Subject: Gender Equality

Whereas gender equality and gender mainstreaming will be placed high on the political agenda of the European Parliament on 8 March 2004, International Women's Day;

whereas the Group of Commissioners on Equal Opportunities was set up in 1995 with a mandate to

- ensure that the gender dimension is taken into account in all relevant Community policies and actions, in accordance with Article 3(2) of the EC Treaty;

- guarantee the coherence of Commission action in the field of equal opportunities both internally and externally;

1. What are the concrete results of the work of the Group of Commissioners on Equal Opportunities after nine years of existence, and how does the Commission assess the impact of this work?

2. Would the Commission agree that one Commissioner should be appointed to deal mainly with gender equality in her/his portfolio?