The works on the next EU Gender Action Plan (GAP IV) have started, and the European Commission launched a public consultation to gather inputs for the GAP IV.
The next GAP will run from 2028 to 2034, in parallel with the next Multi-Annual Financial Framework, and the stakes are high. In the current global context, where the global anti-gender movement is rising, attacks to women’s rights and SRHR, feminist activists and civil society are growing, the GAP present a key test for the EU, to confirm – and strengthen – its commitment to the promotion of gender equality and empowerment in the external action.
ActionAid calls for four key priorities to be addressed in GAP IV:
#1: Strengthen GAP III Three-Pronged Approach and Core Principles
GAP IV should maintain and reinforce the three-pronged approach of gender mainstreaming, targeted actions and inclusive policy dialogue with civil society, already present in GAP III. The GAP III evaluation showed that this approach improved coherence and credibility, but there are margins for improvement in its implementation, especially to guarantee more systematic and inclusive dialogues and consultation with CSOs – especially local WROs and grassroot organisations.
At the same time, the three core principles of GAP III —gender transformative, intersectional and rights-based approach—must also be maintained and their implementation strengthened. Interventions should explicitly address intersecting discrimination based on gender, class, race, disability, sexual orientation and migratory status, while the gender transformative approach should be centred to focus on interventions that tackle gendered power relations and structural inequalities.
#2: Include Gender Equality Spending Targets
Spending targets are essential for gender-sensitive programming, accountability, predictability and transparency. The GAP III evaluation confirmed the importance of targets, both in the Gender Action Plan and NDICI funding instrument. However, the Commission’s proposal for the next MFF removed most thematic targets in the name of flexibility. ActionAid calls for the insertion of the following gender equality spending targets, both in GAP IV and the Global Europe Instrument:
- 85% of ODA where gender equality is a significant or principal objective (G1 or G2 OECD marker). Of which:
- 20% of ODA where gender equality is a principal objective (G2 OECD marker)
On top of those, 5% of EU ODA should directly support WROs.
#3: Make Funding Accessible to Local WROs
Despite their central role, local WROs face structural barriers in accessing EU funding, including short-term grants, heavy compliance requirements and limited core funding. The GAP III evaluation showed that direct contracting with national CSOs has declined significantly, and it is therefore crucial that GAP IV strengthens localisation efforts and funding to local CSOs. This can be achieved in different ways, including the use intermediaries such as feminist funds or INGOs for sub-granting and compliance support; investment in capacity building, including financial management and compliance, for local WROs so that they can participate in call for proposals; the development of innovative funding models that allow the EU to directly fund local WROs with long-term, core-style and flexible funding.
#4: Ensure Global Gateway Serves GAP IV Objectives
The Global Gateway strategy was launched by the European Commission in 2021 with the aim to mobilize up to €300 billion in investments through large infrastructure projects in the Global South. This strategy has progressively gained momentum and is now fully embedded in the proposal for the next Global Europe Instrument starting from 2028. In this context, it is crucial that the next GAP responds to the scaling-up of Global Gateway, without being swallowed by it. Instead, Global Gateway projects and the 360-degree approach must put gender equality and equal rights at their core, both as cornerstones for sustainable development and as a prerequisite for the EU’s values-based offer to partners. This can be achieved by including mandatory gender and inclusive development analysis in project design, strengthening the oversight role of civil society, and including stronger human rights clauses, to position gender equality as essential to EU integrity and credibility and not just as an optional “add‑on” to investment projects.