Intersectional Feminist Policy-Making for EU External Action: 10 principles

Inspired by existing feminist foreign policy frameworks and the thinking by feminists in the Majority World CONCORD has adapted 10 principles that should underpin an intersectional feminist foreign policy, tailored to the EU’s
external action. 

Europe finds itself at a crossroads of multiple crises: the triple planetary crisis, conflicts and wars, economic instability, increasing inequalities and geopolitical rivalries. As stated in the Treaty of the Union (TEU), the EU should base its international action on the principles it aims to promote globally. In addition, the EU’s external action is expected to align with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

However, there has been a worrying shift in the EU’s foreign policy trajectory in recent years as it is increasingly driven by short-term economic self-interest and security concerns. Furthermore, the recent revelations regarding the EU’s plan to refocus its development aid strategy on domestic corporate interests illustrate just how far international cooperation has deviated
from its initial intended trajectory.

There is a need for a paradigm shift. An EU external action adhering to feminist principles would aim to balance power structures and address intersecting inequalities and their underlying harmful norms and practices. It would put discriminated groups of people, marginalised communities and fragile countries at the centre of its external action. It would promote collaboration over competition, enshrine human rights, pursue human security and ensure a long-term commitment to peace, sustainable development, environmental integrity, and prioritise power- and resource-sharing and caring.