This refers to the systematic integration of the respective situations, priorities and needs of women and men in all policies, and with a view to promoting equality between women and men and mobilizing all general policies and measures specifically for the purpose of achieving equality. This is done by actively and openly taking into account, at the planning stage, the effects of such policies and measures on the respective situations of women and men in implementation, monitoring and evaluation. Whereas the old approach to integrating gender in the development policy focused exclusively on the role of women, the European Programme of Action for the Mainstreaming of Gender Equality placed greater emphasis on the general relationship between gender and development. From this perspective, it involves tackling the entire problem of gender inequality by also looking at the role of men. In this respect, the Commission Communication of 21 February 1996 established a long-term incremental approach. The Commission also believed that it was time to give priority to positive discrimination measures. Gender was be integrated around three main axes, namely: (1) the analysis and integration of gender within the priority areas identified by the Community development policy; (2) strengthening gender mainstreaming within projects and programmes at regional and country levels; (3) gender capacity building. Implementation: The programme of action is implemented over a five-year period (2001-06). There will be both mid-term and final evaluations. It will also form an integral part of the annual report on the implementation of the European Community's development policy