Hungary's War on Women and the Role of the European Union 

Hungary’s War on Women

& the role of the European Union

University of Amsterdam Written

By

Lulu van der Linden 12393614

F. van Hooren Word count:

17782

Table of Contents

DEVELOPMENTS IN THE HUNGARIAN POLITICAL LANDSCAPE 2010-2020 27 THE EUROPEAN UNION’S NORMATIVE ROLE IN GENDER EQUALITY 31 GENDER EQUALITY IN HUNGARY AND THE ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION 35

CONCLUSION 45

DISCUSSION 49

BIBLIOGRAPHY 50

APPENDIX 1: CONSENT FORMS 57

APPENDIX 2: LIST OF ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATIONS 58

Abstract

This thesis analyses the decline of gender equality in Hungary since the ruling party, Fidesz, came to power, in 2010. Thereafter, it identifies a sequence of repetitive events through which this decline in gender equality was established. Due to the erosion of this democratic value, this thesis focusses on the role of the European Union (EU) throughout the established events.

It becomes clear that the EU’s legislative mechanisms in force are not compatible with the illiberal regime of Hungary. This analysis of the past decade shows the systemic failure of the EU’s battle against Hungary’s breaches of gender equality norms. Due to Hungary’s illiberal semi-authoritarian regime, it has become an uncontrollable player in the EU’s political arena. The democratic and bureaucratic nature of the EU is not viable in combatting a fast operating oppositional actor. Additionally, the structural lack of the EU’s focus on gender equality has resulted in an even quicker erosion of this core value, in the state of Hungary.

Introduction

In 2010, the Hungarian political landscape changed drastically for the first time since the downfall of the communist regime in 1989. The democratic election system ensured Fidesz and satellite party KNDP, a majority of seats in the national parliament. Ever since, the government’s vision on social and human rights policies has not been the same. As a member state of the European Union (EU), this rapid aversion against the status quo is extremely worrying, not only for collaborations domestically, but also for the EU’s position on the international stage. It is essential for the EU to take serious action against Hungary, and its violations of EU values.

In the latest V-DEM data set (2020), a report on the democratic status of states, Hungary was categorised as an authoritarian regime. This makes Hungary the first non-democratic country of the EU. The Freedom House Institute is a research centre which monitors developments regarding democracy, political freedom and human rights. In their latest report, Hungary was categorised to be a hybrid-regime and only partly free (Freedom House, 2020). They argued that the freedom of people has drastically declined over the past years due to the restrain of free press, lack of democratic governance and high corruption. The label ‘hybrid-regime’ indicates the shift from a democratic country towards an illiberal or authoritarian regime (Freedom House, 2020). Hungary used to be seen as one of the most successful stories of a transition from a communist regime to an established democracy. Nevertheless, the Fidesz government achieved to transform Hungary from a democracy into a semi-authoritarian regime in just a few years. This breakdown of democratic standards impacted, for example, the rule of law, the independence of judiciary and resulted in organised attacks against civil society (Bugaric, 2016).

The results as described above are in obvious conflict with the democratic values of the EU, with one value in particular being breached without receiving much attention, namely, gender equality. Opposition against gender equality is often linked to the conservative idea of the role of women in society. In the 90’s, when gender equality was put on the political agenda, the opposition started to out its concerns. Since the previous decade, this opposition managed to form a transnational alliance by combining its powers (Bunch et al, 2014). Christian values and conservatives ideologies are applied to the role of women in society, which leads to a form of discourse challenging female emancipation. A politician publicly speaking out on

this topic is Victor Orbán, the populist extreme right wing Hungarian head of state (Rooduijn et al, 2019). The Global Gender Gap Index (2020) reports on various aspects of gender equality throughout the world and argues that Hungary has one of the lowest scores on the European continent. Additionally, the score on political empowerment is particularly low, indicating the underrepresentation of women in parliament and other governmental positions (Global Gender Gap Index, 2020). Bernadette Szél, an independent member of Hungarian Parliament, argues this is extremely worrying. The national political arena should be a reflection of the population, and with the absence of women in the legislative framework, gender equality throughout the nation will never be established (Szél, interview 2020).

The EU claims to be a promotor of gender equality, with the definition outlined in the Treaty on European Union (2007) and presented as one of its core values. The active promotion of this value is carried out through gender mainstreaming, initially incorporated in strategies of the United Nations (Verloo, 2004; 2007). The Council of Europe has defined this concept as: “the (re)organisation, improvement, development and evaluation of policy processes, so that a gender equality perspective is incorporated in all policies at all levels and at all stages, by the actors normally involved in policy-making” (Council of Europe, 1998). Gender

mainstreaming relies foremost on the educational aspect of gender equality, throughout the EU institutions and towards the member states (Walby, 2005). This method allegedly imposes norms and values on the member states through the form of soft power. When a member state shows serious breaches of norms, there are various mechanisms in force which the EU can apply to contest it. These mechanisms are foremost appointed to the European Commission and the European Parliament, which gives them power to confront a member state with its breaches. Nevertheless, these tools are limited and often time-consuming.

Feminist scholars have argued in favour of the normative standpoints of the EU, and its use of gender mainstreaming (Houghton, 2019). Nevertheless, over time, it turned out to not be as effective as expected (Lombardo & Verloo, 2009; Houghton, 2019), but academic research on the topic remains limited. There has been academic research into the decline of democratic values in Hungary (Bugaric, 2016; Halmai, 2018), but often not touching upon gender

equality rights. Additionally, there has been research into the decline of gender equality in Europe (Roggeband & Krizsán, 2019; Roggeband, 2018; Verloo, 2004; 2007), often

conducted through a comparative angle, and therefore lacks the in-depth analysis of detailed characteristics of a case. Hence this thesis provides an extensive overview of the last decade,

concerning relevant actors in Hungarian politics, a comprehensive summary of relevant events, and the role of the EU in the decline of gender equality. It has high academic value since the inequalities between men and women is an ongoing theme, as gender equality faces serious threats in this contemporary era. The EU in particular seems to encounter difficulties, due to the rise of radical rights regimes (Roggeband, 2019). A comprehensive description of the Hungarian case, regarding gender equality decline, provides an academic base for future research upon the matter.

The research question for this analysis is the following:

What has been the role of the EU as an actor in the decline of gender equality in Hungary?

Since the research questions consists of various separate concepts, which are inherently interlinked, the research question is broken up into three sub-questions. These will be answered throughout this thesis in order to reach a conclusive outcome to the main research question:

- How has gender equality in Hungary changed over the past decade?

- What is supposedly the role of the EU regarding the promotion of gender equality? - What has been the role of the EU in Hungarian gender equality policies?

