Girls: I have already addressed the issue of trafficking, but I should like to add that, in a recent declaration, the European Union ministers responsible for gender equality policy agreed to mainstream a gender perspective into national immigration and asylum policies, regulations and practices, as appropriate in order to promote and protect the rights of all women and girls, including by considering steps to recognise gender-related persecution and violence when assessing grounds for granting refugee status and asylum.

- Where there is working cooperation and effective partnership, operations financed by the programme will supplement and improve country- or region-based cooperation programmes, by supporting stakeholders introducing new schemes and approaches, to better integrate cross-cutting priorities in a holistic way, to facilitate grassroots or a specific group’s participation, to foster gender equality, to build capacities in new areas such as fair trade, environmental advocacy etc.

- progress towards a broad-based, gender-sensitive, multi-ethnic and fully representative government committed to peace with Afghanistan's neighbours,

These principles include the intention to establish a broad-based, gender-sensitive, multi-ethnic and fully representative government;

In this regard, a template to support an integrated proofing approach encompassing poverty, gender and the wider equality agenda will be developed and piloted by the Office of Social Inclusion in partnership with the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the Equality Authority.

The Commission, in order to promote a more gender balanced approach in the field of research policy, committed itself in the implementation of the Fifth Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development in 1999, to appoint women to make up 40% of the members of consultative assemblies, expert advisory groups and assessment and monitoring panels in the field of research [12], an initiative welcomed by the Council, which adopted a resolution of its own in May 1999 on "Women in Science", confirming its own commitment to promoting equality in this area.