headed by a director and assisted by an Experts’ Forum.
• Its seat is in Vilnius (Lithuania).
• In particular, EIGE works closely with the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (see summary), the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (see summary), the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (see summary) and the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (see summary).

Budget

• Each year, the institute draws up an estimate of all the revenue and expenditure, which must be in balance. This estimate, which must include a draft establishment plan, is forwarded by the Management Board to the European Commission by 31 March at the latest. The estimate is then forwarded to the EU’s budgetary authority (comprising the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union), together with the preliminary draft budget of the EU. On the basis of this estimate, the Commission enters in the preliminary draft general budget of the EU the estimates it deems necessary for the establishment plan and the amount of the subsidy to be charged to the EU’s general budget, which it then submits to the budgetary authority.
• In accordance with the multiannual financial framework for the period in question, the budgetary authority authorises the appropriations for the annual subsidy from the EU’s general budget and adopts the establishment plan.
• EIGE’s budget is adopted by its Management Board and becomes final following final adoption of the EU budget. It is adjusted accordingly where necessary.
• EIGE’s other sources of revenue may include payments received for services rendered, any financial contributions from international organisations or non-EU countries, and any voluntary contribution from the Member States.