On 28 September, the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union organised a high-level conference in Zaragoza on The Effective Guarantee of Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Europe. During the meeting, a Joint Ministerial Declaration on Guaranteeing SRHR in the EU was signed by the Gender Equality Ministers of 14 countries: Spain, Italy, Slovenia, France, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Belgium, Finland, Sweden, Luxembourg, Denmark, Portugal, and the Netherlands, and promoted on Twitter by Irene Montero, Minister of Equality of Spain (photo above).
This is the first time that an EU Presidency has organised an event dedicated to SRHR; and that a Ministerial Declaration on SRHR is promoted in the framework of the EU Presidency. This historic initiative is the direct result of long-term joint advocacy efforts between the Family Planning Association of Spain (SEDRA) and IPPF-EN, with the support of other member associations and civil society partners. See SEDRA’s tweet welcoming the declaration.
SEDRA, with the support of IPPF EN, also promoted a joint civil society declaration (in Spanish and English) signed by more than 130 civil society organisations, calling on the EU and Member States to guarantee SRHR, as part of EU values.
SOURCE: Filomena Ruggiero, Family Planning Association of Spain (SEDRA), E-mail: 4 October 2023