Labour MEPs Vote In Favour Report Including Abortion Clause, Agius Saliba Argues There Was More To It
All Labour MEPs have voted in favour of a resolution that includes a call for abortion to become a fundamental human right across all member states.
This goes against the Labour Party’s official stance on the topic, as well as the position some MEPs have publicly taken.
Amid a heated exchange between the Nationalist Party and the Labour Party following this vote, MEP Alex Agius Saliba – who is vocally against abortion – said that there was more to this resolution than just the call for it to become a fundamental human right.
The resolution on the Commission’s 2024 Rule of Law report included a vast number of different proposals, the most contentious one being the need to enshrine abortion in the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights.
For this to happen in practice, both the European Parliament and the European Council – made up of all member states – would have to agree.
All PL MEPs, including Agius Saliba, Daniel Attard and Thomas Bajada voted in favour of this resolution. While all Nationalist MEPs, i.e. David Casa and Peter Agius voted against it. As EP President, Roberta Metsola does not have a vote.
MEPs voted in two stages – on the separate clauses of the report and then on the report as a whole. The initial voting was done by raising hands and this was unrecorded, however, the Labour delegation is arguing that it voted against clause 55 (the abortion clause).
Following the vote, the PL issued a statement noting double standards in what the PN says in Malta and does in the European fora. It argued that PN MEPs sided with the far-right by voting against this report, the majority of which deals with civil liberties, the rule of law and democracy.
The PN hit back by pointing out the abortion clause of the resolution, saying it goes against Labour’s official stance. The Opposition Party further argued that abortion is a national competence and should not be imposed by external powers.
Peter Agius echoed this argument when speaking to Lovin Malta, saying that he is open to a discussion about abortion in Malta but that this should never be imposed by the EU.
Meanwhile, David Casa said that the call for abortion to be a fundamental right is a “big red line” for the PN delegation because it should not be imposed on Malta.
The PN further said that in a separate vote on online child protection – which also contained a clause relating to abortion – Nationalist MEPs abstained while Labour MEPs voted in favour.
To add to the exchange, Agius Saliba shared a video of MEP Anna Catarina Mendes – who is an EP negotiator of this report – saying “I can’t understand why the PN MEPs voted against this report – this is not a report on abortion.”
In the last term, former PL MEP Cyrus Engerer was the only Maltese representative to vote in favour of similar resolutions. Agius Saliba, Josianne Cutajar and David Casa had all voted against it while Alfred Sant abstained – citing that this should be a national competency.
Do you think abortion should be an EU competency?
READ NEXT: Malta Is The First Country To Pass The National Threshold For Safe Abortion
