Are the EU’s plans to withdraw the proposal on extending maternity leave throughout Europe justified? Iratxe García Pérez and Angelika Niebler give their opinions.

More maternity leave for mothers in Europe- the end of the dream?

In 1992, the EU established a minimum duration  of 14 weeks for maternity leave.

In 2010, the European Parliament voted in favour  of extending this leave by another four weeks.

But the text was blocked at Member State level.

In June 2014, the European Commission  suggested a way out of this impasse

by removing the legislative proposals  that hadn't been approved unanimously.

So does this show a will  to find a way out of the impasse

or is it simply a lack  of political courage?

We asked two MEPs  to give us their views on this issue,

Iratxe García Pérez from the  Progressive Alliance of Socialists & Democrats,

and Angelika Niebler  from the European People's Party.

What are the main difficulties  in the current European system

The current directive provides for  a general framework

allowing each country  to set out its own conditions.

But this disparity from country to country  demonstrates the need to revise it

and to negotiate a new directive,  a revision of the current one,

to propose a much more homogeneous  framework than the one we have now.

The social security systems have developed  differently in all Member States

and have taken different forms  concerning maternity protection.

how to combine 28 different models concerning  maternity protection in one directive

and come up  with a proposal for harmonising them:

Does this situation reflect  a certain social deficit in the European Union?

Do we need more Europe  in terms of social policy?

and the Council hasn't been able  to reach an agreement on it,

which shows that the Council  is not able to take social policy decisions,

therefore we need to take up  this issue again once and for all,

to see an exercise in responsibility on the part of  the Council like we had in Parliament.

I don't think the withdrawal of the maternity  leave directive is antisocial at all.

First of all, there's already  a maternity leave directive,

which guarantees 14 weeks of leave  for any woman working in an EU country.

The question now was just about extending  the minimum duration of maternity leave.

Is the rejection of the proposal  to extend maternity leave to 20 weeks

a step back in terms of women's rights  and gender equality?

that the economic crisis the EU is going through  is also being reflected

in a decline in social rights  and policies for the most vulnerable sectors.

And women are most adversely affected  by this response to the economic crisis.

The lack of will to advance policies  aimed at those who need them most

is clear evidence that Europe cannot  only respond at the economic level

but must also have answers  in terms of social rights

and recognise the labour rights  of both male and female workers.

There is a directive,  and we do have maternity protection.

I think we also have to consider that the  working world has changed completely.

There are many parents who share  the leave after the birth of their child.

In this case the man and the woman equally  share the duties in their relationship.

This flexibility, which can be perceived in  the working world all over Europe,

can't be found anywhere in this proposal.

Would 20 weeks of maternity leave  be unsustainable for businesses,

particularly for the small and medium ones?

I think no-one can ignore  that a working environment

where health and safety are paramount  is also beneficial for the companies themselves.

The countries with the most advanced  legislation in this respect

aren't less competitive in the working world  or at the economic level,

so these are excuses for not making progress  in an area where we should be making progress.

Of course it's important to protect  those mothers who have just given birth,

but the magic word in this context  is flexibility.

They need flexible solutions,  not just one rigid regulation.

I think it will rather be  a backlash for women

because employers will consider  the gender of applicants when hiring them.

A man is less likely  to stay at home after the birth of a child.

Can any changes be expected  during the Italian presidency

and which changes would you like to see?

From the Italian presidency we hope to see  an initiative to bring this issue up again,

that some countries  change their positions in the Council

and that they have a common position  so that we can then negotiate.

Once the negotiations begin,  the EP will decide what our red lines are,

and which are non-negotiable  according to our position,

but in any case  what is vital and essential

is that the Council has a position  with a view to negotiating these aspects

and that we can have a debate  that results in a final agreement.

In my view the maternity leave directive  shouldn't be revised.

We've been dealing with this proposal  for five years now, but without any result.

I think we have other priorities  at European level.