Where the law stands, Dossier 2025/0900(APP)
Amending the Act concerning the election of the members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage, annexed to Council Decision 76/787/ECSC, EEC, Euratom of 20 September 1976
Consent procedure (APP): Parliament approves or rejects, but cannot amend. · Parliament can approve or reject the text, for example an international agreement, but cannot amend it.
Parliament is asked to approve the decision. It can accept or reject the text as a whole but cannot amend it.
Where it stands
Plenary vote
Parliament gave its consent on 29 April 2026. The Council can now conclude the act.
- Referred to committee(done) 27 April 2026
- Committee work(done) Report adopted 27 April 2026
- Tabled for plenary(done) 27 April 2026
- Plenary vote(done) Adopted 29 April 2026
- Adopted by the Council(to come)
Decided in plenary
29 April 2026 · decision 4
EU institutions & Parliament, International agreement
Amendment of the European Electoral Act allowing Members to vote in plenary by proxy voting during pregnancy and after giving birth
Consent given 616 for · 24 against · 8 abstained by an overwhelming majority
AI summary:The draft Council decision amends the European Electoral Act to let MEPs who are pregnant or have recently given birth vote by proxy in plenary for up to three months before the expected birth and six months after.
What changed
Committee draft → Tabled for plenary
No change of substance: the two versions differ only in presentation — cover page, numbering or the parts a report carries that the adopted text does not.
Who works on it
- Lead committee
- Constitutional Affairs
- The MEP who drafts the report and negotiates it on behalf of the committee.
- Juan Fernando López Aguilar (S&D)
- An MEP who follows a report on behalf of their own group when another group holds the rapporteur.
- Ana Miguel Pedro (EPP), Marieke Ehlers (Patriots), Tobiasz Bocheński (ECR), Sandro Gozi (Renew), Daniel Freund (Greens), Nikolas Farantouris (The Left), Stanisław Tyszka (ESN)
The text, version by version
Newest first.
Adopted by Parliament· 29 Apr 2026
AI summary:Parliament gives its consent to the draft Council decision amending the European Electoral Act to allow Members to vote by proxy during pregnancy and after giving birth.
Adopted by Parliament· 13 Nov 2025
AI summary:Parliament proposes amending the European Electoral Act to allow Members to vote by proxy in plenary during pregnancy and after giving birth, for up to three months before the estimated birth date and six months after.
Tabled for plenary· 27 Apr 2026
AI summary:Parliament gives its consent to the draft Council decision amending the European Electoral Act to allow proxy voting for MEPs who are pregnant or have recently given birth.
Committee draft· 25 Mar 2026
AI summary:This draft report recommends that Parliament give its consent to the Council decision amending the European Electoral Act to allow proxy voting for MEPs who are pregnant or have recently given birth.
Timeline
Newest first.
Plenary stage 2 steps
29 April 2026
Plenary vote
Sitting of 29 Apr 2026 Adopted text TA10-0124/2026Report A10-0123/2026
27 April 2026
Report tabled for plenary
This is the text all MEPs vote on. Political groups can still table amendments to it.
Committee stage 3 steps
27 April 2026
Committee vote: report adopted
AFCO (Constitutional Affairs) voted on the amendments and adopted the report that goes to plenary.
27 April 2026
Referred to the AFCO (Constitutional Affairs) committee
The lead committee prepares Parliament’s report.
25 March 2026
Draft report published
The rapporteur’s first text in AFCO (Constitutional Affairs). Members can table amendments before the committee votes.
Official record: Legislative Observatory, 2025/0900(APP)