In a statement, the Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality (CIG) cited the report by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), entitled "Institutional Mechanisms for Gender Equality in the EU – Current Realities, Future Priorities."

The study, which assesses institutional mechanisms for gender equality in the 27 EU countries, "places Portugal in the European top 3, with 75% of the maximum score in the four indicators analysed (...) surpassed only by Sweden and Spain."

"This international recognition is a clear sign that political and technical investment in gender equality is yielding concrete results," noted CIG President Sandra Ribeiro, quoted in the statement.

The indicators evaluated are: political commitment, human resources, gender mainstreaming in public policies, and the production of sex-disaggregated statistics, with the report based on 2024 data.

Highlighted by EIGE are the National Strategy for Equality and Non-Discrimination (2018–2030), the "technical and political leadership" of the CIG, which coordinates interaction between ministries on equality policies, and the "implementation of concrete mainstreaming instruments, such as gender impact assessments and gender-responsive budgeting, recognized as European best practice."

"Compared to the previous assessment (2021), Portugal has made progress across all indicators, reinforcing its position as a benchmark country in the European Union regarding institutional mechanisms for promoting gender equality," according to the IGC.

Spain is the EU country with the highest score (86%), obtained from "the average of the scores for each of the four monitoring indicators, expressed as a percentage of the maximum possible," followed by Sweden (78%) and Portugal, the only member states with a score above 70%.

More than half of the bloc's countries (14) score below 50%, while Bulgaria, Slovenia, Latvia, Estonia, and Cyprus score below 40%, and Poland 17%, making it "the only country with an overall score below 30%."

The report recommends that EU institutions and bodies define gender equality as a long-term budget objective, with budgetary targets for gender equality interventions and activities and gender mainstreaming.

"Promoting a Council of the European Union formation dedicated to gender equality," which regularly brings together EU ministers responsible for implementing this right, is another recommendation.