Advocacy work at the European Union

The European Union adopts legislative and non-legislative initiatives that have a direct impact on the lives of European citizens. It also plays an important role at an international level, notably for the protection of Human Rights. The EU is an important partner of the United Nations and the biggest donor for development aid.

In this context, the MMM European Delegation focuses on supporting and empowering mothers while highlighting how their contribution at social and economic levels matters for Europe’s future development.

The Delegation works to influence European policies and legislation to bring about positive changes in the lives of mothers, which will have a positive impact on their children, family and society as a whole. MMM aims to support mothers and help them develop their independence.

At the European Parliament, MMM works with the following Committees:

Our work is carried out in a transparent manner in accordance with the Transparency Register established by the European Parliament and the European Commission.

MMM’s main areas of work at the EU

  • Mothers and the Economy: advocacy on the reconciliation of work and family life has been one of the delegation’s primary areas of work, guided by the results of the MMM Survey What matters to mothers in Europe.
  • Mothers and Health: We work to promote human rights in childbirth (including maternal mental health and the fight against obstetric violence) and the prevention of child obesity.
  • Mothers and Peace: MMM promotes the idea that a culture of peace begins during early childhood within families. Mothers have a major role to play along with fathers, are the primary educators for their children in the prevention of violence and the peaceful resolution of conflicts.

What the MMM Delegation do

  • Raise awareness ·  among policymakers of the challenges faced by mothers (European Commission, European Parliament, European Economic and Social Committee, Council of the European Union etc.)
  • Propose concrete measures to support mothers
  • Monitor and research policies that impact mothers and their families.
  • Analyse these policy measures and communicate the views of mothers to be taken into account in the preparation of legislative proposals.

 

Partners

MMM collaborates on a regular basis with many European NGOs, notably with Age Platform Europe, COFACE, Eurochild, Eurocarers, the European Women’s Lobby, Maternal Health Europe, etc.

Since December 2016, MMM is a member of the Social Platform the largest network of European civil society organisations active in the social sector. Its mission is to promote policies that contribute to social progress for all, based on human rights

 

 

 

Latest News from MMM and its Network

She Does It All: The Devaluation of Caregiving in EU Work–Life Balance Policy

28.11.25

Across Europe, mothers carry out vast amounts of unpaid care work that keeps families and societies functioning—yet much of this labour remains largely invisible in EU policy. A new study shared with Make Mot

Read more

Democracy on Hold: The Hidden Penalty for Parliamentarians Who Become Mothers

27.11.25

The European Parliament adopted a legislative resolution on the amendment of the European Electoral act, allowing Members to vote in plenary by proxy voting during pregnancy and after giving birth. The proposal

Read more

Recognising Mothers’ Realities: Key Wins in the New Gender Equality  Resolution

27.11.25

The European Parliament has adopted a new resolution calling on the European Commission to deliver an ambitious 2026–2030 Gender Equality Strategy, centred on concrete legislative and non-legislative actions

Read more

Berlin Hosts Closing Event of MothersCan – Care, Career, Change

17.11.25

The official closing event of the Erasmus+ project MothersCan took place at the historic Biesdorf Palace in Berlin. Hosted by Olga Gauks, Member of the Berlin House of Representatives, the event brought to

Read more

Care & Support systems – the backbone of social development

13.11.25

On 3rd November, we hosted a virtual Solution Session at the 2nd UN World Summit on Social Development titled Shifting the paradigm: centring care society and social protection for social development. As the un

Read more

Climate Change: A Maternal Physical and Mental Health Emergency

13.11.25

In the lead-up to the UN climate change conference in Belem, Brazil (COP30), MMM was delighted to collaborate with Dr. Saravanan Thangarajan, a Visiting Scientist & Faculty member at Harvard T.H. Chan School of

Read more