Dear friends,
Today is a victory for women in Europe. And today is a good day for European democracy.
When 1.2 million citizens raise their voices, when the European Parliament sends a clear democratic signal, and when civil society mobilises across borders, the European Commission cannot look away. It must act. And today, it has.
For the first time, the Commission confirms unequivocally that EU funds can be used to guarantee access to safe abortion care ー particularly for women in vulnerable situations, regardless of where they come from in Europe.
This is not symbolic. It is a political commitment to women's rights.
It establishes beyond doubt that access to safe abortion is a matter of public health and social justice, and that the European Union has both the competence and the responsibility to act.
The Commission concluded in today's decision that the best way to meet our initiative’s objective is through funding from the ESF+ programme. While no new legal instrument is being created, the Commission has formally acknowledged that the demands of our initiative can be achieved and outlined a concrete pathway to implement it in practice.
Today we had a meeting with Commissioner Hadja Lahbib, responsible for our initiative. She congratulated us and presented the Commission’s decisions as a clear yes to our demands. We are especially happy that the mechanism would be able to be used not just for funding of the medical services, but also the cost of travel in circumstances that would be needed. This is especially important in life-threatening situations where urgent assistance and transportation is needed.
Although the “yes” given by the Commission is different from what we had hoped for, we are satisfied with the response. From the very beginning, our first and only goal was a positive impact for women, not the legal form. We are disappointed only that, so far, no promise of additional financial resources has been made. Therefore, today, together with Members of the European Parliament from various political groups, we called on the Commission to support our proposals for additional earmarked funds, which our allies will put forward in the budget negotiations. And we will not give up until we achieve this.
We also urged the Commission to act quickly in order to implement the demands of the decision: to provide clear instructions to member states on how to start providing safe abortion care with EU funds and that an information platform for patients must be created.
The door is now open. The Member States can now use EU funding to ensure access to safe and legal abortion services for those who are still denied this fundamental right. EU countries must now use the pathway that was created.
This decision sends a clear message: that women’s rights matter to the EU and that citizens democratic engagement can create change.
This victory belongs to all of us, to the 1.2 million citizens who signed, to the activists who organised, to the volunteers who mobilised, and to the parliamentarians who stood firm.
And we dedicate this victory to all the women who have suffered or lost their lives because access to urgent reproductive healthcare was denied.
Their stories remind us why this fight is not ideological - it is about protecting health and lives, it's about dignity, equality, and freedom.
This fight was about women having control over their own bodies and lives.
This fight was about Europe we want to live in. A Democratic, equal and just Europe we can be proud of.
Thank you for standing with us. Today we won and tomorrow we fight on.
Yours,
My Voice, My Choice team
