The European Commission has opened a public feedback period on a new EU action plan for gender equality and women’s empowerment in the EU’s external action, known as GAP IV.
The initiative is billed as setting the EU’s vision for promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment as a strategic priority across all external actions, the Commission said in a statement on Friday night.
It described a global environment in which “hard-won gains” on women’s human rights are being curtailed by authoritarian regimes and anti-rights movements, more than 30 years after the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action was adopted.
The organisation also said donor funding cuts are compounding what it called a backlash, causing major setbacks.
Feedback open until 30 April
People and organisations can submit input between 18 March 2026 and 30 April 2026, with feedback to be published on the Commission’s website under its feedback rules, according to the Commission.
The initiative is being developed as a “joint communication” — a formal policy document issued jointly by the European Commission and the EU’s foreign policy service.
