On the eve of the European elections, La Coordinadora presented two key studies to face the challenges of the new institutional cycle: ‘The devlish correlation in the EU. Analysis of policy coherence in member states for sustainable development‘ and ‘Comparative analysis of comprehensive care systems in leading countries in the European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean’.
The report ‘The devlish correlation in the EU’ addresses the challenges regarding the four transitions (ecological, socio-economic, democratic and feminist). One of the main findings of the report is the so-called the devilish correlation, a concept that suggests that in the European Union, progress in the four transitions implies an increase in planetary pressures or ecological impacts, to the point where we are currently at risk of endangering the sustainability of life.
As the study reveals, all EU countries perform very poorly in terms of planetary pressures, and especially the countries leading the transitions. In other words, countries with better results in the transitions, such as Luxembourg, Finland, Ireland and Sweden, tend to have worse results in terms of planetary impacts. Conversely, countries with lower ecological impacts, such as Hungary, Bulgaria or Romania, tend to have worse results in the transitions. This contradiction raises the question of whether the European development model is compatible with the sustainable development of the planet.
The report highlights that the reformulation of our development model is the unavoidable question for the European Union. If transitions are to move forward in a coherent way, there is an urgent need to drastically reduce the planetary impacts and pressures that all EU countries, to a greater or lesser extent, face. Therefore, the unavoidable qestion for the European Union is to show that it is possible to live better, with prosperity and rights, without condemning the whole planet to unsustainability and injustice.
We also presented a study on comprehensive care systems in the EU, Latin America and the Caribbean. At the event representatives of institutions, academia and civil society provided keys to advancing towards fairer, more feminist and sustainable integrated care systems and on the bi-regional Pact for care as a response to the shared challenges in the EU, Latin America and the Caribbean.
From an ecofeminist, decolonial and human rights perspective, this research addresses shared challenges in both regions such as the widespread care crisis – associated with gender, class and race power relations – and the ageing of the population.
As the study points out, in Europe 90% of people working in the care sector are women, and in Latin America and the Caribbean, women spend three times more time than men on unpaid work. The crisis of the development model in the global North and the crisis of reproduction in the global South highlight the need for a profound transformation in our care systems.
In the face of the new institutional cycle, after the elections to the European Parliament and the renewal of the European Commission, this debate and analysis is extremely relevant in order to advance a common feminist agenda built with the participation of feminist organisations, indigenous peoples and migrant and racialised women. At La Coordinadora we believe that it is urgent to answer the question “who cares for those who care?” and, therefore, we are committed to a care society that prioritises the sustainability of life and the planet with the rights of the people who care and who need care at the centre.