Shaping tomorrow’s Europe!

EU must be inclusive, open, just, sustainable, and work.

And do it for people of all ages, social backgrounds and nations.

The European Institute of Women’s Health is a signatory to the Common statement signed by 177 European and national Civil Society Organisations and Trade Unions, ahead of the EU27 Summit in Bratislava on 16 September 2016.

We need to:

Tackle challenges together

Many challenges that face Europe – inequalities, climate change, natural resource depletion, and a global economy that benefits the few and not the many – are better tackled together than by individual countries.
The EU embodies international cooperation and collaboration and can lead in ensuring sustainable and inclusive development by advancing human rights, allowing for dignified movements of people, where refugees are welcome and people feel safe.
Fight for a sustainable, social Europe for people and for our planet

There needs to be a decisive and transformational change in political will, direction and policy. Such a vision is provided in the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in which people, social justice, environmental and health protection, democracy and transparency take centre stage. Guided by this agenda, EU economic policies need to go hand in hand with strong social and environmental policies. The EU single market and international policies must promote enforceable rules to protect workers, consumers, all citizens – men and women, young and old – and the planet. EU policies must support democracy, dialogue and more equality within and beyond the EU. We need a Europe that aims at improving the living standards of everyone.

Work for better Europe, not less Europe
The current tendency to weaken EU institutions and to strip away protections for people and planet in the name of ‘deregulation’ is not the answer. Current economic policies of reducing deficits and boosting ‘competitiveness’ have promoted too narrow an interpretation of growth, and corporate profits have failed to make it into workers’ wages or trickle down to improve people’s lives.

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