Literature review

This chapter consists of an analysis of the existing literature regarding gender equality decline, specifically in Hungary. Throughout this literature review I will identify the gap in the existing theory regarding the effects of gender equality decline in Hungary and the reaction of the EU regarding those values (Knopf, 2006).

Since the late 90’s, there appears to have been a rise in opposition against gender equality, although Chappell (2006) argues it is rather the form of an alliance among interest groups. Groups that have a conservative and patriarchal view on women’s role in society have been able to find each other and pursue the same interest. This transnational alliance includes big players and norm-makers such as the Vatican, Muslim fundamentalists and the US right wing who cooperate together to realise their common interests (Bunch et al, 2014). This alliance ensures a discourse across the world which marginalises women throughout the transnational population. This type of discourse is based on the treaties and declarations on human rights, but strategically transformed into an alternative interpretation of the words which is opposing the views on women (Sanders, 2017). Their ideology is distributed via the coalition and abundantly discussed on their conference called the World Congress of Families which is organised twice a year. The previously mentioned parties gather and align their visions and discourse there and then spread it transnationally.

In 2017 this congress was held in Hungary, where Prime Minister Victor Orbán opened the conference with a speech in which he stated that the EU’s liberal ideology is an insult to families (Tait, 2017). In the European countries Poland and Hungary it is not uncommon for such statements to be made by the government. According to Human Rights First (2017), NGO’s promoting women’s rights are systematically and openly undermined, and sometimes even physically attacked. This type of discourse is closely linked to the one that is being promoted by the international alliances as discussed before, which often also contains groups from the political far right. This is also the case in Hungary, where the incumbent president and government is perceived as populist radical right (Rooduin et al, 2019). Conny

Roggeband has conducted various studies on this specific topic, especially focussed on central and eastern Europe. She argues that in Croatia, Romania, Poland and Hungary this set back has taken such serious forms that it is threatening the democratic status of the countries

(Krizsán & Roggeband, 2019). In all four countries there have been undeniable changes in the regime which influenced the status of women. The implementation of new policies and delegitimization of existing laws regarding gender equality can be found in all four states. Additionally, the exclusion of women’s rights groups in the decision-making processes is common (Roggeband, 2019). Roggeband, Verloo and Krizsán are the foremost academic writers on the subject of gender backsliding in Europe. They acknowledge the influence of the political far right in the debates around gender policies (Krizsán & Roggeband 2019; Verloo, 2018). As Verloo (2018) argues, the PRR’s framing of (social) science and research as biased and invalid, influences the debate around gender equality. Normative studies such as gender and ethnicity are usually based on a constructivist paradigm. The right-wing movements use to refer to these scientific studies as ideologies and non-academic (Verloo, 2018). Therefore, it is important to take the standpoints within the political spectrum into consideration when analysing the influence of a party or government on the policy making process concerning gender equality.

As regard to gender equality backsliding in Europe, there have been a few studies into specific cases within Europe. The conducted studies are mostly comparative case studies which are not providing sufficient insights in the development of a case over time, especially not in to the role of important actors which could have prevented this outcome of decline. Therefore, I aim to fill up this gap in the literature for the case of Hungary by providing an extensive analysis of the last decade, the reforms in gender policies and the EU as an actor in this timeframe. The latter has a complex framework which influences their way of exercising power, likewise in relation to gender equality promotion. The imposition of norms on the member states depends on various factors and has changed over time. Regarding gender equality, the EU has based its strategy on gender mainstreaming (Walby, 2005). In the following chapter I will discuss more in depth the concepts on which my theoretical

framework is built and the relations between such concepts, based on previously conducted academic research.

Theoretical Framework

In this chapter, I outline the theoretical concepts that are being analysed throughout this research. This framework is divided into four parts. The first part defines the political radical right movements in Europe and their ideologies. The second part goes in depth on the

concept of gender equality and its relation to democracy. I will continue with describing the operational framework of the most important actors in this thesis, the European Union (EU) and its most relevant institutions. Lastly, I will finalize with an analysis of the legislative power which the European Union can exercise over the member states.

The Political Radical Right

Hungary was under an authoritarian communist regime until its downfall in 1989. After several years of political oppression, a new democracy developed quickly. The privatization of markets became integrated in the Hungarian economy and the social integration which was established by the socialist regime faded away (Ágh, 2013). Ever since the start of this

process towards a democratic and liberal state, the political party Fidesz has been a prominent actor in Hungary. This party has taken different forms and shapes over time, pursuing

divergent ideals and dreams. Nonetheless, since 2002 it has been composed as it is in this contemporary era and is profiling itself as a party that represents the interest of the

conservative Christians in Hungary. The party is currently forming a political alliance with Kereszténydemokrata Néppárt (KNDP), a right-wing Christian party. Even though KNDP is officially an independent party, in reality it is a block or satellite part of Fidesz (Szél,

interview 2020). This signifies that in practice KNDP is serving Fidesz’s interests.

Fidesz has since 2010 changed the political arena by gaining supermajority in the national parliament and as of that moment the party has been recognized as a populist and Eurosceptic far right party by academics (Rooduin et al, 2019). Such parties are common in Europe nowadays and seem to have an impact on the accepted discourse around gender equality (Chappell, 2006). The definition of a populist radical right (PRR) party and the ideology which it pursues has been frequently researched by numerous scholars. The most widely accepted academic research on this topic has been conducted by Cas Mudde, who achieved defining their characteristics which often led to success, on which I will elaborate below. Other research has shown that PRR parties have a significantly lager male supporting group than females (Spierings et al. 2015). Furthermore, within the European radical right parties it

is extremely common to have an over-representation of men as regards to the party

representatives (Mudde, 2007). This is no different for the Fidesz party which has, at time of writing, 10 women in parliament out of the 117 seats it currently holds and within the EU it holds 11 seats of which 3 are occupied by women. Mudde & Kaltwasser (2015) claim that PRR parties often go hand in hand with an ideology which undermines the rights of women and belittles gender equality, but it remains hard to scientifically prove whether this is worse than mainstream parties. The main difficulty lies in the lack of research into the topic and the lack of visibility of it in party programs and ideologies (Mudde & Kaltwasser, 2015).

Chappell (2006), on the other hand, argues that members of nationalistic parties, often with right wing ideology, possess conservative and patriarchal views regarding gender equality and the role of women in society. Such attitudes have been proven to slow down the progress of the process towards gender equality globally (Chappell, 2006: p. 494).

