A “Union of Equality” between breakthrough and backlash. An Introduction
Main Article Content
Abstract
Ursula von der Leyen as the first female President of the European Commission, proclaimed in 2019 the “Union of Equality”, which marked a revitalization of the European Union’s (EU) gender equality and anti-discrimination policy. The second von der Leyen Commission, however, operates in the context of a right-wing backlash across many member states and within the EU’s key institutions, the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, and the Commission itself. Against this background, the article examines the historical developments that shaped the EU’s reputation as gender equality advocate and analyses how the two von der Leyen Commissions and their “Union of Equality” agenda can be assessed. We highlight how progress increasingly depends on interinstitutional cooperation and party constellations and ask whether the EU can maintain its role as a supranational equality advocate or will be limited to defending the status quo.
Keywords: European Union, von der Leyen Commission, Gender Equality, Anti-Discrimination, Right-wing Backlash
Bibliography: Abels, Gabriele/Ahrens, Petra: Eine „Union der Gleichheit” zwischen Aufbruch und
Backlash. Eine Einleitung, Femina Politica – Zeitschrift für feministische Politikwissenschaft, 2-2025, pp. 9-22.
Article Details
Literature
Abels, Gabriele, 2025: Geschlecht und deskriptive Repräsentation: Was gibt es Neues nach den Wahlen 2024? In: Kaeding, Michael/Müller, Manuel/Hoppe, Alexander (Hg.): Die Europawahl 2024. Rechtsruck im Schatten des Krieges. Cham, 239-250.
Abels, Gabriele/Kantola, Johanna, 2025: Gendering the Interinstitutional Landscape: Relations of the von der Leyen Commission to the European Parliament and the Council. In: Abels, Gabriele/Kantola, Johanna/Lombardo, Emanuela/Müller, Henriette Müller (Hg.): The European Commission under President Ursula von der Leyen: Gender, Leadership, Policies and Crises. Oxford, New York, 153-170.
Abels, Gabriele/Kantola, Johanna/Lombardo, Emanuela/Müller, Henriette (Hg.), 2025: The European Commission under President Ursula von der Leyen: Gender, Leadership, Policies and Crises. Oxford, New York.
Abels, Gabriele/Klöckner, Thomas, 2025: „Eine Union der Gleichheit“ – Bilanz und Perspektiven der Präsidentschaft von der Leyens. In: integration 48 (3), 202-217.
Abels, Gabriele/Mushaben, Joyce M., 2020: Great Expectations – Strong Limitations: Ursula von der Leyen and the Commission’s New Equality Agenda. In: Journal of Common Market Studies. 58 (S1), 121-132.
Abels, Gabriele/Ahrens, Petra, 2017: Die Macht zu Gestalten – die Mutterschutzrichtlinie im legislativen Bermuda-Dreieck der Europäischen Union. In: Femina Politica 26 (1), 39-54.
Ahrens, Petra, 2018: Actors, Institutions and the Making of EU Gender Equality Programs. Basingstoke.
Ahrens, Petra/Gaweda, Barbara/Kantola, Johanna, 2022: Reframing the Language of Human Rights? Political Group Contestations on Women’s and LGBTQI Rights in European Parliament Debates. In: Journal of European Integration. 44 (6), 803-819.
Ahrens, Petra/Kantola, Johanna (2025): Gleichstellung der Geschlechter im neuen Europäischen Parlament: Europaparteien und Fraktionen. In: Kaeding, Michael/Müller, Manuel/Hoppe, Alexander (Hg.): Die Europawahl 2024. Rechtsruck im Schatten des Krieges. Cham (i. E.).
Ahrens, Petra/Rolandsen-Agustín, Lise (Hg.), 2019: Gendering the European Parliament. Structures, Policies, and Practices. Lanham.
Ayoub, Philip, 2016: When States Come Out: Europe’s Sexual Minorities and the Politics of Visibility. Cambridge.
Ayoub, Philip/Paternotte, David (Hg.), 2014: LGBT Activism and the Making of Europe: a Rainbow Europe? Basingstoke.
Byrne, Rosemary/Entzinger, Han (Hg.), 2019: Human Rights Law and Evidence-Based Policy. The Role of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency. London.
Debusscher, Petra 2023: The EU Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025: The Beginning of a New Season?. In: Vanhercke, Bart/Sabato, Stefano/Spasova, Slavina (Hg.): Social Policy in the European Union: State of Play 2022. Brussels, 91-110.
Greenwood, Justin/Roederer-Rynning, Christilla, 2021: Organized Interests and Trilogues in a Post-Regulatory Era of EU Policy-Making. In: Journal of European Public Policy 28 (1), 112-131.
Hubert, Agnès/Jacquot, Sophie, 2025: A „Union of Equality”: A New Doctrine for the European Union. In: Abels, Gabriele/Kantola, Johanna/Lombardo, Emanuela/Müller, Henriette Müller (Hg.): The European Commission under President Ursula von der Leyen: Gender, Leadership, Policies and Crises. Oxford, New York, 23-42.
