For over 50 years, the European Parliament and the US Congress have steadily practiced transatlantic parliamentary diplomacy. In a second Trump era, what space remains for gender equality? Lorenzo Santini argues that informal and symbolic diplomacy helps keep women’s rights visible on the agenda
Under Donald Trump’s second administration, the EU-US alliance faces an existential stress test amid trade disputes, weakened security guarantees and cultural antagonisms. In June 2025, lawmakers from the European Parliament (EP) and US Congress discussed these issues in Warsaw at the 90th Transatlantic Legislators’ Dialogue (TLD). Their joint statement reaffirmed the transatlantic relationship as a 'bedrock of global peace, prosperity and democratic resilience'.
Since 1999, the TLD has reunited EP Members (MEPs) and US lawmakers biannually to address shared policy interests. This embodies parliamentary diplomacy, reflecting parliaments’ growing role as international actors. Parliamentary diplomacy may offer regular dialogical platforms when executive relations are strained or in conflict situations. Indeed, the EP is an interparliamentary powerhouse: 48 Delegations cover nearly all countries, regions, and international organisations.
While some MEPs champion gender mainstreaming as a pinnacle of European and transatlantic values, gender is increasingly contested within the European Parliament
What role does the EP play in EU-US relations, and how does gender factor in? Beneath formal frameworks, informal, everyday practices determine how these structures work concretely: who gets to speak, who is excluded, and which issues reach the agenda. Masculinised norms endure in diplomacy, with gender equality eclipsed by 'high politics'.
Trump decisively backtracked on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programmes, recognising only 'man' and 'woman' as 'biological truths'. US diplomats refused to sign the 2025 UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) political declaration. While some MEPs champion gender mainstreaming as a pinnacle of European and transatlantic values, gender is increasingly contested within the EP.
TLD meetings lack a formal codebook, instead relying on a patchwork of institutional rules. The EP appears more invested than Congress. In 2010, it inaugurated a Liaison Office in Washington DC to manage day-to-day relations with US lawmakers. Back in Brussels, MEPs convene monthly within the Delegation to the US (D-US), a structure the Congress lacks. With 64 members across political groups, its prominence makes it the most coveted 'diplomatic' assignment.
Recently, the EP introduced a contested rule mandating gender balance in Delegation Bureaux and Committees. Brando Benifei (Italy), from the Socialists & Democrats (S&D), currently chairs the D-US. EP Vice-President Sophie Wilmès (Belgium, Renew) was appointed as first vice-chair, while Eva Maydell (Bulgaria) from the European People’s Party (EPP) serves as second vice-chair. Wilmès’ role in the High-Level Group on Gender Equality and Diversity could further support gender mainstreaming efforts. Since 2004, the Delegation’s leadership has been almost exclusively male. The only exception was Danuta Hübner (Poland, EPP), who briefly inherited the position late in the ninth term.
Women’s presence in the EP rose from 31% in 2004 to 39% in 2024; however, the Delegation to the US remains consistently male-dominated
Formal rules do not mandate gender balance in the broader composition of institutional bodies. While women’s presence in the EP rose from 31% in 2004 to 39% in 2024, D-US remains consistently male-dominated. However, balance was briefly achieved in the seventh term (2009–2014). The current legislature (2024–2029) registers the lowest female participation, with women making up just 32.8% of the Delegation. While the Parliament has adopted strong gender equality resolutions, these rarely translate into diplomatic practice.
Beyond formal frameworks, Committees, political groups, and individual MEPs conduct outreach missions to the US. An internal 14-member Steering Committee coordinates the TLD. It reunites the Bureau of D-US and the Chairs of 11 Committees, including for Foreign Affairs (AFET) and International Trade (INTA). Though gender balanced, with seven women out of 14 members, its latest mission in April 2025 consisted almost exclusively of male MEPs. Similarly, in July 2025 AFET visited Washington featuring an all-male eight-member delegation, reflecting the gendered outlook of foreign affairs bodies.
Political groups time their transnational missions strategically. The Patriots for Europe Group visited Washington to signal alignment with Trump’s 'necessary fight against wokism'. Conversely, the S&D organised a high-level delegation in June 2025. The programme included talks on equalities and LGBTQI+ rights, personally requested by S&D President Iratxe García Pérez, who previously chaired the EP Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM).
Symbolism is intrinsic to diplomacy, and parliaments often resemble international moral tribunes. Recent TLD statements neglect gender issues, mostly focusing on trade and security. The EP can, however, employ other tools to exert normative pressure, such as resolutions and debates. In October 2021, the EP condemned restrictions on abortion rights in Texas. The resolution was accompanied by an urgency debate on breaches of human rights, democracy, and rule of law. The EPP refused to participate: Michael Gahler (Germany) claimed that equating the US to 'China, Russia, or Belarus' as human rights abusers fuels 'anti-Americanism'. Two more resolutions highlighted the global backlash against abortion following the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overruling Roe v. Wade.
The Transatlantic Legislators’ Dialogue has recently neglected gender issues; however, the EP can still exert normative pressure, such as its condemnation of restrictions on abortion rights in Texas
The EP established gender focal points, MEPs who voluntarily mainstream gender in institutional bodies. Assita Kanko (Belgium) from the European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR) holds this role in D-US. Kanko vocally criticised the ruling in a July 2022 plenary, comparing it to The Handmaid’s Tale, but avoided direct condemnation, instead instrumentalising Muslim women’s oppression. ECR tabled a countermotion challenging EU institutions for overstepping US sovereignty.
In 2023, the FEMM Committee combined its annual UN CSW visit with a trip to Washington, the first to address abortion rights after Dobbs. Led by former FEMM Chair Robert Biedroń (Poland, S&D), MEPs met Nancy Pelosi, former House Speaker, and discussed the risks of backlash on women’s rights, citing parallels in Europe.
Parliamentarians can act swiftly and flexibly, leveraging their electoral mandates to pursue normative agendas beyond formal diplomacy. But while the TLD offers a stable interparliamentary framework, gender equality remains underdeveloped. As formal rules prove insufficient, feminist actors are engaging in debates, missions, and symbolic acts to keep gender on the EU-US agenda. These are turbulent times: parliamentary diplomacy remains a quiet, vital space to defend, articulate and signal gender equality.
