30.12.2006 Official Journal of the European Union L 403/9 REGULATION (EC) No 1922/2006 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 20 December 2006 on establishing a European Institute for Gender Equality THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EURO- PEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Com- munity, and in particular Articles 13(2) and 141(3) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee ('), Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty (), Whereas: 1 Equality between men and women is a fundamental prin- ciple of the European Union. Articles 21 and 23 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union set out a prohibition on any discrimination on grounds of sex and provide that equality between men and women must be ensured in all areas. Article 2 of the Treaty provides that equality between men and women is one of the Community’s essential tasks. Similarly, Article 3(2) of the Treaty requires the Community to aim to eliminate inequalities and to promote equality between men and women in all its activities and thus ensure the integration of the dimen- sion of equality between men and women in all Com- munity policies. Article 13 of the Treaty empowers the Council to take appropriate action to combat discrimination inter alia on grounds of sex in all areas of Community competence. The principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in matters of employment and occu- pation is enshrined in Article 141 of the Treaty and a comprehensive body of legislation on equal treatment of men and women in relation to access to employment and working conditions including equal pay is already in place. The Commission’s first annual report on equality between men and women to the Spring European Council in 2004 concluded that significant gender gaps exist in most policy fields, that inequality between men and women is a multi-dimensional phenomenon that has () 0J C24,31.1.2006, p. 29. () Opinion of the European Parliament of 14 March 2006 (not yet published in the Official Journal), Council Common Position of 18 September 2006 (O] C 295 E, 5.12.2006, p. 57) and Position of the European Parliament of 14 December 2006 (not yet published in the Official Journal). Council Decision of 19 December 2006. to be tackled by a comprehensive mix of policy measures and that enhanced efforts are needed to meet the Lisbon strategy targets. The Nice European Council of 7-9 December 2000 called for ‘Increased awareness, the pooling of resources and the exchange of experience, in particular through the estab- lishment of a European Institute for gender issues’. The feasibility study (°) carried out for the Commission concluded that there is a clear role for a European Insti- tute for Gender Equality to carry out some of the tasks with which the existing institutions do not currently deal, specifically in the areas of coordination, centralisation and dissemination of research data and information, network building, the raising of visibility of equality between men and women, highlighting the gender perspective and the development of tools for improved integration of gender equality in all Community policies. The European Parliament in its Resolution of 10 March 2004 on the European Union’s policies on gender equality (*) called on the Commission to speed up the efforts leading to the setting-up of an Institute. The Council of Employment, Social Affairs, Health and Consumers Affairs of 1-2 June 2004 and the European Council of 17-18 June 2004 supported the establishment of a European Institute for Gender Equality. The European Council asked the Commission to bring forward a specific proposal. The collection, analysis and dissemination of objective, reliable and comparable information and data on equality between men and women, the development of appro- priate tools for the elimination of all forms of discrimina- tion on grounds of sex and the integration of the gender dimension in all policy areas, the promotion of dialogue amonyg stakeholders and the raising of awareness among EU citizens are necessary so as to enable the Community to effectively promote and implement gender equality policy, in particular in an enlarged Union. It is therefore appropriate to establish a European Institute for Gender Equality, which would assist the Community institutions and the Member States by carrying out those tasks. (*) European Commission Feasibility Study for a European Gender Insti- tute (conducted by PLS Ramboll Management, DK, 2002). () OJ C102E, 28.4.2004, p. 638.