There is something to celebrate: the EU Parliament wants to introduce maternity leave. Female members of parliament will no longer lose their vote because they have a child. Three months before and six months after giving birth, they will be able to transfer their vote to another member of parliament and thus be represented. This means they will retain their voting rights, even during their absence. 

It has been a long struggle to get to this point. Over ten years ago, Franziska Brantner launched the first initiative to improve the situation of mothers in the EU Parliament. The current leader of the German Green Party was a member of parliament in Brussels at the time. Now, finally, something is happening. 

But the fight continues. Progressive factions in Parliament would have liked to see a similar solution for fathers. However, the majority of conservatives and right-wingers prevented a vote on a corresponding amendment. This means that fathers will continue to have to choose between the plenary and the delivery room, between voting and spending time with their mother and child.

Daniel Freund, Member of the European Parliament and Green negotiator:

“The new regulation is an important step toward a modern, more equitable European Parliament. It is an achievement for mothers in Parliament. I had hoped that fathers would be granted a comparable right. That would also have been in the interests of mothers and children. I myself had to make a decision regarding two of my children: Should I be present at the birth or should I vote in a close vote in Parliament? No member of parliament should have to make such a decision in 2025. 

But the right-wing conservative majority in parliament used procedural tricks to prevent the issue from even being put to a vote. This reveals a clear worldview. The right-wing majority in this parliament clearly lives in the past. They constantly talk about family values. But when it comes to actually doing something for families, they show their true colors.”

It’s not a done deal yet: after the European Parliament approved the new regulation for female members of parliament, the text must be unanimously adopted by the Council of the EU and then ratified by all member states. So it will be a while before the regulation comes into force.