Populism remains a concept which is hard to define in a concrete way and not linked to only one or a few characteristics (Spierings et al. 2015). Instead of looking at right wing populism as an ideology itself, I prefer to use it as an umbrella term for various parties with similar characteristics. Mudde (2007) argues that there are at least three main characteristics that can be traced back within all the PRR parties in Europe. Those characteristics are nativism, authoritarianism and populism (Mudde, 2007). The Fidesz party in Hungary is one of the 59 parties within Europe that complies with those predefined characteristics and thus are PRR parties (Rooduin et al. 2019). These three characteristics often ensure discourse which is not in favour of gender equality. Moreover, Roggeband (2019) proclaims that the backlash in gender equality over the past years can be assigned to two interrelated political

developments. Those developments are democratic backsliding and the closure of the civic sphere, two features which are frequently carried out by the PRR (Roggeband, 2019: p.12).

Gender equality

As described, a rise in PRR parties goes hand in hand with a more conservative view of the traditional role of women in society. Previous research from Roggeband & Krizsan (2019, p.6) has shown that “regimes moving towards illiberalism and authoritarianism are often led by governments expressing nativist and nationalist ideologies in which gender equality and sexuality rights are depicted as values externally imposed on them, for instance by the European Union, threatening national values, identity, and state sovereignty”. This indicates that PRR parties can form a threat to European democratic norms and values, which is

closely linked to this fear of external imposition of ideologies. This is an important concept in the case of Hungary where state discourse often insinuates that the EU is trying to impose norms on the nation which conflict with their initial interest. Especially in relation to gender equality, which conflicts with the supposedly Christian values of the Hungarian illiberal regime.

Even though democracy already existed before gender equality became a part of it, nowadays we can barely separate the two. When discussing gender equality in this thesis I take the most widely accepted definition among academic literature. Gender itself is a social construct and is not the same as biological sex, but this does not mean that gender is imaginary, in fact it is the opposite. Often gender creates a form of power since gender norms and gendered

behaviour provide some people with benefits while others suffer (Kirby, 2017). This shows that gender does not exist in isolation, but is intertwined with various forms of power in a compound way. Since gender is a social concept which changes over time, I will refer to gender equality in the context of sex throughout this thesis, which can be seen as the biological characteristics of humans, primarily genital and reproductive (Kirby, 2017).

Women account for half of the population in most states and their representation in a democracy should therefore be self-evident (Inglehart et al. 2002 p.2). Democracy, on the other hand, is an ambiguous concept with a large variety of definitions and understandings. Nonetheless, the following abstract but accurate understanding of this concept is widely accepted and holds ground for most of its ideas in Western societies: “[democracy requires its] necessary correspondence between acts of governance and the desires with respect to those acts of the persons who are affected” (May, 1978: p. 3). When half, or sometimes even the majority, of the people in a state or society do not have full social or political rights, it can per definition not be seen as fully democratic. Therefore, it is crucial to establish gender equality in society in order to achieve a democracy according to the Western understating of the word.

Gender equality promoters, such as feminist activists, mainly focus on the increase of women in social and political context, as women are more often marginalised within society

compared to men. The aim for increase in equal treatment takes different forms in each cultural or political context. Within the institutions of the EU there are common goals and visions which apply to the increase of gender equality. Nonetheless, among the member

states there is a great difference in importance of the matter. Even though there are a number of conventions and treaties which have been signed by the EU and its member states, many of those documents contain different definitions and plans of action on how to increase gender equality (Roggeband, 2018). In this thesis I will solely focus on the EU’s laws and

agreements concerning the matter.

The institutions of the European Union

The EU is a complex and bureaucratic framework that is spread out over different levels and institutions. Before one can understand its power, one has to understand its structure. The onset of the EU in 1951 was foremost established due to economic incentives, but it

expanded quickly due to territorial expansion and with it an increase in policy areas (Best & Christiansen, 2017). Such rapid accession of member states resulted in a new understanding of the function of the EU. Such as European integration of norms and the effects it has on the domestic level of the EU and its member states (Lombardo & Forest, 2015). Additionally, the accession process influenced the position of the EU on the transnational stage. This process combined with the extension of policy fields has ensured the EU to establish a dominant position in global politics (Manner, 2002). Both the domestic as the transnational

consequences have to be taken into consideration when analysing the norm adaption of the EU.

Transnational effects

With regards to the foreign effects, the EU has become a prominent norm maker concerning the global agenda (Manners, 2002). This form of soft power can be seen as the most

influential form of dominance since it gives the ability to shape ‘what is normal’ outside the original governance borders (Manners, 2002). Björkdahl (2005) argues that the EU uses its power to shape the international society to its needs in order to gain collaborative agreements. An example is the Stabilisation and Association Process in which the EU sets guidelines and advocates desired norms and values onto other actors, before they are able to gain access to EU economic benefits. The profit from doing this is crucial for the existence of the EU (Björkdahl, 2005). For example, the EU is able to maintain its economic and product standards world-wide and can enforce certain security measures which are beneficial to its member states. This form of power is highly valued by the member states and also being exploited to gain preferred outcomes.

“The European Union has always prided itself on its soft power – and it will keep doing so, because we are the best in this field” (European Commission, 2016: 4).

This form of soft power can only exist when the EU sets the desired acts as an example for other international actors to follow (Manner, 2002). Therefore, this form of example-setting has influence on the domestic setting.

Domestic effects

To achieve and maintain an undisputed EU, it has been crucial to enforce norms and values via previously set up treaties and directives which are often build on the idea of soft

measures. Regarding normative topics such as human rights and gender equality there seems to be an academic consensus in early 2000’s in the positive effects brought via soft measures (Lombardo & Forest, 2015). Bruno et al. (2006) show that soft powers can be extremely useful instruments to impose EU norms on its member states. An important soft instrument regarding gender equality is gender mainstreaming (Lombardo & Forest, 2015; Walby, 2005). Gender mainstreaming is a process which aims to promote gender equality, and is often achieved via the framing of related norms and discourse (Walby, 2005). Such forms of discourse would be aligned with academics on the topic and could supposedly ensure an increase in gender equality throughout the EU. Woodward (2004) promoted such norm imposition by creating an impactful collaboration between feminist bureaucrats, trusted academics, and organized voices in the women’s movement to ensure gender mainstreaming within the EU. Studies on the impact of such soft measures inside the EU borders were hopeful regarding the ability for the EU to get aligned on such normative topics (Elgström, 2000; Ferree, 2004, Verloo, 2004). Example-setting on a largely united scale would not only result in an aligned outlook for the EU, but also in a larger impact on the transnational stage regarding norm imposition (Manners, 2002)

Unfortunately for the EU, the operational framework consists of different levels of

governance which operate at the same time, which results in difficulties to get aligned on the same values. The structure has four main institutions which safeguard the independent aspects of the democratic decision-making process. The European Commission (EC) is often perceived as the most powerful organ of the EU, as the sole one holding the power to design and draft new legislation (Zahariadis, 2008). Those drafts are composed by the appointed Commissioners who each oversee a different policy field. Commissioners are appointed per

member state, which results in a Commission of 27 independent officials nowadays. There is also a Commissioner assigned to the portfolio of Justice and Gender Equality. Every

Commissioner is assigned to a portfolio and a cabinet of people who works for them. The main duty of this cabinet is to keep track of developments and routines within the member states and convert this into potential new legislation. Besides this, the Commission supervises the implementation of policies, guards the legal framework, mediates and negotiates with relevant actors (Nugent, 2017).

