Parliament has taken steps to introduce temporary proxy voting rights for female Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) during late pregnancy and early motherhood. The aim is to promote equal participation by allowing MEPs who are pregnant or have recently given birth to delegate their plenary vote for up to three months before the estimated date of birth and six months after childbirth.
The proposed amendment to the EU Electoral Act was initiated by a parliamentary vote on Thursday, starting the legislative process. This reform is intended to help MEPs balance their health and family responsibilities with their parliamentary duties, without having to step back from their mandates.
The legislative proposal was drafted by the Committee on Constitutional Affairs and adopted by show of hands. An accompanying resolution received strong support, with 605 votes in favour, 30 against, and five abstentions.
Parliament’s President Roberta Metsola, who started this revision process earlier in the year, said: “I am proud of our House’s work on this landmark proposal. As a politician and a woman, I can only hope that the member states will agree with us that the modernisation of our voting rules is long overdue – and do everything they can to bring the European Parliament’s rules up to speed with the 21st century. No woman should have to choose between serving her voters and having children.”
Rapporteur Juan Fernando López Aguilar (S&D, ES) added: “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 in the months before and after childbirth. This measure also gives fresh momentum to the ongoing, ambitious reform of the Electoral Act and supports our broader goal of promoting gender equality and work–life balance by encouraging parents to participate fully in political life”.
A recording featuring President Metsola and rapporteur López Aguilar discussing the plenary vote is available through Parliament’s Multimedia Centre.
The next step requires unanimous approval from all member states in the Council. If any changes are made at this stage, more than half of sitting MEPs must endorse them before final adoption. Each EU country will then need to approve the new rules according to its constitutional procedures.
Currently, only Spain, Greece, and Luxembourg allow parliamentarians formal provisions for absentee voting due to maternity reasons. The European Parliament’s move seeks not only institutional fairness but also aims to encourage national legislatures across Europe to adopt similar practices supporting parental responsibilities among elected officials.
