00:01The European Commission said on Thursday that member states can use an EU social fund to provide access to abortion
00:08for women who are legally prevented from doing so in their home country.
00:13The decision comes in response to the citizens' initiative, My Voice, My Choice.
00:18The group called on the EU to help women with no access to safe abortions and raised over a million
00:24signatures for its campaign last year.
00:26When 1.2 million citizens raised their voice, when the European Parliament sent a clear democratic signal, and when civil
00:37society mobilizes across the borders, we saw that at the end of the day, the European Commission cannot look away.
00:47The Commission is relying on the already existing European Social Fund. It stopped short from establishing a new specific funding
00:55mechanism, which had been requested by the European Parliament in December.
00:58The European Social Fund Plus is a shared management, a shared managed fund, both by the Commission and the member
01:08states.
01:09EU money is made available to member states to enhance access to affordable abortion, while member states ensure the funds
01:18reach women seeking safe and accessible abortion.
01:22While acknowledging that a new legal instrument wasn't created, the campaigners still celebrated the decision.
01:30According to the organizers, the development acknowledges the core objectives of the campaign and creates a pathway to implement them
01:38in practice.
Comments