- Acknowledging that we are living in a time of great global instability because of geopolitical developments, war on the European continent and in the Middle East, climate change and digital and technical transistions having impact on all European citizens; - Having regard to the Political Guidelines in which EC President Von der Leyen presented a common plan for ‘European strength and unity’, focussing on ensuring our security in every sense in a more dangerous and turbulent world, on supporting all EU citizens by strengthening our social market economy, green and digital transitions and our democracy based on rule of law, pluralism, subsidiarity, solidarity and equality of women and men; - having regard to the EU Commission’s Demography Toolbox, which highlights the need to facilitate and enhance women’s access to the labour market and to enable families to make their personal aspirations and choices a reality by ensuring an effective and good balance between work and life; - having regard to the speeches of EPPW Vice-President Mariya Gabriel, EPPW Vice-President and EU Commissioner-designate for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica, and Amina Benkhadra, RNI Women President, General Director of Mine and Hydrocarbon Office and former Minister of Energy and Mines of Morocco, at the EPPW Autumn Academy on ‘Our Perspectives for Present Day Challenges’ on 25 to 29 September 2024 in Marrakech; and to the discussions held at this event with over sixty leading political women of our EPPW member organizations and our Moroccan partner RNI Women,   The EPPW calls on the next prerequisites and policy action points to be addressed by the EU Commission and by the Member States in the upcoming mandate 2024 - 2029:   1. Prerequisites considering Competitiveness and Demography A. Whereas women’s access to the ICT, financial and industrial sectors is essential for the competitiveness of the European economy, and whereas the potential impact of gender biases in these sectors deprives the EU from talent, resources and wealth but is also a threat to innovation, as also underlined by the Draghi report on EU’s competitiveness. 1. EPPW calls upon the EU Commission to put a clear focus on women in the digital, financial and industrial sectors as a key priority for action aimed at fully including women in the innovation of our economies; 2. Whereas women remain underrepresented in positions of power in many economic sectors in all EU Member States, EPPW urges the Member States as well as the Candidate Member States to implement the Women on Boards Directive and the EC 2024-2029 to develop a next level program which effectively addresses the issue of women in economic and political decision making positions; 3. Urges the EC to further address the gender pay gap in the ICT, the finance and industry sectors, and to make further proposals and improvements to tackle pay and pension discrimination across the EU; 4. Supports the EC to work on increasing participation in the labour market, especially by women, young and elderly people, single household parents and other underrepresented groups and look at how demographic change is affecting the sustainability and adequacy of social protection in the Member States; 5. Calls upon the EC to effectively steer the implementation of the Demography Toolbox, to ensure the EU facilitates Member States’ efforts to address their demographic challenges, in particular the brain drain from East to West and depopulation from rural areas as well as support for women with infertility issues. 2. Action points in the EU Climate and Energy Policies 6. EPPW highly welcomes the Commission’s objective to actively rectify social and gender inequalities to allow women who suffer from energy poverty to better manage the climate crisis; the EU’s Social Climate Fund is a suitable means for this; 7. EPPW in particular calls upon the EC to institutionalise gender balanced representation in all decision making in the climate relevant sectors of transport, energy, agriculture and building, such as by proposing a temporary phasing-in quota; 8. EPPW calls upon the EC and the Member and Candidate Member States to empower women in the green sector by supporting entrepreneurial initiatives and access to credit for women in cities as well as in the rural areas; 3. Action points on Security and Defense B. Whereas EPPW is welcoming the appointment of a European Commissionner for Tech Sovereignity, Security and Democracy as well as a Commissioner for Security and Defense: 9. Taking into account that online threats are on the rise and that we must fight disinformation that aims to manipulate Europeans, EPPW calls upon the EC to establish a European Cyber brigade with clear responsibilities for external and internal security and to enhance the EU Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) to ensure our systems, data and infrastructure are safe from cyber-attacks; 10. Calls upon the EC to prepare a comprehensive strategy addressing cyber violence against women, children as well as men on digital platforms and in social media in all its forms of abuse, such as sexual harassment and image-based sexual abuse; 11. Urges the EC to combat the spreading of ideologies running counter to EU values such as human rights, equality of women and men, freedom and democracy; 12. Calls upon the EC to have at least 1000 officers to be deployed in a Europol special unit to combat prostitution and trafficking of women and girls. Forced marriage, female genital mutilation and any other form of violence against women under religious or cultural pretext must not be tolerated; 13. Fully supports the EU policies in taking decisive steps towards ending violence against women and taking steps to criminalise violence against women across in Europe, applying the same standards to punish perpetrators, by including "violence against women" as a crime in Article 83(1) of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union. 14. Urges the EU Member States to fully implement The Istanbul Convention on preventing and combatting violence against women and domestic violence; 15. Taking into account the dramatic geopolitical change creating a new environment in which Europeans need to protect Europe, EPPW urges the Commissioner for Security and Defence to promote cooperation and better coordinate defence issues within the framework of EU competences; 16. Calls upon the Commissioner for Security and Defence to urge the Member States to advance UNSCR 1325 implementation through National Action Plans on Women, Peace and Security (NAP 1325-IV) and to to support women's participation in the military as well as in peace negotiations and in post-conflict reconstruction. Urges the EPP member parties and the EPPW national organizations in the EU Member States as well as in the Candidate Member States to advocate within their national governments, parliamentary groups and political parties for the realization of the above listed political priorities for the upcoming mandate of the EU Commission 2024 - 2029.