Victims of stalking, harassment or gender-based violence who are granted protection in one EU member state would get fully equivalent protection if they freely move to another under new rules approved by the Legal Affairs and Women's Rights committees on Tuesday. The new EU rules would add civil law protection to the criminal law protection already enforced under the European Protection Order (EPO) Directive.

MEPs, their national counterparts and women professionals appealed on Thursday for a stronger gender dimension in all policy-making in response to the economic crisis which, they agreed, hits women harder than men.

Here is a summary of the priorities of Ireland's Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers, as presented by Irish ministers to European Parliament committees. These presentations were all made in the week of 21-25 January, except for agriculture (31 January).

How can gender equality be advanced through legislation, internal staff policies and communication policy? How can it be promoted among politicians in parliaments and government? These topics will be debated at a joint meeting of MEPs, national MPs and the media, on Wednesday 3 October 2012, in the European Parliament, Brussels. Journalists are invited to a preparatory workshop on the afternoon of Tuesday 2 October.

All crime victims will get the same basic rights across the EU and an assessment of their specific needs under a directive agreed by Parliament and Council and backed on Tuesday by the civil liberties and women's rights committees. Free support services, such as psychological help, will also be provided. Some 75 million people are victims of crime every year in the EU.

Victims of stalking, harassment or abduction who are granted protection in one EU Member State could get fully equivalent protection if they move to another under new rules approved by the Legal Affairs and Women's Rights committees on Wednesday. The draft legislation would add civil law protection to the criminal law rules already enforced under the European Protection Order (EPO) Directive.

All crime victims should have the same basic rights across the EU, and should have their specific needs assessed, under a draft EU directive setting minimum protection standards unanimously endorsed by the Civil Liberties and Women’s Rights committees on Tuesday. An estimated 75 million people are victims of crime every year in the EU.

The gender pay gap is best tackled at EU level, said 47% of the Europeans interviewed for a Eurobarometer poll presented on Wednesday by Women's Rights Committee Chair Mikael Gustafsson (GUE/NGL, SE). However, respondents were almost evenly divided on how best to close the gap: by facilitating access to jobs for all (27%), imposing penalties on firms (26%), or enforcing transparent pay scales (24%).

Parliament will mark International Women's Day on 8 March with a meeting between MEPs and national MPs on "Equal pay for work of equal value", which will assess the impact of measures to reduce the gender pay gap and consider possible further initiatives to tackle its causes. President Martin Schulz will open the debate on Thursday at 9 a.m.

Introducing quotas to increase women's representation in political, administrative and business bodies and reducing the pay gap between women and men to respond to the current crisis are among the many proposals approved on Tuesday by the Committee on Women's Rights.