Jacquot, Sophie, 2015: Transformations in EU Gender Equality. From Emergence to Dismantling. Basingstoke.
Jacquot, Sophie, 2023: EU Gender Equality Policy and the Progressive Dismantling of Feminist Governance? In: Sawer; Marian/Banaszak, Lee/True, Jacqui/Kantola, Johanna (Eds.): Handbook of Feminist Governance. Ashgate, 311-322.
Kaeding, Michael/Müller, Manuel/Hoppe, Alexander (Hg.): Die Europawahl 2024. Rechtsruck im Schatten des Krieges. Cham.
Kantola, Johanna/Rolandsen-Agustín, Lise, 2016: Gendering Transnational Party Politics: The Case of the European Union. In: Party Politics. 22 (5), 641-651.
Kristofferson, Mattias/van Roozendaal, Björn/Poghosyan, Lilit (2016): European Integration and LGBTI Activism: Partners in Realising Change? In: Slootmaeckers, Koen/Touquet, Helen/Vermeersch, Peter (Hg.): The EU Enlargement and Gay Politics: The Impact of Eastern Enlargement on Rights, Activism and Prejudice. London, 45-67.
Lang, Sabine, 2021: Civil Society. In: Abels, Gabriele/Krizsán, Andrea/MacRae, Heather/van der Vleuten, Anna (Hg.): The Routledge Handbook of Gender and EU Politics. Abingdon, 222-234.
Locher, Birgit, 2012: Gendering the EU Policy Process and Constructing the Gender Acquis. In: Abels, Gabriele/Mushaben, Joyce M. (Hg.): Gendering the European Union. Basingstoke, 63-84.
MacRae, Heather, 2010: The EU as a Gender Equal Polity: Myths and Realities. In: Journal of Common Market Studies. 48 (1), 155–174.
Mos, Martijn, 2013: Conflicted Normative Power Europe: The European Union and Sexual Minority Rights. In: Journal of Contemporary European Research. 9 (1), 78-93.
Müller, Manuel, 2025: Die Europawahl 2024: Mehr als ein Rechtsruck. In: integration. 47 (4), 276-293.
Mushaben, Joyce M., 2019: Undermining Critical Mass: The Impact of Trilogues and Treaty Reforms on Gender-Sensitive Decision-Making in the European Parliament. In: Ahrens, Petra/Rolandsen Agustín, Lise (Hg.): Gendering the European Parliament. Lanham, 69-83.
Mushaben, Joyce M., 2025: “Through the Side Door”: Ursula von der Leyen’s Unconventional Path to Power. In: Abels, Gabriele/Kantola, Johanna/Lombardo, Emanuela/Müller, Henriette Müller (Hg.): The European Commission under President Ursula von der Leyen: Gender, Leadership, Policies and Crises. Oxford, New York, 60-77.
Sabbati, Giulio/Dunderberg, Olga/Pradier, Stéphanie 2025: European Parliament Research Service Briefing: European Commission: Facts and Figures. Internet: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2025/772909/EPRS_BRI(2025)772909_EN.pdf (15.7.2025)
Scherpereel, John A., 2021: Pursuing ‘Full Gender Equality’ in the European Commission: The Case of a Constrained Selector. In: European Politics and Society. 24 (3), 317-335.
Slootmaeckers, Koen/Touquet, Helen/Vermeersch, Peter, 2016: Introduction: EU Enlargement and LGBT Rights – Beyond Symbolism? In: Slootmaeckers, Koen/Touquet, Helen/Vermeersch, Peter (Hg.), The EU Enlargement and Gay Politics: The Impact of Eastern Enlargement on Rights, Activism and Prejudice. London, 1-16.
Solanke, Iyiola, 2021: The EU Approach to Intersectional Discrimination in Law. In: Abels, Gabriele/Krizsán, Andrea/MacRae, Heather/van der Vleuten, Anna (Hg.): The Routledge Handbook of Gender and EU Politics. Abingdon, 93-104.
Swiebel, Joke, 2009: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Human Rights: the Search for an International Strategy. In: Contemporary Politics. 15 (1), 19-35.
Thiel, Markus, 2021: The European Union’s International Promotion of LGBTI Rights. London. van der Vleuten, Anna, 2007: The Price of Gender Equality: Member States and Governance in the European Union. Aldershot.
von der Leyen, Ursula, 2024: Erklärung von Ursula von der Leyen, Kandidatin für eine zweite Amtszeit 2024-2029, bei der Plenartagung des Europäischen Parlaments, Straßburg, 18.07.2024. Internet:https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/de/statement_24_3871 (15.07.2025).
Woodward, Alison E., 2004: Building Velvet Triangles: Gender and Informal Governance. In: Christiansen, Thomas/Piattoni, Simona (Hg.): Informal Governance and the European Union. Cheltenham, 76-93.