On Tuesday 4 November, the European Parliament’s Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) proposed a targeted amendment to the European Union’s Electoral Act to allow an MEP who is pregnant or has recently given birth to give her vote to another MEP (see EUROPE 13661/32).
This proxy voting system, which will be an exception to the rule that MEPs vote individually and in person, would apply “for a maximum period of three months before the estimated date of birth of the child and for a maximum period of six months after the birth”.
“No elected representative should ever have to choose between their vote and their child. Introducing proxy voting for MEPs on maternity leave strengthens democratic representation and ensures that voters’ voices continue to be heard”, said Juan Fernando López Aguilar (S&D, Spanish), in a press release. In his view, this measure gives “fresh momentum to the ongoing, ambitious reform of the Electoral Act”, but which blocked in the EU Council (see EUROPE 13293/24).
This targeted amendment to the Electoral Act does not cover other forms of parenthood. MEPs know that this is the point of balance within the Chamber. Broader provisions based on gender equality would not make it through the EU Council, where Member States must reach a unanimous decision. And the reform must ultimately be ratified by national parliaments.
At the same time, Parliament is drafting a reform of the Statute for Members to extend to other parental situations the existing right of a pregnant MEP to be temporarily excused from work meetings three months before and six months after the birth of a child. A specific ‘roadmap’ is being prepared for the end of the year (see EUROPE 13727/15).
See the draft ‘López Aguilar’ report: https://aeur.eu/f/jan (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)