The implementation of the women, peace and security agenda in the EU external action. Legal framework and recent developments

The European Union has long been committed to implementing the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda across its external action and foreign policy. Although this effort has generally resulted in soft law acts or policy instruments, these initiatives have grad- ually steered the Union’s external action towards a more gender-sensitive approach. The EU also seeks to position itself as a global standard-setter in the promotion of gender equality. In this regard, the EU has recently announced its ambition to play a leading role in advancing gender equality worldwide. This paper aims to analyse the EU’s role in implementing the WPS Agenda from a legal and institutional perspective. To this end, the study will first outline the legal framework for implementing the Agenda as estab- lished by the Treaties, focusing on the two relevant objectives of the EU external action set out in Articles 3(5) and 21(2) TEU: the promotion of gender equality and the mainte- nance of international security. It will then examine the main initiatives undertaken by the Union in this area, with particular attention to the integration of the Agenda into Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) missions.