With 366 votes in favour and 145 against, the European Parliament approved today a ‘European Certificate of Parenthood’.

However, the EU Council, composed of the Heads of Member States, is not bound to follow this advice.

Critics slammed the proposal for enabling commercial surrogacy and called on national Governments to ignore it.

FAFCE President, Vincenzo Bassi, said that “Member States should not follow the advice of the European Parliament. The latter – with today’s vote – clearly goes against the principle of subsidiarity, ignoring the exclusive competence of Member States and its own explicit condemnation of the practice of surrogacy”.

“In this proposal, the European Parliament plans to limit the possibility for EU Member States to refuse to recognise parenthood established in another Country. The draft regulation would enable parenthood as established in a EU Member State to be recognised throughout the EU, including in situations such as surrogacy”, he said.