Those policy proposals are sent to the European Parliament (EP) where the directly elected parliamentarians are able to debate and vote on the adaption of the proposed laws. Each member state has a set number of seats in the parliament which are occupied by party representatives. Those national parties form coalitions in the EP with like-minded parties. The EP is the only directly elected organ within the EU and is in this specific case study, together with the EC, the most important actor throughout this thesis.

The other two institutions are the European Council and the Council of the EU which are both made up of members from the national governments. The European Council is an assembly of the 27 heads of state whereas the Council of the EU consists of the ministers from the national governments (Nugent, 2017). The European Council acts upon emergencies and is foremost maintaining transnational relationships. The Council of the EU groups the ministers into similar portfolios and they adapt legislation together with the EP.

Legislative tools of the EU

Within the EU, treaties and directives signed by the member states are legally binding and outline the core norms and values of the EU framework. Throughout such agreements the EU has integrated its values, of which an important one is equality between men and women. This core value comes back in various treaties and directives. A few examples are (European Parliament, 2019):

- Article 2 and 3 in the Treaty on European Union (TEU) > Equality regardless of gender

- Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights > Gender equality

- Article 8 Treaty on Functioning of the EU > elimination of inequalities and promotion of gender equality in all of its activities (gender mainstreaming)

- Declaration No 19 in Final Act of intergovernmental conference > combat domestic violence, punish these criminal acts and support and protect victims.

These treaties and directives compose the core of EU collaboration and are legally binding, which implicates that each member state is obliged to obey to the agreed terms. When a state fails to do so, the EU will react according to its mechanism which depends on the violation itself. In this thesis I describe the mechanisms in place, which are activated when a treaty is violated by a state, since gender equality is mainly included in treaties.

These specific mechanisms have limited force due to a lack of supranational authority throughout the EU and can therefore sometimes have little effect (Bugaric, 2016).

Another reason is that the EU can only apply sanctions on a member state when it violated an official EU agreement or legislation, which are often phrased ambiguously (Bugaric, 2016). Such internal EU conflicts or violations of treaties are monitored by the EC and brought up to debate in the EP (Nugent, 2017). These two institutions of the EU played the most prominent role when it came to the actions and sanctions against Hungary over the past decade even though their powers and abilities regarding sanctioning are rather limited. This originated in the idea that the EU was foremost built upon the aim of support to the sovereign states and the distribution of funds, rather than on the penalisation of actors. Decisions regarding the existing measures are closely linked to the authorities of the member states and can therefore be blocked by them. The withdrawal of such decision-making power is highly unlikely, which has been proven in the case of Hungary over the past years. The expulsion of a member state is also impossible due to a lack of mechanism to do so (Nugent, 2017).

Nevertheless, there are a few mechanisms in force which give the EU power to contest the decisions of a member state. These measures are imposed by the EC such as, economic sanctions, infringement procedures and public critical reviews and reports (Bugaric, 2016). Economic sanctions apply for example when there has been a misuse of EU funds

(Sargentini, 2018)

The infringement procedure can be put into force when a member state breaches the law as outlined in one of the treaties and aims to stop such violation via the following steps (Treaty on European Union, 2007): First an official notice of infringement is sent from the EC to the member state. When the member state’s reaction is not sufficient to defend the breach or when no response is given, the EC sends its judgement and future recommendation on the

matter, in addition to a timeframe within which the infringement has to be solved. In case of ignorance or insufficient action from the member state, the EC may take the case to the Court of Justice which can impose penalties (Treaty on European Union, 2007). The average infringement procedure takes 40 months to be completed (Bárd & Śledzińska-Simon, 2019). The effectiveness of the described tools are often contested by scholars since they lack the ability to create structural change (Bugaric, 2016: Halmai, 2018). These procedures have been put into force in the case of Hungary over the past decade, without much of a conclusive outcome, as will become clear throughout this thesis.

When there has been a serious breach of core values outlined in the treaties, Article 7 can be put into force. When a member state gets access to the EU, it is obliged to fulfil the specific requirements which are outlined in the Copenhagen Criteria regarding democracy,

governance and human rights (Bugaric, 2016). Those criteria are further outlined in Article 2 of the TEU stating the core values of the EU: “Respect for human dignity, freedom,

democracy, equality, the rule of law with respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. These values are common to the Member states in a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, solidarity and equality between woman and men prevail” (Treaty on European Union, 2007). When one or more of these values have been breached, Article 7 can be activated by the EC.

In theory, article 7 can suspend certain rights from a member state, such as voting and representation. It does so, by putting into force the following procedure outlined in three steps (Figure 1). First there has to be a proposal which indicates that there is a clear risk of serious breach of EU values which is filed either by the EC, the EP or 1/3 of the member states in the European Council, and then has to be approved by a 2/3 majority in parliament. Next, the member state in question has to meet with the European Council to set up an action plan for which there is a 4/5 majority needed. The second phase comes into force when this guidance by the European Council is being ignored and a serious and persistent breach is identified. The EC or 1/3 of the member states together with 2/3 majority of the EP calls the country to report at the European Council. Then, there has to be unanimity voting (all member states minus the one in question) in order to get to the third and last step. This third step entails a vote in the European Council with qualified majority to reach an agreement on the sanctions. Only after this, the rights of a state can be suspended (European Union, 2012). The imposition of Article 7 is a complicated process for achieving change within the system.

In addition, the process is extremely time-consuming and highly unlikely to be used against a member state.

Besides the sanctions from the EC there are other steps which can be taken when a member state violates certain fundamental values, which apply in reaction to specific events. There are committees within the EU institutions which supervise and safeguard various aspects of these agreements. In the European Parliament, an example of this is the FEMM Committee. This committee is, among others, entrusted with the responsibility of the protection of women’s rights and gender equality. Such institutions are continuously promoting and defending women’s rights throughout the EU, which I will elaborate upon throughout this thesis.

+ +

Proposal EC

Action plan European Council

& member state

Ignorance by member state & serious breach

remains

Proposal EP _{European Council} Proposal 1/3

EC 1/3 European Council 2/3 EP Unanimity vote European Council Qualified majority European council Agreement sanctions Approval 2/3 EP

Derived expectation

As outlined above, the framework for this thesis is complex and takes various actors and concepts into account. When putting these concepts together in the previously defined interpretation, we can establish a prediction for a potential set of historical events. As discussed, the EU has a prominent role on the transnational stage as regards to creation of norms by setting example via their member states. This form of example-setting is done via the imposition of norms domestically through the use of soft measures, in the case of gender equality foremost through gender mainstreaming. Whenever a member state is not willing to comply with the outlined norms and values, which lately has seemed to be happening with the collaborations between extreme right parties, the EU has a few mechanisms which it can enact in order to remain undisputed. According to much literature from the early 2000’s, we can assume that the EU has a great amount of normative leverage and would not often need to intervene with the previously discussed hard measures. Therefore, the expectation in this case is that the EU would be capable to radiate the desired norms, solely by exploiting its soft measures on the member states, and when a state like Hungary deviates from the norm, it will be able to resolve it via the force of the therefore existing hard measures within the EU.

Research Methodology

In order to answer the research question I apply a form of process tracing based on various sources of qualitative research. These include secondary sources, policy documents and interviews with relevant actors. Hereafter I outline the methodological framework which I apply in this research. I will elaborate on the case selection of Hungary and the selection of the sources I have consulted within this case concerning gender equality.

Research approach:

In this research I focus on two different political actors, the European Union (EU) and the Hungarian government, and the impact they had on the contestation of gender equality in the state of Hungary. This is a specific case study which entails an in-depth analysis of a single case stressing the developmental characters in relation to gender equality (Flyvbjerg, 2011: Bryman, 2012). This research is positioned in the realist paradigm which combines a problem driven approach with existing theory researched on the basis of qualitative data (Bhaskar, 1978). The point of view within the conducted methods is critical, by which I reclaim

narrative for women rather than adapting to narratives of the dominant majority in Hungarian politics. Additionally, I challenge the current academic narratives since the topic has been underexposed. This critical research “contributes to the overturn oppression and achieves social justice through empowerment of marginalized” (Lincoln & Denzin, 2003: p. 625; Bhaskar, 1978). This inherently entails that I embrace the potential bias of my pre-existing opinion on the matter and let it guide this research through this explanatory critique (Bhaskar, 1978). This established critique is foremost based on the lack of a feminist perspective on policies regarding gender equality in Hungary. Therefore, this thesis additionally follows feminist stand point theory which argues for the need of feminist contribution (Harding, 1991). This standpoint is applied by gathering primary data solely from women in the field. Furthermore, due to the critical realist paradigm combined with qualitative research methods I have made use of the parallel criteria as outlined by Guba & Lincoln (1989), based on the idea of constructed realities of my respondents and myself. These four criteria support the quality of this research on various levels. The credibility, dependability and confirmability have been guaranteed by the transparency of actions and sources throughout this thesis. The transferability has been assured by focussing on case selection and data saturation, on which I will elaborate below (Guba & Lincoln, 1989)

Case selection

Throughout this case study I provide an in-depth examination of the undermining of women in Hungary and the role of the EU in this process, which indicates the idiographic approach, i.e. being concerned with the unique features of this case (Bryman, 2012). Initially I believed Hungary, in this context, was an extreme case due to its unique and special characteristics (Bryman: 2012). To my understanding there was no other case within the EU which has gone as far as Hungary in the active erosion of gender equality and the portraying of the traditional role of women in society through state discourse. Nevertheless, eventually I realized that Hungary can be seen as a representative case, since it exemplifies a broader category of states which seem to be following Hungary’s footsteps towards illiberal regimes in which such discourse is particularly common (Bryman: 2021: Yin, 2009). Even though the findings from this case analysis cannot simply be generalised to other cases, it is my aim to give a

transferable conclusion which will be helpful in the analysis of similar contexts or settings (Guba & Lincoln, 1989).

Methods of data collection

By using the research method process tracing I provide an in-depth analysis of the chosen case, Hungary. Process tracing can be used, according to Beach & Pedersen (2013), by researching which mechanism explains the outcome in a specific case study. Within Beach & Pedersen’s (2013) method, empirical evidence is used to build a theory which is reflecting an underlying causal mechanism. After the collection of empirical evidence I infer the existence of manifestations which leads to the demonstration of a causal mechanism, which is

predominantly based on inductive research (Beach & Pedersen, 2013: 18). This form of historical process tracing is commonly used in social and political science. The reason I chose this method is due to the lack of existing academic research concerning the topic of gender equality decline and even more specifically for the case of Hungary and the EU. This analysis will lead to an establishment of a causal mechanism that explains the action process of the EU as an actor in Hungarian politics and human rights issues. This contributes to a broader understanding of the importance of the EU as an actor, concerning gender equality and outlines the temporal structure of its power that exists in this contemporary era.

Process tracing generally starts with ‘soaking and poking’ in the topic which eventually establishes the dependent and independent variables through this historical inquiry (George & Bennet, 2004). Therefore, it is crucial to understand the current situation in Hungary and the

conflicts which shaped the recent legislation around gender equality, which divides the research question in two parts. The first part is an analysis of the contemporary situation in Hungary concerning gender equality and the historical process that has led to this outcome. The second part will focus on the role which the EU played in this composition of the present setting. By breaking up the question in two separate analysis, I protect myself from

conformation bias (Halperin & Heath, 2017). The research into the political history of

Hungary shows us the most relevant actors in the shaping of gender policy. Derived from this analysis I am able to look into the explicit role of the EU on a more in-depth level. In other words, only by understanding the Hungarian case properly we can look at the EU level to find relevant actors and actions.

By analysing the case specific historical context via different research methods I aim to find the underlying mechanisms that led to the decline. Therefore I use the following steps to organise this approach (Van Evera, 1997: p.64):

1. Identify a sequence of relevant occurrences that indicates the diminishing of gender equality in Hungary.

2. Break this process of decline in smaller steps

3. Identify for each step the effects the EU had on the process.

While doing this it is crucial to control for other alternative explanations in the process to prevent the researcher from facing confirmation bias (Halperin & Heath, 2017). For this reason it is recommended by Bennet & Checkel (2014) to set up a list in advance to check for potential alternative explanations for the outcome. This has been done before the analysis of the first part, in which I research the historical national politics of Hungary in relation to gender equality. It is a brief and concise list of potential factors that played a role over the past years in Hungarian policy making which can be found in the appendix of this thesis. It varies from general gender interests to political motives and is set up to keep my research view broad. Throughout this research I touch upon the previously determined factors and analyse their influence.

