Amid preparations for the new EU Gender Action Plan (GAP) III, the Instrument for Pre-Accession (IPA) III, and the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI), this brief sought to assess the extent to which GAP II has contributed to mainstreaming gender in EU programming in the Western Balkans (WB) under IPA II. Conducted in May 2020, the analysis involved a review of all 240 IPA II Action Documents (ADs) available online to assess the extent to which they had implemented GAP II in programme design, based on GAP II indicators. The findings were rather dismal, and recommendations are included.

Namely, KWN recommends that the European Commission (EC) establish a brief, obligatory checklist for gender equality Quality Assurance review of all ADs, towards ensuring that all GAP III and OECD-related commitments are met. Ideally, obligations for gender mainstreaming will be included in NDICI, IPA III, and GAP III.