Maria da Graça Carvalho, who was speaking at the European Affairs Parliamentary Committee in the context of a series of hearings by Portuguese MEPs on European news, stressed that gender equality issues are pointed out by the European Parliament (EP) “as an important evaluation factor in the recovery and resilience plan "(PRR).

According to the Social Democrat, "practically all reports coming out of the European Parliament have this component", which she hopes "will not be lost in negotiations between the Member States and the European Commission".

Especially because a report that evaluated the impact of Covid-19 on women demonstrated that "it was exactly women who suffered the most" from the pandemic, hence the EP's "political statement" that the PRR "should not be a plan only for part of the population and that gender equality is a reality".

Since the PRR was intended to "remedy the effects of the crisis", Maria da Graça Carvalho therefore defends "that women are beneficiaries" of the recovery plans of the 27.

"The European Parliament has done its part and we will be vigilant about what is going to happen. Now it is also up to the Assembly [of the Republic] to continue this vigilance in relation to the negotiation between the Portuguese Government and the European Commission for the national plan", it appealed.

PRRs are the instrument that will allow Member States to access funds from the “Next Generation EU” fund, a € 750 billion package to support the economies of the European Union (EU) in responding to the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

National plans have to be presented and approved by the European Commission, negotiations that are already underway with several Member States, and the first, including Portugal's, are expected to be approved as early as April, allowing for the first disbursements in July.