The My Voice My Choice campaign group said after the decision that its priority was always “getting results for women, not the legal form.”

“While no new legal instrument is being created, the Commission has formally acknowledged that the core objectives of our initiative can be achieved and outlined a concrete pathway to implement it in practice,” the group said in a statement.

The group was also pleased that the existing fund can be used broadly. “We are especially happy that the mechanism would be able to be used not just for funding of the medical services, but also the cost of travel in circumstances that would be needed,” the group added.

However, the group urged the Commission to support additional dedicated funding in the future, as well as give clear instructions on how countries can provide safe abortion care with EU funds and to create an information platform for patients.

German MEP Christine Anderson, with the Europe of Sovereign Nations group, told POLITICO after the decision that the Commission should have made clear “from day one” that this European citizens’ initiative could not lead to EU action.

“Abortion policy is not health policy, but clearly a national competence under the Treaties. Instead of admitting that the proposal exceeds Union powers, the Commission now allows to abuse the ESF+ to achieve indirectly what it cannot mandate directly,” Anderson said.
She argued this was “bypassing the Treaties to provide illegal funding to the unethical business of abortion tourism.”

This story has been updated.