The sources which are used in this thesis are primary sources, namely interviews and policy documents and secondary sources derived from academic literature from various authors. In process tracing a large part of the analysis is detracted from existing literature and other forms of secondary data which increases the risk of falling in line with previous assumptions

(George & Bennet, 2004). Therefore it is important to critically reflect upon the decision making process when referring to sources. To prevent misunderstandings and false

assumptions derived from previous research or statements, it is crucial to acknowledge and address pre-existing biased views. Hence the strict examination for the sources which are being used and analysed. It is important to understand that I do not simply represent facts, but I describe a series of interpretative narratives. Therefore, the origin of sources and

contribution of it to the public debate has been taking into consideration and are balanced out to one another by using a great variety of literature. This has also contributed to the

prevention of selection- and confirmation bias, by not only looking for the favourable explanation of the empirics but, moreover, for the contradicting standpoints (Halperin & Heath, 2017). The combination of those methods eventually leads towards an insightful and a critical descriptive analysis of the relation between the EU and Hungary over the past decade, and its effects on the national level policy shaping of gender equality.

Expert and elite interviews

A great part of this research relies on insights from interviews with female actors who have experienced the mechanisms that are in force up close. In order to get a concrete image of what the relation between the EU and Hungary has been concerning the decline of gender equality, it is necessary to get insights from such relevant actors. The selection of

interviewees is foremost based on generic purposive sampling, which entails that the interviewees are required to be beneficial to this research, in this case due to their unique position (Bryman, 2012. p.422-425). Even though I am researching from a critical standpoint, I aimed to achieve a balanced interpretation of facts and I have reached out to various actors that represent different interest. To obtain an all-encompassing overview of the mechanisms I, additionally, aimed to gather insights from the different political and social levels that are engaged with the policy field of gender equality. Due to the unforeseen circumstances, as a result from the Covid-19 virus, it has not been possible to conduct face-to-face interviews. The results of this in combination with the lock-down, made it unusually difficult to obtain the amount of interviews I aimed for. Foremost due to the lack of personal face-to-face contact, which led to less effective snowball sampling, plus the use of my personal network proceeded much slower than usual. Additionally, due to the lock-down I was not able to travel to Brussels. There I would have been able to get in contact with EU officials and establish more personal interaction with interviewees, which could have resulted in a more favourable willingness to connect me to others. Such obstacles ensured difficulties

throughout the research and affected the required research methods. Nonetheless, the interviews that have been conducted shape a comprehensive overview of the situation and experiences.

The interviews which have been conducted for this research took place either online or via video call and were solely conducted with experts or elite actors. Those type of interviews have specific characteristics which have to be taken into consideration when analysing the obtained data, which I will touch upon below (Halperin & Heath, 2017). The online aspect gave no chance to read body language and is less personal than face-to-face interviews. The elite interviews require a special approach to ensure the comfortability of the interviewee (Halperin & Heath, 2017). Therefore, during this research I took different measures to ensure the credibility and dependability of the outcome. To start with, when approaching someone for an interview I adapted my introductions and questions to the interviewees needs. With my aim to interview actors from different ends of the political spectrum and government levels, it was crucial to make the participants feel secure and valued. Therefore, when reaching out to interviewees I included Pierce’s (2008: 120) reasons for persuasion by showing the

importance for them in collaboration, showing their position entails the requirement to collaborate and for the opposition, emphasise that this a good opportunity for them to defend their interest and set the record straight.

In this case it has been easier to interview the opposition, since they want their voices to be heard in speaking out against the status quo. Which also means that elites and experts often have their own agenda when giving an interview (Halperin & Heath, 2017 p.298). In order to prevent their agenda from taking over the core of the interview, I set up topic lists beforehand (Appendix). This resulted in a half-structured interview set-up in which we do not deviate from the essential goal but leave room for interpretation and personal experiences of the interviewees (Halperin & Heath, 2017 p.299). Throughout this research it showed to be difficult to engage with defenders of the status quo due to the sensitivity of the topic on the international stage and the ways of communication by the incumbent government. As will get clear throughout this thesis, the current government is mainly communicating via state

television and funded campaigns and does not prefer to be scrutinised by academics. I have reached out to two females in the Fidesz government to arrange an interview regarding their vision on the developments of the past decade. E-mails were sent to the Minster of State for Family, Youth and International Affairs Ms. Novák and to the Minster of Justice, Ms. Varga.

Unfortunately both never responded to any of my e-mails. Nonetheless, through extensive literature analysis and researching policy documents I have obtained a balanced view of the status quo.

The opposition of the current regime were much more cooperative and interested in contributing to this research. I reached out to three (former) politicians who have been directly confronted with the Hungarian conservative regime over the past years.

The first prominent female, who has had a substantial influence on the current relation between Hungary and the EU, is Judith Sargentini. She was appointed by the European Parliament to be the official rapporteur for the imposition of Article 7 on Hungary. In order to activate this legislative framework, an in-depth analysis of the case and breaches of EU norms is required. Sargentini was appointed to guide this process and put together a report in which various actors outline the breaches and violations of laws which Hungary has

undertaken. Throughout this thesis I have been in contact with Ms. Sargentini concerning the report she has prepared. Unfortunately, she did not have time for an interview on the topic due to other obligations, but she was able to provide me with vital documents for this analysis.

The second political actor who has first-hand experience with Orbán and his government is Member of the European Parliament (MEP), Anna Júlia Donáth. She occupies one of the two seats in the EP of Momentum, a Hungarian centre right party founded in 2017. Momentum is member of the liberal party alliance Renew Europe. Unfortunately, due to Covid-19 the agenda of the MEP’s has been very hectic and unpredictable. Therefore Ms. Donáth was not able to schedule a Skype interview with me. Nonetheless, she found this thesis topic highly relevant and important to discuss. Therefore, she made sure to send me answers to all my questions via email in her spare time. This form of interviewing is effective and a good alternative to face-to-face when synchronous time scheduling is difficult (Halperin & Heath, 2017). To prevent the questions from being superficial with a lack of insights in personal motivation and interest, I established a personal foundation via email with her over a longer period of time, which led to greater openness and helpfulness from her side.

The third political figure who contributed to this research is Bernadette Szél, a prominent female opposition leader who has been member of the Hungarian Parliament since 2013. Up

until last year she was party leader of the liberal green party, Magyarország Zöld Pártja (LMP), and is currently an independent MP. Her political aspirations lie with standing up for minorities and marginalised groups in Hungary. Szél has been in the political arena for a sufficient amount of time in which she was able to experience the actions of the Orbán government first hand and has therefore been a great asset to this research. After establishing contact with her via email she became particularly enthusiastic about the fact that there was interest in the topic from outside Hungarian borders. The semi-structured interview took place via Skype.

Literature review & policy documents

During this analysis based on process tracing, secondary data played a major role. Academic literature review set the foundation for this research and provided an initial overview of the historical events which were under examination and the effects they had on society. In addition to this, I interviewed key-players which were able to corroborate such findings which led to an increase in the credibility of this research (Guba & Lincoln, 1989: Lilleker, 2003). This form of research methods contributed towards the goal of triangulation, since the gathered data and insights were cross-checked through multiple sources which led to an increase in confirmability (Guba & Lincoln, 1989: Tansey 2007).

