The Council of the European Union is the most powerful yet the most secretive of European Union (EU) institutions. It is the ultimate power player in equality politics too. Member state opposition to gender equality shapes the political dynamics within the Council. EQUICO aims, first, to provide a robust gender analysis of the politics of the Council of the European Union both in terms of the way that it works as a political institution and in terms of selected policies. The policy fields studied include social and economic rights; human rights and core values; and digital rights and cyberviolence. Second, EQUICO aims to analyse a cross-cutting theme of how radical right populist governments oppose gender equality and democracy in the Council, thereby contesting the established norms of decision and policymaking and hindering their further democratisation through increased equality

2026

2030