Gender equality is a fundamental value of the European Union (EU). In 2015, the European Commission (EC) adopted “Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment: Transforming the Lives of Girls and Women through EU External Relations 2016-2020”, also known as the “Gender Action Plan II” (GAP II). This plan was developed based on lessons learned from the first EU gender action plan. It introduced several important measures related to “institutional cultural shift”, towards an improved EU approach in furthering gender equality in all EU external actions worldwide. It called for context-relevant actions to further gender equality, informed by gender analysis. Importantly, it also introduced mandatory annual reporting for the EU on GAP II progress.
