The European Commission has confirmed that European Union member states may use the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) to support access to legal abortion services, which they call “safe”.
Brussels made this clear in response to the successful European Citizens’ Initiative “My Voice, My Choice: For Safe and Accessible Abortion”.
The European Citizens’ Initiative is an EU mechanism aimed at increasing alleged direct democracy by enabling “EU citizens to participate directly in the development of EU policies”, introduced with the Treaty of Lisbon in 2007.
The “My Voice” initiative, which gathered more than 1.1 million verified signatures across the EU and was submitted in September 2025, called for financial support to enable abortions for women lacking access in their home countries.
In its formal communication adopted on February 26, the EC stated that, while respecting national competence over health policy under Article 168(7) TFEU, member states can voluntarily draw on existing ESF+ resources — €142.7 billion earmarked for social inclusion — to improve equal access to affordable healthcare, including so-called safe abortion.
No new funding programme or legal instrument will be proposed, as the EC deemed it unnecessary.
The decision was welcomed by campaign organisers as a breakthrough.
Nika Kovač, co-ordinator for “My Voice”, said: “For the first time, the Commission confirms unequivocally that EU funds can be used to guarantee access to safe abortion care – 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.”
European Commissioner for Equality Hadja Lahbib presented the response, emphasising support for women in vulnerable positions while upholding member states’ autonomy.
Renew Europe MEP Valérie Hayer, a vocal supporter of the initiative, called it “a major breakthrough”.
She had previously backed the campaign publicly, highlighting the need for safe and legal abortion across the bloc.
The move drew sharp criticism from opponents, though.
Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF ) International issued a statement expressing serious concerns.
ADF is a Vienna-based conservative Christian legal advocacy group and NGO that defends religious freedom, life, marriage, family and parental rights worldwide.
Adina Portaru, Senior Counsel, Europe, for ADF International, said: “The European Commission’s political endorsement of the ‘My Voice, My Choice’ initiative raises serious legal and institutional concerns.
“The imposition of an EU-wide abortion regime remains squarely outside the European Union’s legislative competence, and framing access to abortion as an EU-level ‘right’ seriously undermines subsidiarity and the rule of law.
“While the Commission has, importantly, chosen not to allocate new EU funding for cross-border abortion services – a show of restraint in line with its allocated competencies, which we welcome – its broader signal of support for this initiative sets a troubling precedent,” she said.
Portaru noted a sharp contrast with the 2014 “‘One of Us’ initiative”, “which called on the EU to ensure that its funds would not be used for activities involving the destruction of human embryos and which garnered historic popular support yet received no action, highlights a concerning inconsistency in how Citizen’s Initiatives are treated.
“The European Commission must respect the limits of its competence, uphold democratic self-government, and protect the right to life of all Europeans, including the unborn, as enshrined in international law,” she concluded.
