The Renew group secured an amendment on contraceptive and abortion-related medicines under the Critical Medicines Act, but it may not survive negotiations.
Backed by pro-European groups and parts of the EPP, the adopted amendment urges EU countries to ensure affordable and secure access to these medicines.
“Shortages and supply disruptions affecting these medicines undermine patient safety and contribute to inequalities in access to healthcare across the Union,” the text reads.
“It is particularly positive to see that, in the wake of the My Voice My Choice initiative, we have once again witnessed a majority in Parliament supporting women’s rights,” Spanish S&D MEP Nicolás González Casares told Euractiv.
“It is a reminder that our vote determines our ability to advance rights, and also that we are determined to defend the European model,” he added.
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However, the amendment could still be dropped during negotiations between the co-legislators.
“We can only hope that it survives the negotiations, but I am not certain it will, given the position of the member states and the European Commission on the issue,” conceded a person close to Vlad Voiculescu (Renew, Romania), who tabled the amendment.
Some EU countries, including Poland and Hungary, have repeatedly argued that these issues fall under national competence and oppose EU-level decision-making in this area.
In early January, Health Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi reiterated that medicines related to abortion legally “fall under national competence”, arguing that the EU therefore lacks a mandate to act.
Várhelyi had already made this case during his hearing before the European Parliament ahead of his appointment as commissioner in November 2024. Under pressure from the S&D, Renew and Green groups, references to reproductive rights were subsequently removed from his portfolio.
(bms, aw)