Due to Covid-19 all libraries were closed during the time of writing this thesis, which resulted in declined access to academic literature. Relevant books written on the topic, previously conducted case analyses and informational literature regarding research methods were hard to access. Nonetheless, a great amount of academic articles are published online which were accessible for me through the online libraries of the University of Amsterdam. This resulted in a research which is foremost based on literature which has been accessible online.

Ethics

Due to the critical aspect of this research, directed at the status quo of an illiberal-regime which does no longer comply with the established democratic values, it has been a main concern of mine to include ethical measurements. I aimed to increase the level of

confidentiality of the participants in this research by protecting them from any harm. As described by Bryman (2012) informed consent is one of the main aspects to take into account when protecting sources. Together with the respondents I have outlined a tailor-made consent

form which complies with their needs and can be found in the appendix of this thesis. In both cases of interviews I have established the agreement of making use of their name and position without implications. I agreed not to transcribe the full correspondence and conversation in this thesis, and all used content and quotes of the interviews have been approved by the respondents individually. Potential interest in further insights in such documents can be discussed upon request.

Developments in the Hungarian political landscape 2010-2020

In this chapter I will discuss some relevant events which occurred in the last decade and which shaped the current political landscape in Hungary. The illiberal democracy of Orbán has ensured rapid change in specific policy fields combined with a quick restrain of media and opposition. Various decisions have been made by the Fidesz government which led to a decrease in gender equality and shaped the public vision on the topic.

Hungary’s illiberal democracy

Over the past ten years Hungary’s Prime Minister and party leader of Fidesz, Victor Orbán, has been criticised by numerous other political actors worldwide. Various state interventions acclaimed by Orbán led to a rapid restrain of media, unusual quick decision-making

processes on specific laws and the curtailing of NGO’s, which has ensured a decline in basic human rights (Desiri, 2019). This form of de-democratisation has become a threat to the democratic standards of the EU. This decline in democratic decision making processes is, among other actions, exerted via the demonization and cut in funding of women- and LGBT active rights groups, which indicates the move to an authoritarian regime (Krizsán, A. & Sebestvén, 2018: Poppe and Wolff, 2017). Orbán and his party have given shape to such theory through the promotion of their ideology in which they claims to be striving towards an “illiberal democracy”. In a public speech in 2014, Orbán praised his “illiberal democracy” and stated that the Western political model was dead (Buzogány, 2017 p.1307). According to Pap (2017, p.161), an illiberal, or non-liberal state refers to “a constitutional and political condition that creates a unique middle ground between a constitutional democracy and an autocracy”. This definition insinuates that illiberal democracies are not per se anti-democratic but gives space to states to step beyond the restrictions of a democracy (Buzogány, 2017). One of the main factors, which fuelled this current illiberal development in states across the EU, is social division and economic privatisation in combination with the breaking up of the social welfare system (Ramet, 2007). As discussed previously, such change happened to Hungary quickly after the downfall of the communist regime in 1989 when it entered the transformation period towards a liberal democracy. In this time, Hungary was often seen a role model in building up such a democratic country (Bugaric, 2016). Nevertheless, due to such swift alterations, the first wave of people who suffered from this form of globalisation appeared (Mudde, 2007; Ramet, 2007; Minkenberg, 2013). The aversion of the public against

the liberal side effects gave Orbán and his party the possibility to introduce an illiberal regime.

Szél (interview, 2020) reveals that the current illiberal regime in Hungary is certainly anti-democratic, which might be in contrast with the theoretical definition. She describes that the Hungarian political arena has become an unfair game, on various levels, over the past decade. The opposition has often been portrayed as state enemies, as state television and government funded campaigns claim that the opposition collaborates together to serve international interest and aim to destroy Hungarian culture. Such undermining statements, made by the government, are especially common when they refer to the female opposition. This is being outed in verbally violent and dehumanising campaigns, run by the government against

incumbent female members of parliament. Szél (interview, 2020) argues that such campaigns work extremely off-putting to her followers, in the sense that they do not feel safe or strong enough to publicly out concerns about the current regime. This form of fear among the public is common and this, in combination with the restrain of media and increase in state

propaganda, is extremely dangerous and results in an undemocratic regime (Szél, interview, 2020). Scholars agree that such restrains of media comes per definition from undemocratic regimes and discourages the public to contest the status quo (Grzebalska & Pető, 2018; Bennett & Entman, 2000). The Hungarian opposition has diminished over time due to this fear, which has ensured a stronger position for the government to use and even abuse its powers.

Illiberal legislation

In 2010, Fidesz and KNDP gained the absolute majority in parliament, giving it the right and possibility to change and create new legislation on its own. This absolute majority has given Fidesz the power to ensure a decline in basic human rights through the adoption of new legislation without being scrutinized by other parties. One example of a policy field which is being influenced and restrained by the legislative power of Fidesz, is education. Fidesz is portraying its Christian and family values onto the field of academics, and it is not a secret that he has one main rival in this policy field, George Soros (Foer, 2019). Soros is a

philanthropist and liberal actor in Hungarian academics whose ideas are at odds with those of Victor Orbán. Soros is the founder of the Central European University (CEU), a private institution which claims to be an open society, previously located both in Budapest and the state of New York. The CEU promotes everything what Orbán is trying to fight with his

illiberalism. Therefore, new state legislation was swiftly adopted which restrained many liberal aspects of the university. This endangered the existence of the CEU, which eventually forced it to move abroad (Foer, 2019). This event caught international attention, often in the form of criticism towards Orbán’s actions, as they are in conflict with core EU values such as freedom of education (European Commission, 2017). Victor Orbán declared Soros a state enemy as he supposedly stands for everything that is wrong with liberalism. The opposition is often linked to Soros and Orbán argues they work for his interest, perusing international concerns over national priorities (Szél, interview 2020). Other institutions and educational programs which conflicted with Orbán’s ideology had to endure similar restrictions imposed by the government, which often led to massive cut in funding. The most infamous example of this is the removal of accreditation for the Master course of Gender Studies in 2018.

According to Orbán, this was necessary due to the lack of academic legitimacy of the course since gender is an ideology instead of science (Kent & Tapfumaneyi, 2018). Countless other measures have been taken by the Fidesz government since 2010 regarding gender equality, which will be further discussed in the last chapter.

