LABOUR LAW : PATERNITY LEAVE PLANS DIVIDE MEPS.

Portuguese Socialist MEP Edite Estrela's report on the proposed extension of maternity leave provoked a lively debate at the 25 January meeting of the European Parliament's Committee on Women's Rights (FEMM). The MEPs' views differed widely. In Estrela's account, her first report on the issue was blocked by the EPP and ALDE groups last June, right before the European elections. However, according to Conservative MEP Astrid Lulling of Luxembourg, the EPP "did not block the report. We simply saved the EP from looking ridiculous. But what Estrela has done now in her report has made matters even worse: we'd be even more confused if we were to adopt her report in its present form".

In her report, Estrela proposes to extend the duration of paid maternity leave from 14 to 20 weeks across the Union, and she also...