BRUSSELS, December 5, 2002 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Euro-Fam, a pro-life group specializing in matters related to the European Union and Parliament, reports that the European Parliament’s Development Committee has postponed its vote on the Sandbaek report (the blueprint for the new international aid regulation) for the third time. The vote had been scheduled for Monday, 2 December 2002, but it has now been re-scheduled for Tuesday, 17 December.
The delay has arisen because the EU Council of Ministers were unable to reach agreement on the most controversial aspects of the new regulation, in particular whether it should allow funding for abortions in developing countries. EU officials had hoped that the Council and European Parliament would be able to agree on the text of the regulation so that the process of finalizing the regulation could be fast-tracked. However, it has proved impossible to reach an agreement because pro-lifers and pro-abortionists are at loggerheads.
In the case of Ireland, this is in clear contradiction of its pro-life constitution. As the regulation would also form part of the “acquis communautaire” (body of EU law), pro-life accession countries, such as Malta and Poland, would also be obliged to fund abortions. See Euro-Fam’s website at: https://www.euro-fam.org/