Such aversion and denial of gender equality is not uncommon among political far right parties as discussed in theoretical framework chapter. These far right parties are often perceived as conservative when it comes to gender equality and female rights since their ideology is based on conservative family values and the division in roles and personality between men and women (Mudde & Kaltwasser, 2015). This ideology, which has been promoted by the Hungarian parliament over the past ten years, led to systemic state discourse which encourages women to have children, stay home to take care of them and the downplay of domestic violence (Dr. Szél, interview 2020). This became clear when a centre-right Hungarian politician in 2012 stated “women would not brag so much about domestic

violence if they had more children” (Varga, 2012). Similar extreme statements are also being made, on a more moderate level, on the international stage, such as the Istanbul Convention of violence against women, where the political debates were used by Hungary to promote family values as opposed to the rights of women (Roggeband and Krizsán, 2018). These examples of such forms of discourse resulted in the systematic curtailing of abortion and reproductive rights, a change in parenting policies, together with an overall decline in sexual education (Krizsán & Sebestyen, 2019). Hungary’s actions during the Istanbul Convention accurately portrays the transformation of the field of gender equality into a marginalised policy field over the past decade.

The Istanbul Convention on Violence Against Women was held in 2011 and organised by the Council of Europe. The convention’s ambition is to prevent violence against women, protect victims and put an end to the impunity of predators (Council of Europe, 2014). Hungary signed this convention, like many other European countries in 2014, which was their first legally binding document to combat violence against women (Didili, 2020). Nonetheless, in Hungary the Convention was not ratified for years, in contrast with many other member states. In May 2020, during the Corona pandemic, an unexpected quick vote by the

government resulted in the abolishment of the Convention when they decided to not ratify it. The primary argument put forward by the government following this decision was that the Istanbul Convention forces countries to promote destructive gender ideologies (Didili, 2020). A policy statement was originally given by the KNDP arguing that such gender ideology conflicts with Christian values, which turns out to be their main motivator for all gender related policies (Zoltán, 2020).

The combination of such discourse together with the majority of Fidesz-KNDP seats in parliament, led to a rapid decline in gender policies. Although, since the democratisation process started in Hungary after 1989, no emphasis was ever put on the improvement of gender equality and few policies were enacted on this matter. Nonetheless, since 2010 there has been a negative shift regarding Hungarian gender policies and a visible decline in the number of women in the political arena. This negative shift can be traced back to the

dismantling or reframing of already existing policies, instead of the elimination of such laws. Additionally, there has been an enormous rise in policies which focus on the increase of the Hungarian demographic by promoting child birth (Krizsan & Sebestyen 2019). The declining birth numbers in Hungary have resulted in a rapid decrease in population. In response, the government enacted changes of employment and parenting policies. These changes ensured that women have less rights in the workplace and indirectly forces them to focus on the traditional mother role, which was made more appealing by giving out financial incentives for families (Krizsan & Sebestyen 2019). This was not only done on the national level, but also promoted within the EU during the presidency of the Council by Hungary. Hungarian actors requested protocols under the slogan of “Europe for Families-Families for Europe” (Juhász, 2012). This role of the EU in the promotion of the Fidesz ideology will be discussed more in depth in the last chapter.

The European Union’s normative role in gender equality

In order to understand the role of the EU as an actor in the erosion of gender equality in Hungary, it is important to analyse the framework in which the EU operates. Previously, I analysed the framework of the EU institutions and their normative power on the international stage. This concept of normative power plays a tremendous part in various policy fields outside EU borders. To preserve this influential role it is necessary to stand united on such norms within the EU borders. In this chapter I will explain the supposed normative role of the EU regarding gender equality, and how it is manifested among the member states.

History of gender policies

Since the onset of the establishment of the EU in 1951, equality and human rights have slowly made their way into its policy fields. Especially the 70’s was an important decade concerning the shaping of gender equality, in which the emphasis was put on the increase of women’s rights. Throughout this decade, female activists protested against the male

dominated political arena and the discourse which was used to describe and address female related policy issues (Mazey, 1998). Women felt subordinated and disadvantaged compared to men, even though the EU was supposedly built on equality. The Treaty of Rome was established in 1957 and contained an article in which it was agreed that both genders should be paid equally for the same job. And even though all member states signed this treaty, on the national government levels such gender related policies were never up for discussion (Mazey, 1998). The open environment of the EU and its legislative procedure was in big contrast with most of the lobby possibilities on the national levels of individual member states (Vallance and Davies, 1986). Therefore, during the 70’s, many women activist groups found it more productive and successful to lobby at the EU level rather than at a national government. This led to a successful amount of new policy adaptions in favour of gender equality, simply by putting it on the EU agenda. Additionally, not only within, but also outside the EU borders, the rise of feminist movements gained rapid ground which resulted in several summits and conventions worldwide organised by the United Nations. These assemblies, of which most took place in the 90’s, aimed to increase the rights of women worldwide and promoted the adoption of human rights, with the EU as one of their biggest promoters (Roggeband, 2018). Nowadays, most of the European member states have ratified more than 13 out of the 18 UN human rights and gender equality conventions, which is a relatively high number compared to the rest of the world (OHCHR, 2020).

This ability to engage in rapid adaptations and swift legislative processes led the EU to be one of the front runners on the international stage regarding the promotion of human rights and gender equality. The liberal ideology of the EU, with its progressive values and beliefs, turned into a powerful weapon to gain international recognition. Nonetheless, in order to maintain this role of normative power, it is crucial to carry out the desired norms, both as an institution as well as throughout the member states individually (Manners, 2002). The latter has proven to be difficult. Between 2004 and 2007, there was a rapid expansion of the EU through the Eastern Enlargement, which brought twelve new member states to the table. This quantitative leap aimed for a wider EU, but made it difficult to maintain its initial nature and direction (Best & Christiansen, 2017). Additionally to this enlargement, there has been a rise of populist movements over the past years, which makes it hard for the EU to keep promoting its initial norms (European Commission, 2017).

Tools for the member states & the EU

Every five years, the European Commission (EC) publishes a gender equality strategy in which it outlines the desired goals for the coming term. Since 2010, this strategy has been based on the following core ideas (Council of the European Union, 2011): the promotion of equal economic independence, improvements in the balance of gender throughout the decision-making processes, closure of the gender pay gap, ending of gender based violence and the promotion of gender equality outside the EU borders. Each strategy contains focus points and concrete actions, such as the creation of funding programs, institutions which scrutinize the executed actions and yearly progress reports to check whether additional action is needed.

Many of these core ideas in the strategy are based on the promotion and encouragement of equality within the member states, which is often practiced via gender mainstreaming, as described in the theoretical framework, and monetary funding of social programs. The aim for gender equality is illustrated through the many funding-criteria for non-related programs, such as the Horizon Program and the Neighborhood Instruments. In addition to this, member states can apply for specific funding in order to establish a more integrated vision of gender equality within society. The two key financers for such initiatives are the European Social Fund and the Regional and Development Fund which, combined, provided a budget of €5.85 billion between 2014 and 2020 (European Commission, 2015). Additionally, there is an EU