On Thursday 26 February, the European Commission adopted a communication in response to the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) ‘My Voice, My Choice: For Safe and Accessible Abortion’ (https://aeur.eu/f/jbi ), supported by more than 1.1 million citizens and validated on 1 September.
The Commission therefore argues that it is not necessary to propose a new legislative act, as the organisers requested, but points out that Member States can already mobilise the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) to improve access to “legally available, affordable and safe” health services, including abortion, in compliance with their national legislation.
The Commission points out that, under the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, the decision on whether or not to legalise abortion and on the conditions for doing so falls entirely within the competence of the Member States.
The European Union has only a supporting role, enabling it to finance public health initiatives, provided it does not interfere with national regulatory and bioethical choices.
Any measures funded must therefore remain “completely neutral” with regard to the place of residence or nationality of patients, and may not concern women from countries where abortion is not legal.
States wishing to do so will be able to modify their national or regional ESF+ programmes to include actions facilitating access to abortion, particularly for women in vulnerable situations.
The Commission states that it is possible to contribute to the objective of the initiative with existing instruments and reaffirms the objective of ensuring “a high level of human health protection” in the EU.
In a press release, Abir Al-Sahlani (Renew Europe, Swedish) – who tabled the resolution supporting the European Citizens’ Initiative adopted by the European Parliament in November (see EUROPE 13747/27) – described the clarification as “historic”.
In her words, “for the first time, the Commission has formally confirmed that European funds can support access to abortion”, opening up “a real avenue of action for Member States”. She notes, however, that this possibility must now be translated into real access on the ground.
For her part, the coordinator of the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament Committee on Women's Rights, Mélissa Camara (French), who welcomed an “undeniable step forward”, was nevertheless critical of the absence of a “dedicated envelope for a solidarity mechanism”, as requested by the 1.2 million signatories and the European Parliament.
The day before the Communication was adopted, the heads of government of Denmark, Estonia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden sent a letter to the President of the Commission in support of the initiative.
They stated that access to “safe and legal” abortion was “an essential component of health care and a cornerstone of human rights”. They stress that the initiative “does not interfere with national competences” and call on the Commission to specify how it intends to implement it in practice.
The communication: https://aeur.eu/f/kxu; the letter from the Member States: https://aeur.eu/f/kxv (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)