Is there still a majority in favor of protecting rights in Europe?
The list of recent grievances in the European Union is long and burdensome: inaction in the face of genocide, multiple Trumpian blackmails and a historical dehumanization of migrants. To all this is added one final symptom: the "castle policy".
I'm referring to the recent Leaders' meeting at the Belgian castle of Alden Biesenwhere they were supposed to discuss the economy and competitiveness after hearing firsthand the demands of big industry to dismantle laws protecting consumers from pollution. This choreography does nothing to bring the EU closer to its citizens and reflects a political landscape where large corporations seem to dictate the global course.
Now then, this Thursday Political She explained that nine EU countries have formally requested the European Commission to explore creating a fund to guarantee safe and accessible abortion across Europe. This initiative didn't originate in an office, but rather from activists. MyVoiceMyChoice which have mobilized more than 1.2 million people across the EU. Having gathered over a million signatures, the Commission is obliged to respond. The activists expect it to do so next week.
When citizens organize and transcend borders, they force politicians to take a hard look at themselves. Although France has enshrined the right to abortion in its Constitution, there are still countries like Malta and Poland where it is criminalized. This initiative does not seek to legalize abortion throughout the EU, but rather to ensure that women who must leave countries like Poland to obtain an abortion can do so safely and without financial ruin.
Surprisingly, on December 17, the European Parliament voted in favor of this initiative. The text, which defines sexual and reproductive rights as a "fundamental right," passed with a clear majority of 358 votes in favor, 202 against, and 79 abstentions. Yes, the same Parliament that in 2025 dismantled the cordon sanitaire against the far right demonstrated that there is another, alternative majority in favor of protecting rights instead of curtailing them.
The fracture of the EPP
The vote was symbolic but politically significant. The European Left, Greens, liberals, and socialists voted as a bloc in favor of the text, but the key was the fracture within the European People's Party. Despite having allied itself with the anti-European far right on several occasions, in this case the group allowed a free vote and was literally split in the middle: 43% of its MEPs voted in favor and 41% against. This rift demonstrates that the EPP is not a monolith and that there are still sectors that refuse to fully embrace the far-right's political framework. However, in the case of the Spanish People's Party, the picture turned out to be more green-Vox: all the MEPs voted against except for four abstentions. The majority that protects human rights in Europe still exists, but we would be fooling ourselves if we did not recognize that it is fragile and under suffocating pressure. The far right has already activated its entire lobbying machinery to prevent the Commission from hearing the demands of 1.2 million people. We will soon know whether the EU still wants to be a space for the defense and protection of fundamental rights or whether we have returned to the politics of the castle.
