Edtstadler: “Course for female EU positions”
“Europe is facing immense challenges and we need all our strength to reposition the EU for the citizens,” emphasized the Europe Minister. “The conference with my counterparts in Salzburg focused on the perspective and visibility of women, especially in the context of the multiples with which we are currently appearing. Together with our male colleagues, we want to create the conditions for Europe to remain a continent of opportunities and the best quality of life in the future.”
Networking meeting future annual
Against the backdrop of the Salzburg Festival, the European Ministers and State Secretaries responsible for EU affairs, together with representatives of the European Parliament, had the opportunity to look at relevant EU issues from a female perspective. This includes Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine with its far-reaching consequences, for example in relation to security of energy supply, but also the pandemic and its specific effects on women or the strengthening of European institutions.
“The inspiring discussions have shown that this exchange and dialogue between top European politicians is necessary. I am therefore pleased that Salzburg is the starting point for a new event format that is to take place annually in the future,” says Edtstadler.
Intended to travel to Ukraine
Initial considerations for a joint trip to the Ukraine, in order to shift the focus to women-specific issues, are another concrete result of the two-day working talks in Salzburg. Europe Minister Edtstadler: “22 percent of the armed forces in Ukraine are women. This is an aspect that rarely appears in coverage of the war. Women make up the majority of those displaced from Ukraine, around 82 percent in Austria. It is important to send a strong signal of European solidarity and unity.”
Female skills for a sustainable view of the EU
“Women in particular, as key figures in crises and conflicts, can make a significant contribution to finding solutions to European challenges,” emphasized Edtstadler. Because women often have a different, solution-oriented approach to solving problems that goes beyond party, country and institutional boundaries. In addition to overcoming acute crises, these perspectives are also necessary for the development of visually oriented, sustainable solutions.
“If we want to master the challenges that the EU is facing in a sustainable manner, we need increased participation of women in decision-making processes at all levels and greater consideration of women’s realities in politics, business and society. There is no time to lose when it comes to setting the course together for a more resilient and ambitious, more inclusive and more female Union of the future,” concluded the Minister for Europe.
Background: Top politicians from EU countries in Salzburg
Europe Minister Karoline Edtstadler was able to attend the two-day conference in the DomQuartier Salzburg and at Schloss Leopoldskron Judit Varga, Minister for the EU and Justice in Hungary, Tytti Tuppurainen, Minister for European Affairs and Property Control in Finland, the Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib, and Irena Dimitrova, Deputy Greetings from the Foreign Minister of Bulgaria, Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica, Deputy Foreign Minister and Parliamentary State Secretary in Latvia, Daniela Grigore Gitman, State Secretary for European Affairs in Romania, and Andreja Metelko-Zgombić, State Secretary for Europe at the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Representatives from the European Parliament include Vice-President Nicola Beer and MEP Eva Maydell.