The Program on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men in the European Accession Process (EOWM) is a joint initiative of the Open Society Foundation Romania and the Network Women’s Program of the Open Society Institute. Its conception stems from the Open Society Institute project to monitor the progress of candidate countries as they prepare themselves for integration into the European Union and ensure that they meet the Copenhagen political criteria, particularly in relation to the independence of the judiciary, minorities’ rights and anti-corruption. Given the acquis communautaire in the field of equal opportunities for women and men, which the countries in accession are required to adopt and comply with, an independent program to evaluate the status of accession countries from this perspective was developed.

An assessment of the status of equal opportunities, de jure and de facto, was carried out in seven of the candidate countries: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland and Romania, and the EU Directives on equal opportunities provided the framework for monitoring and analysing the corresponding legislation, institutions and practices. In 2002 was published the first report Monitoring the European Accession Process: Equal Opportunities for Women and Men. More about the Report, 2002

For more information about the first phase of EOWM/EONET Program you can visit www.eonet.ro

The CWSP continues its participation in EOWM/EONET Program of NWP and has prepared the second Monitoring Report for Bulgaria Equal opportunities for women and men: Monitoring law and practice in new member states and accession countries of the EU, 2005. More about the Report, 2005