Our commitment to the five-year EU Policy Agenda (2024-2029)

The EU Commission’s new priorities fall well within our advocacy actions. In line with our mission – to fight for the rights of mothers and families – we will focus our attention on the following pressing issues:

1.  Supporting people, strengthening our societies and our social model

We will contribute to the EU’s ambitious Action Plan to implement the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR), ensuring that this Action Plan makes the principles a reality for mothers across the Union.

Within this EPSR Action plan we will focus on those initiatives that address poverty, as mothers are more likely to be economically disadvantaged than the general population. These will include:

 

  • The first-ever EU Anti-Poverty Strategy, addressing the root causes of maternal and child poverty and advocating for  universal and quality public services for women with children
  • Strengthening the Child Guarantee to fight child and family poverty and promote children’s and families’ well-being
  • The first European Affordable Housing Plan. Women with children face an increased risk of homelessness and difficulties in accessing housing due to multiple intersectional risk factors and being among the most vulnerable groups (especially single mothers)
  • Promoting a healthy work-life balance and the Quality Jobs Roadmap on good working conditions and fair career transitions for mothers
  • Continuing to ‘Make Mothers’ Mental Health Matter’, especially in light of the concerning data from our 2024 survey of mothers in several EU countries
  • Highlighting the links between mental health and digitalisation, in particular on the plans to introduce a new ‘right to disconnect‘ and EU actions on ensuring fair telework, both of which are key to flexible working arrangements for mothers
  • Calling for healthier workplaces for mothers, a key demand of mothers as reflected in our 2024 Survey
  • Advocating for mothers who are long term carers to be included in the framework for addressing ‘long-term care challenges’

2.  A Union of equality

Within this EU priority, we will contribute to:

  • The new Gender Equality Strategy for post-2025, that will include: Work-life balance, mothers’ economic empowerment, challenges facing women in the labour market and discriminations in health, education, housing, social protection and the supply of goods and services
  • The Roadmap for Women’s Rights which will be presented on International Women’s Day 2025
  • The new ‘Anti-Racism Strategy’, particularly as it relates to health equity and the access to health for mothers from minority groups
  • The implemention of the ‘Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities’ by developing recommendations on the rights and challenges of mothers with disabilities. We will utilise the research and the findings from our EU-funded project ‘A.S.S.I.S.T which stands for ‘heAlthcare incluSion for motherS wIth disabiliTies’
  • Advocate for further mainstreaming gender equality considerations in EU policy legislation and budget
  • Amplify the initiatives of our partners and members fighting against domestic violence

3. Reuniting our societies, supporting our young people

Under this chapter of the EU priorities our commitments will include:

  • Supporting intergenerational solidarity between children, parents and grandparents, by contributing to the Strategy on Intergenerational Fairness
  • Advocating for an effective implementation of the ‘EU Strategy of the Rights of the Child’
  • Prioritising children’s mental health, which starts with the mental wellbeing of parents and in particular, of mothers.

News from the MMM European Delegation

Child and Family Support in Europe : ensuring families receive the best possible care

05.12.24

We were delighted to coorganise, together with the European Parents Association (EPA), the "Quality Assurance in Child and Family Support in Europe: Policy Lessons for Evidence-Informed Decision Making" initiat

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Early Childhood interventions: crucial for the empowerment of mothers of children with disabilities 

18.09.24

EASPD, in collaboration with various family rights networks, including MMM, has issued a position paper on “Family-centred Early Childhood Intervention" (ECI) for children with disabilities. This approach pro

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Time Poverty and the Motherhood Penalty
Unveiling Economic and Social Injustices

09.07.24

Mothers play an essential role in families by ensuring their loved ones are nourished, educated, and healthy, but their unpaid care work often leads to economic and social injustices, known as the motherhood pe

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MMM teams push for strengthening the right to education

19.06.24

UN Geneva – A resolution aimed at strengthening the right to education in international legal instruments will be negotiated during the 56th session of the Human Rights Council, which began on 18 June. This r

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Mothers Can-Bringing mothers back to work

13.05.24

MMM is working on the project “Mothers Can-Bringing mothers back to work”, a European partnership between six countries (Belgium, Cyprus, Germany, Romania, Spain and Greece). The project aims to support mot

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Breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty by investing in children and their families

07.05.24

Make Mothers Matter participated in the conference “Investing in an inclusive and fair future for Europe. European Child Guarantee: from engagement to reality", organised within the framework of the Belgian p

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