Pregnant lawmakers and new mothers will be able to vote by proxy in the European Parliament under a rule change approved Thursday to cheers from women鈥檚 rights advocates.
Voting at the EU body is currently only possible in person 鈥� something that critics said unfairly penalises women, as some might have to skip key sessions before or after giving birth.
On Thursday lawmakers backed updating the rules to allow colleagues who are pregnant or have recently given birth to delegate a fellow parliamentarian to vote for them.
鈥楴o woman should have to choose between serving her voters and having children,鈥� parliament president Roberta Metsola said, hailing the 鈥榣andmark鈥� proposal.
The changes need to be approved by member states before entering into force. They would allow proxy voting for up to three months before the estimated date of birth and six months after childbirth.
Lawmakers did not extend the same rights to fathers, as some on the left had wished to do.
鈥楾hat we do this for mothers now is a good step, but I think it should have been done for all parents,鈥� Daniel Freund of the Greens told parliament, adding he had twice to choose between attending parliament or the birth of his children.
鈥楳embers of parliament in 2025 should not have to make that call.鈥�
