An overwhelming majority in the European Parliament has agreed that MEPs can delegate their vote to another member in the months before and after childbirth, retaining their say in key files.
The statute change, passed with 578 votes for, 25 against, and 4 abstentions on Thursday (12 November) will mean that an MEP will be able to vote for one other colleague for three months before, and six months after, childbirth.
It is “well overdue” that the rules for voting change, Sigrid Friis, a Renew Europe MEP from Denmark told EUobserver. She herself worked up until her due date, provoking some comments about the need for a midwife in the parliament.
“No member should lose her right to vote because of becoming a mother,” declared the parliament’s president Roberta Metsola in a statement back in April.
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MEPs discuss proxy voting for pregnant women and new mothers
Delegating one’s vote would only apply for the plenary sessions, with both the absent MEP and the one voting for them would be identified in the minutes for transparency’s sake.
Maria Ohisalo, a Finnish Green MEP, told EUobserver she is “really happy” about the reform.
“I voted for hours with our baby in the plenary,” she said, recalling her infant was not eligible for child care during the first Strasbourg plenary after giving birth.
Another MEP who preferred to stay anonymous recalls some colleagues’ annoyance at taking multiple breaks during trilogue negotiations when she was with her newborn.
The initiative, started by parliament president Roberta Metsola in 2025, still needs an EU Commission opinion and a go-ahead from the council before a final vote in the parliament.